The Government confronts climate misinformation

Until recently, Spain was relatively immune to misinformation about climate science, but recently, far-right politicians, social media, and the shock wave of Trumpism have attempted to sow doubt among citizens. Faced with this situation, the government has decided to undertake various initiatives, including launching a round of citizen consultations and taking an active stance against the potential spread of climate denialism, with the expectation of guiding some strategic lines of action in this field.

In this regard, the meetings that Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen will hold this week with representatives from various institutions and other social sectors are planned so that they can express their views on the phenomenon of climate misinformation. The intention is to extend the round of contacts over the coming days, with the aim of gathering different assessments and evaluating the risk of this misinformation continuing to penetrate and take root in a context of a certain eco-fatigue detected in some surveys.

The first meeting will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, with representatives of journalists' associations involved in environmental reporting: the Spanish Federation of Journalists' Associations (FAPE), the Association of Parliamentary Journalists, the Association of Economic Information Journalists (APIE), and the Association of Environmental Information Journalists (APIA).

But this won't be the first meeting. Other meetings are expected to take place with representatives from the academic world; professionals dedicated to research, especially those related to climate science; and spokespersons from the business world, consumer associations, and anyone else who can contribute in this field. It is unknown whether environmental organizations or activist groups related to climate justice (Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, etc.) will also be present.

Furthermore, this week, Minister Aagesen will meet with two European Commissioners to discuss this issue: Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero Emissions and Clean Growth, on Monday; and Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and the Competitive Circular Economy, on Wednesday. This will not be the sole topic of discussion, but it will play a leading role.

Define the action and response

The intention is that, after the round of contacts, the outcome of the dialogue will be translated into strategic lines of action. The goal is not to limit this to mere conversation and a contrast of opinions; rather, after listening to all the stakeholders involved, the Ministry will have the necessary elements to implement concrete actions. The mission is to obtain the best possible assessment, as a public consultation, before guiding decisions.

The Ministry is convinced that, given the risk of climate denial spreading, and despite the fact that embarking on this path entails entering into a slippery slope (as always happens when information and public administration are mixed), it is not enough to remain a mere spectator analyzing this issue; rather, action must be taken to respond, and therefore it wants to take action on the matter to prevent further spread of disinformation.

The role of network verifiers

Given that the climate misinformation phenomenon thrives on social media, their fact-checkers have also been invited to this round of contacts. This is especially relevant, given that the major social media platforms lack these fact-checkers and have opted to open their doors to hoaxes without any restrictions.

In Spain, there are still people on Facebook who maintain a verification system, but its parent company in the United States has abandoned it.

Vox, the histrionic and most pragmatic denialism

Climate misinformation in Spain largely has its epicenter in the Congress of Deputies, where VOX attempts to discredit scientific knowledge about unequivocal climate change with its usual barrage of insults and derogatory phrases. This knowledge has been based on six climate change reports prepared over the last 35 years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings together various specialists (climatologists, biologists, glaciologists, paleoclimatologists, oceanographers, and geographers).

The most belligerent and histrionic denialism represented by Vox has found a gold mine in Congress to exploit any bill presented to try to introduce its slogans against the "eco-psychopaths." It repeatedly introduces amendments against policies aimed at eliminating unused dams and barriers that block river channels, which the far-right party, without justification, accuses of worsening the drought.

The most exposed

These same sectors have sought to present climate action policies as harmful to the countryside, in order to gain support in rural areas.

But alongside the more "Trumpian" or strident denialism, there are other political sectors that practice a more or less pragmatic, light denialism, evident in their government's inaction or lack of initiatives.

The result is that parliamentary journalists are among the sectors most exposed to the risks of this disinformation and those at risk of becoming the mouthpieces of the "merchants of doubt."

The press, however, did reach an agreement to establish a Decalogue on climate change information, a code of ethics that ensures priority is given to the voice of scientists. However, in reality, there are few journalistic sectors that are free from climate misinformation.

Against the slogan “drill, baby, drill...”

The need to launch this counteroffensive is also preceded by the conviction that this battle will intensify from the opposite side, given that the new Trump administration has placed itself at the center of agitation by circles that want to bury scientific knowledge and advances in clean technology, as evidenced by the slogan "drill, baby drill..." and its belligerent defense of fossil fuels.

In line with the desire to respond to "climate Trumpism," Minister Aagesen attended the presentation of the documentary series "Hope" on climate change last Tuesday, directed and presented by Javier Peña and broadcast by Spanish National Television (TVE). This series avoids the catastrophic image that sometimes cloaks climate information and, with educational intent, shows the numerous examples of action and the possibilities available to reverse the dangers of the climate crisis.

Is climate denial already prevailing in some Spanish autonomous communities?

This government initiative comes in the week that marks six months since the deadly Valencia earthquake, which occurred on October 29. In fact, a form of practical denialism has taken root in the Valencian Community, where no measures have been announced to prevent future climate catastrophes since that event.

In fact, Javier Machí, dean of the College of Road Engineers of the Valencian Community, denounced a few days ago in a statement to this newspaper that "lobbies continue to exert pressure to build in flood zones." Is climate denialism already prevailing in some Spanish autonomous communities?

The so-called greenwashing practiced by some oil companies, as reported by the electricity companies themselves, is a subgenre of climate misinformation.

Read also State of opinion

In Spain, denialism, according to various surveys, has reached 10%. But half of these people are members of a kind of "soft denialism," believing that climate change is due to natural causes. This opens the door to promoting cross-cutting policies to protect the climate, according to a study by the Hexagonal Foundation prepared by the Legados think tank.

"Many people who, in a traditional left-right segmentation, we would consider right-wing and unconcerned about all this, want to change their habits, want to take action, and feel alarmed by climate change," says Tirso Virgós, a sociologist at Legados.

Various surveys have revealed that Spanish citizens do not perceive the government as taking sufficient action to promote the ecological transition. Seventy-two percent believe the government is doing too little to address climate change, and the same proportion believe that companies in Spain "need to significantly improve the way they communicate their commitment to climate and environmental protection."

Read also The irreducible ones

Experts have identified the five groups least concerned about the climate crisis and most reluctant to implement ecological transition policies. These are: - Traditionalists , who are not very keen on taking action on climate change. - Adaptive Navigators , who are open to progress but are notoriously reluctant to address environmental and climate issues. - Sensation-Oriented , who believe that others should take the first step first, that technology will fix everything, and that environmental protection is detrimental to the economy. - Conventional Mainstreamers , who are reluctant to change their way of life to protect the environment and very reactive to being told "how to live." - And Materialist Consumers , who are most fearful that climate protection will harm employment.