[Mathilde Jourde, a researcher at French think tank IRIS] … says that much of the disinformation centres on European climate and energy policy, like the European Green Deal, a roadmap launched in late 2019 to make Europe the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050 …
The United States and Russia are both fossil fuel exporters, which means they could benefit from a reduction in the EU’s decarbonisation goals, the IRIS report says. But Jourde says the aims of this kind of disinformation could be much wider: “The disinformation itself might not be the main objective. For Russia, for example, this could serve as a strategic objective amid ongoing tensions in Europe surrounding the war in Ukraine” …
Russian disinformation is certainly spread by state media outlets like Russia Today, which has been banned by the European Union since 2022, but it is often concealed, according to the report. It is often spread by channels aligned with the state such as Portal Kombat, a vast network of disinformation sites discovered in 2024 by Viginum, the French service combating foreign digital interference.
Climate disinformation is also spread by those with links to the government, like conservative think tanks that can coordinate campaigns against environmental policy in Europe. One such body is the [U.S.-based] Heartland Institute, according to the IRIS report. The organisation is openly sceptical of climate change and “receives funding from companies such as ExxonMobil and from Republican donors”. The Heartland Institute opened an office in London in 2024 with the aim of influencing European energy policy …
Other state actors are also spreading climate disinformation, though perhaps less aggressively. China, for one, “won’t deny that climate change is happening, nor its seriousness, but it will promote certain narratives to defend its position”, the researcher said .The country seeks, for example, to highlight its response to climate change and minimise its responsibility, instead insisting on the role of Western nations. The IRIS report notes that “certain points of convergence can be identified” between China and Russia. China also took part in influence operations during the Hawaii wildfires in 2023 and during the floods in Spain in 2024 …
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As a related report:
United States, Russia, China - state actors spreading climate disinformation in Europe