Climate disinformation is already harming Europeans: policymakers should protect us

The document asserts that climate disinformation in Europe is an industrialised threat that distorts public debate, delays clean energy investment, and weakens crisis response. It highlights a failure in regulatory enforcement across the EU and UK, noting that while instruments like the Digital Services Act exist, they are unevenly applied. The authors advocate for limiting algorithmic amplification of misleading content and increasing media scrutiny to protect the conditions necessary for collective climate action.

• Climate disinformation in Europe has become industrialised and is amplified by design, with climate being the most targeted topic for online disinformation campaigns across the EU in August 2025.
• Mainstream media outlets in several European countries have spread false claims linking renewable energy to industrial decline, rising bills, and blackouts. In France, 665 misleading climate claims were identified in mainstream broadcast media within one year, primarily concerning energy policy.

APA

Sethi, P., Maertens, C., Coulaud-Margaritis, S., Holder, F., Jonckheere, I., Souverijns, N., Vrindts, E., Therville, T., Van den Bosch, E., & Schoofs, J. (2026). Climate disinformation is already harming Europeans: policymakers should protect us. Climate Action Against Disinformation. https://caad.info/analysis/open-letter/climate-disinformation-is-already-harming-europeans-policymakers-should-protect-us/

Chicago

Sethi, Pallavi, Clément Maertens, Sébastien Coulaud-Margaritis, Faye Holder, Inge Jonckheere, Niels Souverijns, Els Vrindts, et al. Climate disinformation is already harming Europeans: policymakers should protect us. Climate Action Against Disinformation, 2026. https://caad.info/analysis/open-letter/climate-disinformation-is-already-harming-europeans-policymakers-should-protect-us/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Sethi |first1=Pallavi |last2=Maertens |first2=Clément |last3=Coulaud-Margaritis |first3=Sébastien |last4=Holder |first4=Faye |last5=Jonckheere |first5=Inge |last6=Souverijns |first6=Niels |last7=Vrindts |first7=Els |last8=Therville |first8=Takumi |last9=Van den Bosch |first9=Emmeline |display-authors=etal |title=Climate disinformation is already harming Europeans: policymakers should protect us |publisher=Climate Action Against Disinformation |date=2 June 2026 |url=https://caad.info/analysis/open-letter/climate-disinformation-is-already-harming-europeans-policymakers-should-protect-us/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{sethi2026climate, author = {Sethi, Pallavi and Maertens, Clément and Coulaud-Margaritis, Sébastien and Holder, Faye and Jonckheere, Inge and Souverijns, Niels and Vrindts, Els and Therville, Takumi and Van den Bosch, Emmeline and Schoofs, Jozefien}, title = {{Climate disinformation is already harming Europeans: policymakers should protect us}}, publisher = {Climate Action Against Disinformation}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://caad.info/analysis/open-letter/climate-disinformation-is-already-harming-europeans-policymakers-should-protect-us/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }