How COVID-19 denialism morphed into climate delayism and more

ISD’s Head of Climate Research and Policy, Jennie King, features in Spanish newspaper El Mundo commenting on the build out of COVID-19 conspiracists into the world of climate conspiracy and misinformation.

“We have seen the convergence of [climate] denialism and COVID conspiracy theories, which have made climate an easy target,” she said. “All of these campaigns tend to have their origins in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, but end up being replicated in many countries such as Spain. […] For decades, the strategy was to deny climate change, following the playbook of the tobacco industry. In recent years, the focus has shifted to the call for political action, delaying it, sabotaging it or turning it into a culture war weapon.”

Jennie added: “The theories of an authoritarian plot have been recycled across the Atlantic for decades. […] The bad thing is that the message is catching on in Europe, and any government intervention starts to look like interference in freedom… Although much of what is happening is due to the lack of action by social media companies, who allow these falsehoods about the climate to contaminate the public space and make us fall into absurd debates about an alleged council to impose a green tyranny.”