Governments across the world are being urged to treat climate disinformation as a public health threat, not merely a communications problem. The call comes from a new report by the WHO Civil Society Working Group on Climate and Health, which argues that false narratives around climate change can directly harm human health by undermining emergency warnings, delaying clean-air policies, and eroding trust in public health guidance.
The report, titled Protecting Health in the Age of Climate Disinformation, is described as the first systematic effort by the health community to map how climate disinformation affects health outcomes. It was released ahead of the WHO's governing assembly, where member states are being asked to integrate information integrity into climate and health policy, preparedness, and response.
The initiative follows a landmark declaration backed by the European Union at the COP30 summit in Belém last year, which committed signatories to counter fake news and conspiracy theories that undermine climate action. The new report builds on that momentum, framing a healthier information environment as a precondition for climate justice and the right to a healthy future.
What counts as climate disinformation?
Climate disinformation is the deliberate spread of false or misleading information about climate change and climate action. It ranges from outright denial of global warming to conspiracy theories about climate policies. It differs from misinformation, which is false or out-of-context information shared without malicious intent, but both can have equally dangerous consequences.
The report highlights case studies where disinformation has intersected with existing inequalities. After the 2023 Maui wildfires, for example, false claims circulated that disaster assistance applicants could lose their property to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fact-checkers debunked the rumour, but it had already risked deterring survivors from seeking housing, financial, and medical support at a critical moment.
In Europe, the debate around London's Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) illustrates how disinformation can turn a public health intervention into a culture-war issue. The scheme, which charges drivers of non-compliant vehicles, has raised legitimate concerns about affordability for low-income households and small businesses. But the report argues these concerns have been amplified and distorted by politicised attacks on air quality evidence, fake social media claims, and even violent backlash against ULEZ infrastructure.
“The backlash against ULEZ shows how disinformation can turn a public health intervention into a culture-war issue,” the report states. “Instead of focusing debate on how to reduce pollution while protecting those least able to bear transition costs, misinformation can shift attention toward fear, mistrust, and false claims.”
This matters because air pollution remains a leading environmental health risk across Europe, affecting lungs, hearts, pregnancies, and children. When public support for low-emission zones erodes, policies that protect the most exposed communities are delayed or diluted.
Power, incentives, and accountability
The report also points to the structural forces that allow disinformation to flourish, including fossil fuel greenwashing and conflicts of interest. Dr Jeni Miller, Executive Director of the Global Climate and Health Alliance and co-chair of the WHO working group, argues that governments must embed mis- and disinformation response into how they prepare for heatwaves, wildfires, floods, storms, droughts, and infectious disease outbreaks.
“Climate disinformation is not only a problem of false rumours and mistruths; it is also a problem of power, incentives and accountability,” Miller said. She called on WHO member states and health institutions to go beyond better messaging and establish robust conflict-of-interest safeguards against fossil fuel greenwashing, which she described as wielding climate disinformation as a “hybrid weapon of war”.
Dr Laura Jung, Chair of the Working Group on Environment at the World Medical Association, emphasised that the health impacts can be immediate. “Misleading information can for example discourage people from evacuating during wildfires or floods, undermine confidence in heat and air-pollution warnings, interfere with access to disaster assistance, and create confusion about health risks during emergencies,” she explained.
The report's release coincides with the European Commission's #ClimateFactsMatter campaign, which aims to help citizens recognise common disinformation techniques. The campaign is part of a broader EU push to strengthen democratic resilience against foreign interference and domestic manipulation.
For European policymakers, the message is clear: climate disinformation is not a niche concern but a cross-cutting threat to public health and democratic governance. As the continent faces more frequent extreme weather events, the ability to communicate accurate, timely information could be as vital as physical infrastructure. The report's authors argue that investing in information integrity is not a luxury but a core component of climate adaptation and health equity.
Related coverage: EU climate plans praised for health focus and EIB doubles climate adaptation funding.
