"Climate activists battle decades of coordinated greenwashing by some of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies, efforts that continue to delay and undermine meaningful progress at this critical moment." READ & WATCH The Listening Post transcript follows[Al Jazeera]
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Post COP 1 of 2: w/1600 lobbyists, fossil fuel not mentioned in outcome statement, Thursday fire was a metaphor- Democracy Now 21 Nov report w transcript, Heating Planet blog- Vanuatu: We had over 80 states. The presidency basically said we will not mention fossil fuels https://cityofangels25.blogspot.com/2025/11/post-cop-w1600-lobbyists-fossil-fuel.html
Often they say that when you learn that you've been lied to, your understanding of the world changes. And this is really the point we are at. We are now understanding that we've been lied to time and over again about the main cause of climate change in the context of climate change, women, indigenous peoples. My name is Elisa Morera. I'm the UN special reporter on climate change and human rights. And my role is to clarify state obligations to protect human rights in the context of climate change.
You the parties now stand to promote the effective implementation of the convention. The United States has agreed to reduce the output of so-called greenhouse gases by 7%. There are those who argue this will make US business less competitive. More than 10,000 delegates, including scientists, government officials, and activists are taking part in COP 15. The talks called COP 19 come after last year's round saw little progress on a green climate fund. There are not very many heads of state or government. What does that say about how these talks are seen and how seriously the issues are being treated?
At the COP 30 climate summit officially opened in Brazil last month. It is really significant that after 30 years of cops, we catching up what has been at least 60 years of climate disinformation, there was in fact put in place over time with evolving strategies by the fossil fuel industry. And the realization has been that 60 years of that disinformation has made progress on climate change very very difficult. So in my report this year to the human rights council, I have relied on a large body of independent research that has called out the playbook of climate obstruction by the fossil fuel industry. It is very deeply embedded in PR and advertising. In fact, we don't realize that we are exposed daily, if not more, to advertising either directly or indirectly related to the fossil fuel industry.
**Our premium products, industry-leading technology, and friendly hospitality help you go the extra mile. Shell experts are working on a wind project that could power 6 million homes.** Let's think about like sports sponsorship as well. Most of our major international events have sponsorship from fossil fuel companies. The messaging we're getting is that we can't live without fossil fuels that there is no real alternative. That may be very dangerous that may not allow us to live in a prosperous ways.
The industry already had back then their own scientists telling them that their activities would lead to climate change to a planetary crisis. And they still decided not only to go ahead with their activities to this day. We're expanding fossil fuel extraction everywhere in the world and to keep the public away from this information. And not only that, but actually actively disinforming them.
So it will take them longer and longer and longer to figure out that direct link between fossil fuels and this planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss, toxic pollution and crucially economic inequality.
The fossil fuel industry has also exerted significant influence on academia and research. This is also part of the playbook and a way to disinform and misinform the public. On the one hand, they have attacked and smeared climate scientists, but on the other hand, they have also manufactured science that is not accurate. And this has happened through funding to universities to think tanks with strings attached asking them to produce research for instance on either giving a sense that there are some benefits to certain fossil fuels or that there is a way for the fossil fuel industry still to contribute to what they call transitional fuels which serves to distract from that imperative a scientific imperative and in fact legal imperative of phasing out fossil fuels.
There's been also investigative journalism really tracing down to seven major media companies who were not only supporting fossil fuel advertising but in fact producing themselves in-house content for fossil fuel companies. So clearly these are all like very complimentary and misleading practices. They really keep make even experts struggle to get to the truth. In my report, I mentioned also a few recommendations around criminalizing actions related to disinformation, including potentially for PR firms and media.
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COP30 No agreement likely, oil producers treated same as drowning island nations- Could COP31 be done by email instead? VEJA+ Brazil Nov 21 news report w transcript, Heating Planet blog https://cityofangels25.blogspot.com/2025/11/cop30-no-agreement-likely-oil-interest.html
It is a very bold recommendation and it's really meant to start a debate into understanding how we can create a stronger framework of accountability and the idea is really showing that on the one hand of course we need to protect freedom of expression. Everyone who has their positions or doubts about climate science and about climate action is free to share this. But this point about preventing climate disinformation is about the undue commercial influence in our public debates.
So in my report I used the term defossilized knowledge and information systems and this was really to show that we need to be very proactive in responding to the playbook but also we need governments to create legislation around of course greenwashing but also requiring all private actors to be transparent about any funding they may receive from fossil fuel companies.
We have a human right to information. The information needs to be trustworthy and it needs to allow all of us to understand whether our governments and whether companies are truly considering our human rights. Media, big tech, PR companies who may still be working with fossil fuel companies.
hey should be aware that you are essentially contributing to human rights harm and to the prevention of the protection of everyone's human rights in the context of the climate crisis.
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