Message From the Editor

Climate crisis deniers have long been framing climate scientists and activists as so-called “alarmists” or “extremists.” In reality, they have been the ones on the fringe of society, grasping for faulty logic to back up their false position that global warming isn’t happening, or caused primarily by burning gas, oil, and coal, and sticking their heads in the sand that we have the tools to build a more just society built on renewable solutions. Meanwhile, massive, back-to-back storms like Helene and Milton are taking lives and devastating communities.

Yet deniers are trying, once again, to make disturbing and outlandish claims about the climate movement. “The killers who committed horrific mass shootings in Norway, New Zealand and Texas are examples of ‘extreme environmentalists’ who want to reduce the Earth’s population to conserve resources, according to a class taught at Peterson Academy, the new online school from conservative influencer Jordan Peterson,” writes Geoff Dembicki.

This lecture taught by (the Koch-founded) Cato Institute fellow Marian Tupy tries to claim that limiting the planet’s population is a core tenant of the mainstream environmental movement. Tupy goes on to say there’s a “rising strand of anti-humanism in the environmentalist movement, that in its mildest form advocates in favor of anti-natalism, meaning having fewer children, and in its most destructive form, flirts with genocide.”

His examples, including of Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber who killed three Americans, drip of eco-facism. While groups like Greenpeace have strongly rejected eco-fascism, Tupy categorizes these mass shooters as eco-fascists and doesn’t make a clear distinction between them and mainstream environmentalists. Read more.

The host of this online class, Peterson Academy, is an unaccredited online platform that dresses itself up with the language and appearance of higher education while marketing anti-progressive ideas, a trend in right-wing circles.

You know what else dresses itself up as progressive but has a questionable foundation? Blue hydrogen.

In a sweeping analysis published in partnership with French news outlet Le Monde, DeSmog dug into Europe’s plans for blue hydrogen, which is made from natural gas and then has its large carbon dioxide emissions from production buried underground through carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology (at least, in theory).

The fossil fuel industry loves to talk up blue hydrogen as a climate solution. But according to our analysis, the dozens of projects proposed across Europe risk creating the emissions equivalent of the country of Denmark. That finding comes as European officials ponder whether to grant the technology status as “low-carbon,” giving it access to billions in euros in subsidies. Read the full story and dig into our methodology.

“We should be very cautious with blue hydrogen. We should not buy into a false sense of complacency that it is a low-carbon fuel,” said Lorenzo Sani, power analyst at financial think tank Carbon Tracker, who reviewed DeSmog’s methodology and findings. 

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Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

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Image credit: Gage Skidmore and Elekes Andor / Wikimedia Commons

Europe’s Blue Hydrogen Plans Risk Generating Annual Emissions on par With Denmark

— By Aline Nippert (16 min. read) —

DeSmog estimates raise questions over climate benefits as EU officials consider whether the technology should qualify for billions of euros in subsidies.

Jordan Peterson’s Online Class Compares Climate Activists to Mass Shooters

— By Geoff Dembicki (4 min. read) —

A Peterson Academy lecture by Marian Tupy frames notorious killers as ‘extreme environmentalists’ who want to reduce Earth’s population.

Oil Companies Insist Carbon Capture Is Safe – So Why Are Albertans Saddled with the Risks?

— By Mitch Anderson (4 min. read) —

Proposed new rules for CCS projects transfer long-term liabilities to the province.

Trump and Orbán Allies Gather at Anti-Green Event Hosted by Project 2025 Group

— By Sam Bright (10 min) —

A Conservative peer and former UK trade advisor were among those who spoke at the summit.

Toronto and Montreal Move Ahead with Fossil Fuel Ad Restrictions on Transit

— By Taylor Noakes (4 min. read) —

The motions are backed by federal anti-greenwashing laws aiming to stem the tide of misinformation produced by Canada’s oil and gas industry.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: The Heartland Institute

The Heartland Institute is a Chicago-based free market think tank and 501(c)(3) charity that has been at the forefront of denying the scientific evidence for man-made climate change. The Heartland Institute has received at least $676,500 from ExxonMobil since 1998 but no longer discloses its funding sources. According to ExxonMobil’s worldwide giving reports, it appears to have stopped funding Heartland among other climate change denial groups around 2007.  The Union of Concerned Scientists found that “Nearly 40% of the total funds that the Heartland Institute has received from ExxonMobil since 1998 were specifically designated for climate change projects.”

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.