Сountries move to curb online climate disinformation as COP30 highlights rising risks
Several countries participating in COP30 in Belém, Brazil, have placed growing online disinformation at the center of their discussions, warning that misleading climate-related content is increasingly affecting public understanding and international cooperation, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the effort to protect reliable information has become as important as reducing emissions, noting that climate debates are now deeply influenced by false claims that spread rapidly across digital platforms.
Twelve countries, including Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and Spain, recently endorsed the first Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change. The document commits signatories to support environmental journalists, scientists and researchers, and to strengthen cooperation against organized attempts to distort climate science. The declaration was issued under the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, created through a partnership between Brazil, the UN Department of Global Communications and UNESCO.
Brazil’s Secretary for Digital Policies, João Brant, described the initiative as an attempt to build what he called “a wave of truth,” supported by research, public communication and coordinated responses to misleading narratives.
COP30’s Special Envoy for Information Integrity, Frederico Assis, told UN News that disinformation can influence multiple parts of the process, from diplomatic exchanges to public engagement. He noted concerns about how algorithms amplify unverified content and said the summit aims to broaden cooperation among governments, civil society and media organizations.
UNESCO representative Guilherme Canela said the initiative seeks to better understand how climate-related falsehoods spread and who finances them. A global fund established under the program has already received hundreds of proposals for investigative journalism and research, with nearly two-thirds submitted from developing countries. Brazil has contributed an initial one million dollars to support selected projects.
Maria Clara Moraes, a UN Verified Champion and co-founder of the Marias Verdes platform, said climate disinformation shifts tactics over time, often aiming to convince audiences that international cooperation is ineffective. She added that interest among younger users in science-based content continues to grow and that individual choices can reinforce broader efforts to support accurate information.
Earlier it was reported that the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) shows that countries with the highest current levels of multidimensional poverty are expected to face the greatest temperature increases by the end of the century. The report calls for aligning poverty reduction, climate mitigation and adaptation, and ecosystem restoration to benefit both people and the planet.
