Senate Committee Calls for Action Against Climate Change Disinformation

Australia’s democratic institutions face a growing threat from coordinated disinformation campaigns aimed at preventing climate action and maintaining fossil fuel dependence, according to a landmark Senate report released last week.

The Senate select committee on information integrity on climate change and energy has sounded the alarm about Australia’s deteriorating “digital town square” and the erosion of public trust. The final report, backed by Labor, Liberal, and Greens senators, made 21 recommendations to safeguard Australia’s information ecosystem.

“A robust information ecosystem is critical to the health of Australia’s democracy and to its ability to meet the challenges arising from climate change — including the need to transition to renewable energy sources,” the report stated. It highlighted Australia’s particularly high levels of concern about information integrity compared to other nations.

The committee spent months investigating how climate and energy misinformation is financed, produced, and disseminated, along with connections between Australian organizations and foreign influence networks. Their findings revealed significant concerns about “dark money” fueling climate misinformation campaigns in Australia.

One key issue identified was the lack of transparency surrounding donations to think tanks and third-party organizations. The committee also noted the growing use of “astroturfing” – highly coordinated and well-financed campaigns disguised as grassroots movements, often linked to think tanks, corporate interests, lobby groups, or political parties.

The recommendations focus heavily on improving transparency and accountability. The report suggests the federal government explore ways to enhance transparency around political campaign activities resourced by commercial interests and consider funding models for independent monitoring of hidden digital influence ecosystems.

Other key recommendations include continued funding support for regional and independent media outlets, proper funding for corporate regulators to combat “greenwashing,” and increased emphasis on media, digital, and science literacy education. The committee also recommended Australia officially endorse the Declaration on Information Integrity in Climate Change launched at COP30 and adopt the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity.

Committee chair, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, described the inquiry as the first of its kind in Australia, designed to raise awareness and start a national conversation about transparency and accountability around false information undermining climate action.

“Evidence was provided that a ‘denial machine’ has deliberately obstructed climate and energy policy for decades in Australia,” Whish-Wilson said. “This ‘denial machine’ has included conservative think tanks, law firms, PR firms, consultancies, third-party campaign groups and some conservative media outlets.”

Despite broad cross-party agreement, Nationals leader Matt Canavan issued a dissenting report, claiming the inquiry sought to “suppress, ridicule and silence anyone who expresses different views from the current scientific consensus.”

Former defense leaders have gone even further in their warnings about disinformation. Retired Admiral Chris Barrie, former chief of the Australian Defence Force and a member of the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group (ASLCG), described the situation as a “disinformation war” that threatens national security, sovereignty, economic resilience, and institutional trust.

“We are facing an unprecedented energy crisis [made] worse by the world’s failure to face its fossil fuel addiction,” Admiral Barrie warned. “Layered on top is a climate disinformation war globally and in Australia that is actively undermining the capacity to build a renewable, clean energy future and curb coal and gas exports.”

The ASLCG’s separate report highlighted additional concerns, including the Trump administration’s destruction of climate and clean-tech data and research in the United States. Recent controversies include plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, budget cuts at NASA, and job cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The ASLCG has called for Australia to strengthen its climate science capabilities and potentially fill the global leadership vacuum by establishing an Australian Institute for Earth System Science.

As the battle against climate disinformation continues, it’s clear that these recommendations represent just the beginning of efforts to restore integrity to Australia’s information ecosystem and enable meaningful climate action.