[Commlist] Workshop Climate Disinformation: European and Global Perspectives - Call for Papers

Climate Disinformation: European and Global Perspectives - Call for Papers

The Open Society Hub for the Politics of the Anthropocene (OHPA) at the 
Central European University (CEU) in Vienna (Austria) and the 
Disinformation Research Cluster at the University of Sheffield (UK) 
invite applications for research papers to be presented at a workshop. 
The workshop aims to explore the multifaceted issues surrounding climate 
change disinformation and to develop strategies to counteract it.

Workshop Description:
Politically motivated disinformation aimed at polarising societies and 
undermining trust in democratic institutions is rampant across the 
world. Especially in Europe, political actors often linked to 
anti-establishment agendas have peddled falsehoods around divisive 
topics, including immigration, public health and climate change. The 
increase in the intentional spread of false information around these and 
other topics is well documented around electoral processes, from 
European to national and local elections. While, in most countries, it 
is local elites who are seen as the main sources of disinformation, in 
recent years, several countries have seen the rise of malign influence 
operations by foreign actors, particularly from Russia and China, who 
have used information manipulation techniques, including disinformation, 
to weaken the EU and exacerbate social divisions, as seen during the 
COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Climate-related disinformation, particularly climate change denialism, 
global conspiratorial narratives about the environment, and about 
decarbonisation processes, has been at the centre of many of these 
efforts by both domestic and foreign actors. Multiple studies have shown 
that climate-related disinformation is a significant barrier to 
effective actions to address climate change, as it fosters scepticism, 
denial, and contrarianism. The “Big Lie” around climate change is often 
propagated by a wide range of networks, which include politicians, think 
tanks, politically-motivated organisations, and anonymous agencies, who 
finance, produce, and amplify misleading content. This disinformation 
not only misleads the public but also undermines the scientific 
consensus on climate change, making it harder to achieve widespread 
acceptance and action.

While politicians around the world are increasingly taking 
decarbonisation seriously, climate change denialists continue to 
challenge the promotion of any “green agenda” in Europe. Climate 
denialism has become a tool for increasing electoral support and 
lobbying for reactionary environmental legislation. Various private 
companies often accept or encourage these policies. Some others engage 
in greenwashing, i.e., a deceptive practice where unscrupulous companies 
falsely portray themselves as environmentally friendly or sustainable, 
while their actions or products do not genuinely reflect these claims. 
Greenwashing creates scepticism among consumers regarding all “green 
agendas”, which can make it harder for genuinely green businesses and 
initiatives to gain support, as people become unsure of which claims are 
legitimate.

Major international organisations, such as UNESCO and the United 
Nations, emphasise the importance of official actions against climate 
change denialists. However, a deeper understanding is needed of how 
climate change disinformation spreads and how it can be tackled 
effectively. Particularly, more research is needed into assessing the 
effectiveness of commonly used strategies to combat this issue such as 
providing clear information about climate change (sometimes in the forms 
of fact-checks or corrections), highlighting scientific consensus, using 
culturally aligned messages and messengers, or employing pre-emptive 
measures such as inoculation.

Topics of interest: We invite papers that focus on, but are not limited 
to, the following issues:

Climate change disinformation: mapping the stakeholders contesting 
public perceptions of climate change and decarbonisation
Influence of political ideologies on climate change beliefs
Impact of Big Tech companies: investigating how technology and social 
media algorithms contribute to the spread of climate change denialism
Geopolitics, political warfare and climate change disinformation
Climate change scepticism in the “Global South”: exploring the dynamics 
of climate change scepticism in developing regions
Challenges of greenwashing: eroding public trust and slowing down 
systemic change
Strategies for countering climate change disinformation

Workshop date and location: 7 March 2025 (preliminary date, tbc) at the 
Central European University, Vienna, Austria.

Eligibility: We welcome submissions from researchers, academics, and 
practitioners from various disciplines, including but not limited to 
Environmental Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Media Studies, and 
Science and Technology Studies. The organisers have a limited number of 
bursaries to support travel and accommodation costs for participants.

Submission guidelines: Authors are invited to submit an abstract of 500 
words outlining their proposed paper’s key arguments, methodology, and 
relevance to the workshop themes.

Deadline for abstract submission: 30 November 2024. Authors of 
shortlisted abstracts will be notified by the end of 2024 and invited to 
present their full papers at the workshop, where they will receive 
feedback from experts in academia and beyond.

Funding and support: Central European University is pleased to offer 
funding for successful applicants. This funding will cover accommodation 
in Vienna and travel expenses within Europe.

Publication opportunities: Selected papers from the workshop may be 
considered for publication in an edited volume and a special journal issue.

Contact for abstract submissions, questions, or more information: 
(KocsanyA /at/ ceu.edu) <mailto:(KocsanyA /at/ ceu.edu)>.

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