Misinformation and disinformation: Threats to progress on climate action

For the first time in the history of global climate negotiations, information integrity has reached the official COP agenda.

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At COP30 in Belém, Brazil on Nov. 12, world leaders acknowledged that false and misleading information has become a direct threat to climate progress.

Despite overwhelming scientific consensus that human activities—especially the burning of fossil fuels—are driving global warming, misinformation and disinformation continue to distort understanding and delay action, according to the COP30 statement. These falsehoods take many forms: outright climate denial, delay narratives questioning the fairness or feasibility of policies, and greenwashing, where corporations exaggerate environmental claims to mask inaction.

The effects are corrosive. Climate disinformation not only slows policy progress but it erodes public trust, divides societies, and weakens democracy. As UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay warned: "Without access to reliable information about climate disruption, we can never hope to overcome it."