Misleading information about the nature of climate change is further complicating and delaying action to fight the environmental issue, according to a new research report.
A sprawling report, released this month from the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE), found “powerful actors” like governments, political parties, and corporations are often behind the intentional spreading of inaccurate or misleading narratives about climate science.
“The result is a decline in public trust, diminished policy coordination, and a feedback loop between scientific denialism and political inaction,” the coalition of researchers wrote in the 127-page report.
Actors often have an economic or political interest in spreading the misinformation, with frequent groups including the fossil fuel industry, members of the Republican party, lobbies and some nation-states or governments. But it can also include unlikely groups like learning institutions.
Researchers noted denial has long threatened the flow of climate science information, but attempts to discredit or delegitimize climate science have started dominating the anti-climate science campaigns.
“When the evidence produced by climate science is disregarded, circumvented or undermined, public trust suffers,” the report stated.
Scientific consensus on climate change is also frequently misrepresented in the media, further complicating the information ecosystem, IPIE said. The report noted social media has become “key public carriers of information about climate change.”
Misinformation about severe weather patterns has persisted for years, with conspiracy theories and falsehoods often resurfacing during major weather events like hurricanes or tornadoes. Much of this dialogue takes place on social media, where unvetted or false information can spread to mass amounts of users in seconds.
These theories and false information often spark emotional responses, giving actors a chance to set the narrative, disinformation experts previously told The Hill.
Researchers outlined four main policy recommendations to curb the flow of misinformation and its impact on climate action. The suggestions included legislation ensuring standardized carbon reporting and labelling, litigation to ensure standards are enforced and the education of policymakers and the public.
IPIE is an independent and global science consortium of researchers focused on the world’s information environment. The report analyzed 300 publications between 2015 and 2025.
To measure the integrity of information, researchers evaluated publications based on markers of accuracy, consistency, reliability and transparency.
