The thin green line — where disinformation meets greenwashing
Illustration by Ata Ojani for Canada's National Observer
By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
In early February, as millions of Canadians were struggling to stay warm and keep their water pipes from bursting amid a brutal polar vortex, Pierre Poilievre's Twitter account was chirping. In a series of tweets that received close to 500,000 views, the Conservative leader laid the blame for higher heating costs on the federal government's fuel charge, or so-called "carbon tax."
That claim isn't true. The federal carbon tax is designed so Canadians are reimbursed hundreds of dollars every few months to offset the additional cost of fuel. People with the lowest incomes will actually receive more than they likely paid for fuel.
Poilievre's tweets add to the vast swath of disinformation, misinformation and greenwashing designed to hinder efforts to tackle climate change. For nearly 50 years, the push to discredit climate science and transform responses to the crisis into a political hot potato has successfully delayed policies to reduce oil and gas production and greenhouse gas emissions.
Even if it is no longer outright denial, climate disinformation remains effective. It tears through social media, slowing or even blocking climate action and fuelling the rise of right-wing politicians like Poilievre, Donald Trump and Danielle Smith.
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