Reports Identify Fossil Fuel, Political Networks Driving Climate Disinformation Globally

Climate change misinformation and disinformation are increasingly influencing public perception and policy, with coordinated efforts spreading globally and regionally. In the U.S., far-right Republicans, led by Marjorie Taylor Greene, are pushing legislation to ban weather modification technologies like solar geoengineering and cloud seeding, fueled by conspiracy theories linking such technologies to natural disasters. Meanwhile, a Department of Energy report challenges the mainstream narrative on climate change, claiming that its economic impacts are negligible and warning that aggressive mitigation policies might do more harm than good. Globally, analyses reveal that climate disinformation tactics have evolved from outright denial to more subtle strategies that cast doubt on renewable energy, exaggerate scientific uncertainty, and frame climate action as elitist, often driven by fossil fuel interests, political extremists, and state actors such as Russia. This disinformation erodes public trust, delays policy responses, and is amplified by social media algorithms, with right-wing politicians, oil companies, and troll farms identified as key sources. The United Nations and scientific communities emphasize that access to reliable climate information is a human right and stress the urgency of combating misinformation to address the climate crisis effectively.