Global action required to tackle climate misinformation and disinformation

[Chris_K]

 Source: United Nations Twitter account. An interesting tweet thread here showing different futures at different climate events.

Afternoon all,

Last year you may recall that we joined the Conscious Ad Network (CAN) to tackle misinformation around 5G network and their safety. We remain a member of the CAN network and together with many others, we have this week signed an open letter: Global action required now to tackle the threat of climate misinformation and disinformation.

You can read the open letter on the link above, but with everything going on right now in the world, and these new climate discussions taking place at COP26 in Glasgow (woop woop, go Glasgow!), I hoped to start some of our own discussions here on the Community. If you don't want to answer all of these then that's fine - feel free to cherry pick, but I think it's important we keep the conversation going. I've also added in some info and facts you may not have thought about or seen before.

Discussion Points

1. Have you seen climate change dis/mis-information online, and if so where?
2. Have you seen businesses or companies overstate, downplay or sensationalise climate change / global warming?
3. With the world becoming more obsessed than ever with celebrities, influencers, trends and what others are doing, do you feel celebs & influencers have a role to play here and should be using their voice and platform for this kind of issue more? Or not really their place?
4. From the news we've seen so far from COP26, what in your opinion has been the most positive, or the one change/commitment that gives you hope?

Info & Facts (some/all you may be aware of)

• Since the 'baseline', our planet has warmed by 1.1 degrees C. Though this may not seem like much, on a planetary scale that brings big changes and often issues. Remember, the difference between ice (0c) and water (1c) is just 1 degrees so that shows how much of an impact even small climate change can cause on our planet
• 1.5c. That's a number we're hearing a lot lately. 1.5c is the global warming goal for 2100 but even with recent pledges from COP26, we're on track to hit 2c+ by the end of the century. That 0.5c difference may sound inconsequential but the impact to life on earth could be massive, including a complete die-off of coral reefs, the biggest storms we've ever seen, a large increase of extreme heat waves, flooded cities due to melting ice, and more (NPR.org)
• The last decade was the hottest Earth has been in 125,000 years, and we're certain it is us - humans - that have caused it (Earth.org)
• The ocean has absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 100 meters of ocean showing warming of more than 0.33 degrees Celsius since 1969. Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean. (NASA)
• The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year. All that melted ice = rising sea levels. (NASA)
• Global sea level rose about 8 inches (20 centimeters) in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and accelerating slightly every year. (NASA)
• The number of disasters has increased by a factor of five over the 50-year period, driven by climate change, more extreme weather and improved reporting. (WMO)
• Using new data and calculations, if our planet warms by a toasty 3c, areas in the UK will experience more extreme periods of rainfall, leading to flooding and mass disruption (Met Office)

[Silver-Lake]

Hi all.

I have a problem with the title 'Info & Facts (some/all you may be aware of)' - Ironic, given that you suggest we challenge misinformation about climate change, but then post false facts and misleading information, which doesn't have any factual basis. No, the last decade wasn't the hottest Earth has been in 125,000 years, partly because records only began during the little Ice Age. Also, the 1930's were hotter in the UK than they are now, and so was the Medieval Warm Period.

If you're asking for a discussion on so-called 'Climate Change', then please either do some independent research of your own first, or at least allow anyone who joins the topic to disagree with the official government propaganda. I've seen the original scientific data, which proves it's a lie. Also, C02 is one of the smallest gases in our atmosphere, at 0.04%, so how can it be responsible for 'Climate Change', when our Earth's air composition hasn't changed at all in during the last 50 years. Carbon Dioxide isn't a dangerous greenhouse gas, it's essential for our Earth's Ecosystem - All green grass, plants, trees, and other vegetation converts Carbon Dioxide into Oxygen. Having less C02 is dangerous, not more.

[Silver-Lake]

It's irresponsible of anyone here at 02 to just duplicate a load of false facts from official websites, while telling us that 5g is safe, without giving any scientific data. I have evidence that ALL mobile phone technology is unsafe, and has already caused health issues in both Men, Women and children, from the very limited scientific research that's been done in the last 10 years, and most of these 5g-related issues will show health problems in a further 10 years, which won't be attributed to 5g, because the time it takes the human body to develop these issues is so long, that mobile phone technology won't be blamed for it. Unfortunately, due to mobile phones being so ubiquitous, the double-blind studies that need to be done are impossible, due to the control groups not being available to test on. There's a worldwide movement to stamp out independent ideas and research at the moment, if those independent ideas and research differ from the official government narrative. We need to be allowed to think for ourselves, and tell the truth about it all.

[Silver-Lake]

I also intend to report the discussion on this thread to the Advertising Standards Authority, for the misleading advert at the top of this thread, for investigation by them, to determine if it breaches their national guidelines.