Following natural disasters, such as the one that occurred last year in Valencia (Spain), or simply with everyday environmental policies, many countries are witnessing rumours, misinformation and politically charged conspiracy theories that cast doubt on climate change and the green transition. This climate of misinformation hinders progress in the transition to renewable and climate-neutral energies, breaking the social consensus around the need for a sustainable world.
At the same time, global climate action is advancing through complex processes: technical negotiations, legal frameworks and political decisions that are often inaccessible to the majority of the population. Faced with the simplicity of denialist narratives, climate action does not always find understandable and powerful narratives that allow it to become common sense.
At this event, we want to focus on a key challenge: reducing the spread of misinformation and making climate information understandable, inclusive and useful for civil society. We will address three fundamental dimensions:
- What can be done to stop the spread of misinformation in the wake of catastrophic weather events or against the ecological transition?
- What narratives to mobilise: how to transform data and technical decisions into stories that inspire citizen action and social engagement, and reinforce support for the ecological transition.
- Accessibility of information: how to open up knowledge about climate change and international policies to all audiences, without technical or institutional barriers.
The speakers will share their work and experience to understand the climate misinformation. At the same time they will share their knowledge in order to interpret and translate the complexity of climate action and and turn it into open knowledge tools that empower citizens, the media and social organisations. Understanding how climate action work and is for is key to demanding ambition, participating and building solutions from the local to the global level, and build a new narrative that mobilise the public opinion.
Objectives
- Understanding climate misinformation processes.
- Interpret and translate the complexity of climate action in a simple and transparent way.
- Look for new climate narratives that mobilise the public opinion.
Moderator
Philippine Ménager. Project Manager Climate and Market Sustainability / ECODES.
Speakers
- Guadalupe Sánchez Granel. Global Strategic Communications Council.
- Fermín Koop. Earth Journalism Network and Dialogue Earth, Latin American editor.
- Clara Tomé, EU Climate Pact Ambassador and sustainability communicator
- Dr Henning Wuester. Director of the Initiative for Climate Transparency / ICAT.
- Philippine Ménager. Project Manager Climate and Market Sustainability / ECODES.