A critical emerging area of accountability work concerns the rise of misinformation (false or inaccurate information that is shared without the intent to deceive) and disinformation (false information created or shared to mislead, deceive, or manipulate).
The production and dissemination of false or misleading information about climate change and the impacts of fossil fuels undermine public trust in climate science, delay policy responses and polarise public discourse.
However, as demonstrated by a new lawsuit commenced in the United States District Court [1], mis/disinformation is not only a contemporary concern. It has long been used to shape narratives in ways that delayed climate action.
The World Economic Forum’s 2024 and 2025 Global Risk Reports identified mis/disinformation across all subject areas as the biggest risk facing the world over the next two years. [2] Extreme weather events ranked second.
In the long-term rankings, matters relevant to climate change—extreme weather events, critical change to Earth systems, biodiversity loss and natural resource shortages—ranked as the top four risks in both reports.
In June 2025, the International Panel on the Information Environment released a report that found “powerful actors—including corporations, governments, and political parties—intentionally spread inaccurate or misleading narratives about anthropogenic climate change” and the “result is a decline in public trust, diminished policy coordination, and a feedback loop between scientific denialism and political inaction”. [3]
EDO’s role in combatting mis/disinformation
The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) specialises in high-impact, innovative legal interventions that drive long-term systemic and structural changes for nature.
EDO’s Corporate and Commercial team is a leader in helping the public hold governments and corporations to account for climate-related harms.
The Report of the Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy
On 24 March 2026, following various submissions and public hearings, including submissions made by EDO, Climate Integrity and Comms Declare [4], the Select Committee on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Energy delivered its final report on the scale, sources and impacts of mis/disinformation relating to climate change and energy. [5]
The report brings together a substantial body of submissions alleging that misleading and deceptive narratives about climate change and energy are not isolated or accidental.
Submissions allege they are often coordinated, well-resourced and, in some cases, aligned with commercial interests that will benefit from a delay in the clean energy transition.
For example, the report states “some submitters alleged that Coal Australia had provided direct financial support to third-party groups that presented as grassroots organisations to build support for fossil fuel projects and opposed clean energy”. (Para. 3.47)
For organisations working at the intersection of law and climate accountability, including the EDO, the findings are not surprising.
They reflect patterns we are already seeing in our work on corporate greenwashing, fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship, and climate-related legal risk.
The report makes 21 recommendations, many of which fall squarely within the EDO’s remit and reflect recommendations EDO made in its submission to the committee.
For example, the report recommends that the Australian Government adequately resource the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to combat and expose corporate greenwashing (Rec. 3).
As a national community legal centre specialising in public interest environmental law, EDO examines greenwashing and related conduct, writes directly to the government about these issues, and refers concerning conduct directly to ASIC or the ACCC.
What happens next?
The EDO welcomes the committee’s recommendations, which reflect the growing consensus that mis/disinformation is no longer just a communications issue, it is a regulatory and legal problem that needs close examination.
EDO urges the Federal Government to implement the committee’s recommendations as a matter of urgency.
While implementation of the report’s recommendations is critical, that is not sufficient to protect citizens from the pernicious effects of mis/disinformation.
For example, for the reasons set out in EDO’s submissions, the Commonwealth Government should enact national fossil fuel advertising bans to reduce the spread of misinformation that is often a feature of that type of marketing.
It must also reform and harmonise regulatory frameworks that are fragmented and ill-equipped to deal with the scale and complexity of climate misinformation that is now prevalent.
This gap is particularly evident in the enforcement of existing laws.
The Australian Consumer Law already prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct, and regulators, including ASIC and the ACCC, have begun to take a more active interest in the use of false environmental claims by corporations. However, enforcement is limited and often reactive.
EDO is continuing to analyse the report and its recommendations closely.
To learn more about corporate greenwashing, including some of the work of EDO’s Corporate and Commercial team, go here.
References
[1] America’s auto state is suing Big Oil – by Emily Sanders
[2] Global Risks Report 2024 | World Economic Forum | World Economic Forum; Global Risks Report 2025 | World Economic Forum
[3] Information Integrity about Climate Science: A Systematic Review
