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Attacks on Science Tracker
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) developed an evolved methodology to track 'attacks on science'—defined as political interference in federal science—starting in January 2025. The system combines automated R scripts for RSS feed collection and keyword filtering with human content analysis to categorize attacks by type, topic, and stage of completion. The methodology aims to systematically capture a comprehensive breadth of attacks in perpetuity, including those that are only threatened, to document their chilling effects on the federal scientific enterprise.
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Document type: Research paper
Analysis: Climate and the Local and Devolved Elections 2026
An analysis of 76 election leaflets and several party manifestos from the 2026 local and devolved elections in the UK reveals that explicit mentions of 'climate' were very low, particularly in local leaflets. While manifestos from parties like the SNP and Scottish Greens used climate terminology more frequently, most political communication shifted toward 'climate-adjacent' issues. These include energy affordability, fairness framings regarding the energy transition, and hyper-local concerns such as flooding, transport, and the preservation of green spaces. The report notes a breakdown in cross-party consensus on net zero, evidenced by its absence in the Welsh Conservatives' manifesto and anti-renewable messaging from Reform UK.
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Document type: Research paper
The politics of coherence
The briefing argues that while climate and sustainable development goals are theoretically synergistic, actual policy coherence is hindered by political inequality, vested interests, and the prioritization of economic growth. Through analysis of nine countries and global NDC data, the research demonstrates that coherence is not a neutral technocratic exercise but a political process with significant distributional consequences, often burdening vulnerable groups when political will for equity is absent.
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Document type: Briefing
Policy Silos: The Disconnect Between Climate and Development Agendas in African Countries
The study finds significant priority divergence between African climate plans (NDCs) and development plans (NDPs), noting that NDCs are often externally driven by international financing and environment ministries, while NDPs are domestically coordinated by economic planning ministries. This disconnect leads to energy transition strategies that may lack pragmatism and overlook economic performance metrics like reliability and affordability. The report recommends establishing inter-ministerial committees and increasing local technical capacity to integrate these frameworks, ensuring climate action supports poverty reduction and economic growth.
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Document type: Research paper
Colonial Logics in the Mobilization Mechanics of Climate Disinformation
The study argues that climate disinformation in the Global South is not a digital accident but a reactivation of 'colonial logics of mediated authority.' By analyzing 200 social media posts and socio-cultural indices across eleven former British colonies in Africa, the author develops a 'Model of Indirect Epistemic Domination.' This model posits that disinformation achieves legitimacy by using trusted intermediaries—such as religious leaders and social media influencers—to frame climate falsehoods as indigenous truths. Statistical analysis reveals that religiosity and media access are the strongest predictors of susceptibility to climate disinformation, while formal education and trust in science do not provide significant protection.
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Document type: Research paper
Science and Democracy Under Siege
The report details the methodological framework for identifying 'attacks on science' (AOS), defined as actions by elected officials or political appointees that result in the censoring, manipulation, or misinforming of scientific data. It describes the use of human coding for news articles, analysis of federal funding data from USASpending.gov, and tracking of federal advisory committee terminations. The methodology specifically addresses the tracking of federal workforce cuts, the impact of Clean Air Act exemptions on overburdened communities using spatial buffers, and the monitoring of federal environmental webpages via the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI).
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Document type: Report
NOTE Premiers résultats de la détection automatisée de la désinformation climatique dans la télévision et la radio françaises
The report identifies a persistent presence of climate disinformation in French mainstream media, noting 128 certified cases over three months. It highlights a significant over-representation of such content in private media, particularly Sud Radio, and observes peaks in disinformation coinciding with major political events. The analysis also employs the CARDS framework to identify 373 instances of 'inaction discourse,' primarily targeting climate solutions and messengers. The authors call for increased environmental coverage, better journalist training, and stronger regulatory action by ARCOM.
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Document type: Report
The Role of Generative AI Use in 2024 Elections Worldwide
The IPIE analyzed GenAI usage across 50 countries with competitive national elections in 2024. Findings show that GenAI was reported in 80% of these countries, primarily for content creation (90% of cases). While 69% of instances served malicious ends, 16% were benevolent. The study highlights a significant challenge in actor identification, with 46% of cases remaining unclear, and notes that foreign actors were involved in 20% of reported incidents, all for nefarious purposes.
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Document type: Research paper
Understanding Green Climate Fund Support for Adaptation Planning
This analysis of 108 GCF readiness proposals reveals that funding is primarily directed toward governance and institutional coordination (37.1%) and evidence-based planning (32%), with significantly less investment in private sector engagement (2.6%). While most countries use these grants to draft or update National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and develop investment pipelines, the report highlights a need for more national delivery partners and a stronger focus on domestic financing and concrete implementation steps, such as climate adaptation investment plans.
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Document type: Report
BRICS configurations: representation of the majority world
The document examines the evolution of BRICS from a financial acronym to an intergovernmental group, focusing on its annual declarations. It finds that while BRICS successfully used the G20 to push for reforms in the IMF and World Bank following the 2007-8 financial crisis, there remains a significant gap between its high-level declarative statements and actual collective policy implementation.
