By Anders Lorenzen

The United Nations (UN) has warned that dis- and misinformation campaigns by primarily fossil fuel companies, slowing down the clean energy transition.

Selwin Hart, a special climate advisor to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as well as the Assistant Secretary-General of UN Climate said that with regards to the debate about a ‘backlash’ against climate action, was a narrative created by the fossil fuel industry in a purely delay tactic so that countries delay their emission cutting policies. He does not think it is the case that the general public is rejecting climate policies.

The UN official added: “There is this prevailing narrative – and a lot of it is being pushed by the fossil fuel industry and their enablers – that climate action is too difficult, it’s too expensive. It is absolutely critical that leaders, and all of us, push back and explain to people the value of climate action, but also the consequences of climate inaction.”

More support for climate action than ever before

To contrast the perception of a climate policy backlash, he referred to the findings of the biggest poll ever conducted on climate. The Peoples’ Climate Vote, was carried out by the United Nations Development Programme (UN DP) last month, with the global poll finding that 72% wanted a ‘quick transition’ away from fossil fuels. Additionally, 86% of respondents believed that countries, across the world, despite disagreements in other areas, should work together on climate change. It also found that people are becoming more, and not less, worried, about climate change with 53% saying they were more worried than the previous year, with 31% saying they were equally as worried as the previous year.

The special advisor on climate change added: “This should alert political leaders – those that are ambitious are not only on the right side of history, they’re on the side of their people as well”. He further added “Climate appears to be dropping down the list of priorities of leaders, but we really need leaders now to deliver maximum ambition. And we need maximum cooperation. Unfortunately, we are not seeing that at the moment.”

Hart warned that the consequences of inaction are being felt in rich as well as poor countries. He cited the US as an example saying that many of its citizens are finding it increasingly impossible to insure their homes in the wake of cascading climate impacts from extreme weather. “This is directly due to the climate crisis, and directly due to the use of fossil fuels. Ordinary people are having to pay the price of a climate crisis while the fossil fuel industry continues to reap excess profits and still receives massive government subsidies,” the UN official said.

Hart encouraged action climate, saying that despite the backlash we have never been in a better position to tackle the climate crisis, “Renewables are the cheapest they’ve ever been, the pace of the energy transition is accelerating”, he said.

He urged national governments to ensure that their climate policies are just and do not place unfair burdens on people of low incomes, explaining that poorly designed measures could hurt the poorest in society. “Each country will really need to ensure its transition is well planned to minimise the impact on people and vulnerable populations because a lot of the so-called pushback comes when there’s a perception that the costs on poor and vulnerable persons are being disproportionately felt,” the assistant to Guterres concluded.