Politicians, oil companies and Russia: Who’s fuelling climate disinformation, and why?

Heavy rainfall, droughts, long winters and unusually hot weather – this has been Europe's difficult reality of recent years.

This summer, Greece has experienced extreme heat waves, while Portugal and Spain are struggling with fires.

Scientists agree that human activity has a significant impact on the current climate. However, climate denialism and related disinformation narratives have found an effective and convenient niche in the digital landscape virtually everywhere in the world.

The latest report by the International Panel on Information Environment (IPIE) identifies several key actors in disinformation narratives. Its authors highlight several entities, primarily individuals associated with representatives of the oil industry, politicians and right-wing circles, as well as certain countries, such as Russia.

Climate disinformation is also moving away from so-called "hard climate denialism’", Anna Siewiorek, an expert on climate communication and project management at the Climate&Strategy Foundation, says in an interview with Euronews.

In its place, more subtle but equally effective disinformation strategies are emerging. Szymon Bujalski, a journalist for the websites ‘Ziemia na Rozdrożu’ and ‘Nauka o Klimacie’, claims that disinformation is even being used by government representatives themselves.

Where is climate misinformation coming from?

The report analysed 300 studies on climate disinformation over the last decade. Based on these studies, several key figures responsible for spreading misinformation were identified:

• Corporations and companies associated with fossil fuels or oil.
• Right-wing politicians, including Donald Trump, and in Europe, among others, the AfD party (Germany), Vox (Spain) and the National Rally (France).
• States, services and troll farms - the report cites a study documenting the role of so-called ‘Russian troll farms’ in spreading anti-scientific and pseudo-scientific content on social media site X.
• Think tanks and PR organisations supporting corporate interests - the report mentions, among others, the Heartland Institute and the Cato Institute.
• Media and bots that contribute to the spread of disinformation.

These entities, listed on the basis of the analysed studies, use separate disinformation strategies.

Disinformation strategies in climate narratives

As the report indicates, entities responsible for disinformation use several types of narratives.

For example, it outlines how fossil fuel companies spread "three characteristic narratives to deny or obscure the fact that climate change is a problem: ideological denial of its root causes, greenwashing, and reification of the status quo as a necessity".

Other strategies are used by right-wing politicians, who most often emphasise questioning the effectiveness, costs and fairness of climate solutions.

However, as the authors of the report write, the analysed content shows that parties in different countries talk about climate change in slightly different ways.

The German party AfD would rather "emphasise complete denial of climate change", while in France, NR "sought an opportunistic approach, changing its position in different situations and relying on the terminology of 'sovereignty' to link climate change issues and climate action (or lack thereof) to national culture".

The authors point out, although the discourses on climate change differed in detail, the parties' common rhetoric generally glorified ‘the past of local, rural lifestyles.’

Anna Siewiorek says the same trends can be seen in Poland.

"In Poland, as indicated by the latest report of the International Panel on the Information Environment, we are seeing a clear departure from so-called hard climate denialism, i.e. simply denying the existence of climate change or its anthropogenic nature," she says.

"In its place, more subtle but equally effective disinformation strategies have emerged that undermine the sense, effectiveness and purpose of actions taken in response to the climate crisis."

Siewiorek argues that in the current space, we are seeing climate policy being presented as a threat to economic security and national identity.

"In this view, the European Union is portrayed as an external force imposing unfavourable solutions on Poland, and the energy transition is equated with rising energy prices and system instability."

The report also describes Donald Trump as a separate disinformation actor, who is known for spreading the narrative of climate change as a ‘big hoax’ for political purposes.

According to experts, Poland has been the target of targeted disinformation using climate falsehoods for some time.

"The Polish Disinformation Team, operating under the Ministry of Justice, indicated as early as the beginning of 2025 that the Russian Federation and Belarus were conducting a coordinated disinformation campaign in Poland, referred to as cognitive warfare," Siewiorek explains.

"Its aim is to weaken public support for the energy transition and manipulate the message about EU climate and energy policies."

Mining regions are more likely to accept anti-climate narratives

The report highlights how certain regions, particularly coal-dependent mining communities, are more susceptible to climate denialism.

Its authors point out that a common strategy is to question the credibility of science and institutions, suggesting conspiracies or mistakes by scientists.

Another strategy is the mass dissemination of content that amplifies sceptical sentiments on a large scale, for example, on social media. According to research, around 25 per cent of this type of content is generated by bots.

The report also mentions a strategy called "dual deception" – a combination of denying climate science and greenwashing. In this case, companies that declare their ecological activities are still dependent on fossil fuels.

A 2023 report by the Pole Dialogue Foundation, supported by the European Climate Foundation, found anti-climate narratives prevalent across Poland.

Acceptance of such narratives was particularly strong in coal regions, where residents expressed beliefs like: “Poland can’t afford to abandon coal,” “politicians will never take climate action seriously,” and “the only hope lies in technological progress”.

This approach is influenced, among other things, by the closure of mines in areas where coal extraction has shaped local identity and economy for centuries.

As the research shows, disinformation messages most often appeal to emotions – more emotional messages are the most convincing, whereas the truthfulness of the information is of secondary importance.

‘Climate denialism is effective for two reasons’

Despite the weakening of ‘hard’ climate denialism itself, this disinformation strategy still has its supporters.

"Climate denialism is so effective for two reasons," says journalist Szymon Bujalski.

"Firstly, it no longer consists of questioning the very fact of climate change, but rather the impact of humans, and above all, questioning the proposed solutions.

"Secondly, these slogans are surprisingly effective because, although theoretically they are backed by the appearance of argumentation, in practice they appeal to emotions. In a world focused on ever-increasing emotions and polarisation – from social media, through traditional media, to political discussion – such content has an easier path to going viral."

He claims that in Poland, these narratives are no longer created only by Russia, but also by the Polish political class.

"And since power is the most important thing, defending or gaining it is a priority for politicians," he says.

"That is why disinformation is now used not only by right-wing parties, but also by government representatives themselves."