Climate Action Propaganda Poses Threat to Australian Democracy, Security Group Warns

Australia’s democracy under threat from climate disinformation campaigns, security experts warn

Australia faces a growing threat to its democratic foundations and national sovereignty from sophisticated disinformation campaigns promoting climate change denial, according to a new report from prominent security experts.

Released Tuesday, the joint report from the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group features contributions from retired ADF admiral Chris Barrie, retired colonel Neil Greet, and intelligence analyst Anastasia Kapetas, who authored the findings.

The report details how technology companies are enabling what it describes as an “information war” on climate change, severely hindering Australia’s capacity to address escalating environmental disruption. This organized spread of misinformation has evolved beyond a simple communication challenge to become a substantial threat to national interests.

“In the digital age, power comes from dominance in the information space, and our world is increasingly shaped by propaganda and disinformation rather than facts,” Kapetas warned. “We are losing this battle and AI will make it much worse.”

The security experts argue that these disinformation campaigns now directly threaten Australia’s “sovereignty, economic resilience, disaster preparedness, institutional trust and strategic autonomy.” Kapetas further noted a concerning “drift toward authoritarian politics” that climate denial campaigns appear to be accelerating.

Admiral Barrie linked the current global energy crisis to what he described as a collective failure to address fossil fuel dependence. “There has been a failure to understand how energy dependence on fossil fuels will cause both economic disruption and more perilous physical conditions for Australians,” he stated.

The collision of energy security issues with climate disinformation creates a particularly dangerous situation, according to Barrie. “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 report emphasizes that countering these organized disinformation campaigns will require significant political courage and decisive policy interventions. Barrie delivered a stark assessment of the stakes involved: “If these threats are not checked, accelerating climate change will crash society as we know it. This is not speculation — it reflects the warnings of the world’s leading climate scientists.”

The security group has called for immediate regulatory action targeting technology platforms that amplify disinformation. Among their recommendations is the introduction of anti-trust architecture similar to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which would impose stricter controls on tech companies that facilitate the spread of misleading information.

The experts also advocate for comprehensive regulations governing social media platforms and digital services, making companies legally responsible for harmful content distributed through their networks. This would represent a significant shift from current models where platforms often avoid accountability for user-generated content.

Perhaps most urgently, the report calls for “enforceable regulation” on generative artificial intelligence technologies. The authors highlight AI’s unprecedented capability to create convincing text and imagery as a particularly dangerous tool for mass-producing sophisticated disinformation at scale.

The report comes amid growing global concern about the intersection of climate policy and information integrity. Australia, with its carbon-intensive economy and vulnerability to climate impacts like bushfires, droughts and flooding, sits at a critical juncture regarding both climate action and information security.

Security experts worldwide have increasingly classified climate change as a “threat multiplier” that exacerbates existing geopolitical tensions and creates new security challenges. This Australian report adds a new dimension by highlighting how deliberate disinformation campaigns can undermine democratic responses to these emerging threats.

The findings suggest that Australia’s capacity to adapt to climate challenges may depend not only on technical solutions and policy frameworks, but also on its ability to maintain information integrity in an increasingly contested digital landscape.