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Document type: Research paper
Die Repräsentation der Mehrheitswelt durch die BRICS-Konfiguration
The paper examines the evolution of BRICS from a financial acronym to an intergovernmental configuration, focusing on its first ten annual declarations. It argues that while BRICS successfully projects a vision of representing the 'majority world' and achieved early wins in reforming global financial institutions via the G20, there remains a significant lack of clarity regarding collective policy coordination and the actual implementation of its broader declarative statements.
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Document type: Research paper
Towards migration policy coherence
The report argues that the EU's pursuit of 'policy coherence' in its external migration dimension is primarily a tool for containment, often instrumentalising development aid to limit migration. It highlights the inherent tensions between migration management, development, and integration, noting that the EU's reliance on conditionality and compensation in partnerships with third countries often ignores the domestic interests of those partners and lacks evidence-based effectiveness in addressing the 'root causes' of migration.
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Document type: Report
The German Far Right Online
The report analyzes the online behavior of the German far right, finding that while they utilize 'alt-tech' platforms to evade moderation, they remain heavily reliant on very large online platforms (VLOPs) for reach. It highlights the central role of conspiracy theories, the opportunistic use of crises like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, and the increasing importance of audiovisual content.
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Document type: Report
Transboundary Climate Risks and the National Adaptation Planning Process
A review of 41 multisector NAP documents reveals that transboundary climate risks are sporadically mentioned and lack a systematic approach, with most references limited to shared ecosystems like river basins. The document argues that the dominance of place-based adaptation and state sovereignty norms hinder the integration of cross-border risks, and recommends leveraging intergovernmental organizations and territorial framing to improve regional collaboration.
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Document type: Briefing
Uisce Faoi Thalamh An Investigation Into the Online Mis- and Disinformation Ecosystem in Ireland
The report analyzes 12 social media platforms and various fundraising mechanisms used by actors in the Irish mis- and disinformation ecosystem. It finds that Twitter (X) is the most popular platform for these activities, while Telegram has seen exponential growth as a hub for original content and Russian state-backed media. Mainstream platforms like Facebook and Instagram show a shift in focus from COVID-19 health misinformation toward anti-immigration narratives. Alternative platforms such as Gab, Gettr, BitChute, and Rumble are used to host more explicit hate speech, including Holocaust denial and neo-Nazism, often serving as storage for content that would be banned on mainstream sites. Additionally, the report identifies 41 entities using 27 different donation platforms, including Stripe and PayPal, often in violation of the platforms' terms of service regarding hate speech and disinformation.
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Document type: Report
GREENWASHING ON GOOGLE
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) reports that between September 2020 and August 2022, five major oil companies—BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Aramco, and Chevron—spent $23.7 million on US Google Search ads, with $10.9 million dedicated to greenwashing. The report highlights a discrepancy between these companies' public sustainability claims and their internal documents, while also noting that Google continued to accept $421,000 from the Competitive Enterprise Institute for climate denial ads despite promising to stop doing so.
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Document type: Report
Experts and Climate Change Politicisation: A Case Study of the Environmental Protection Agency 1983-2015
The study analyzes EPA congressional testimonies from 1983 to 2015 to examine the relationship between governmental experts and political pressure. It finds that while the frequency of climate-related advocacy statements increased over time and fluctuated based on the political context, EPA experts consistently maintained the scientific basis of climate change and advocated for action, even under administrations that denied the science.
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Document type: Case study
Planning for Clean Technology Diffusion: Identifying Innovation System Functions in Country Technology Action Plans
The study analyzed Technology Action Plans from twenty-five countries to identify which innovation system functions are prioritized for clean energy technology diffusion. It found that countries primarily focus on resource mobilization and creating legitimacy, while entrepreneurial activity is less prioritized. The authors suggest that these innovation system indicators can help donors design more effective interventions to accelerate the adoption of climate mitigation technologies and support Nationally Determined Contributions.
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Document type: Research paper
Los Eco-Ilógicos
The report identifies a multinational network of right-wing and libertarian actors in Latin America and Spain that amplify climate disinformation. These actors often translate English-language content and employ tactics such as coordinated sharing, recruitment of like-minded influencers, and the use of coded language to evade platform moderation. Key narratives include claims that 'global elites' fabricated climate change to consolidate power, that the UN's Agenda 2030 is a tool for population control, and that extreme weather is caused by geoengineering rather than climate change.
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Document type: Report
Profiting from hate
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) analyzed Redbubble, Etsy, Teespring, Teepublic, and Zazzle, finding that despite existing community guidelines, these platforms continue to host a wide range of extremist and hateful products. The report highlights that while explicit keywords are often blocked, coded language and network-tracing reveal substantial quantities of neo-Nazi, antisemitic, and conspiratorial merchandise. The platforms profit significantly from these sales, often retaining 80% or more of the revenue.
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Document type: Report