Message From the Editor

Standing before an audience of thousands in London this February, Jordan Peterson suggested the world is “certainly not going to hit our 2030 targets” or “our 2050 targets” for achieving net-zero on climate change. And the crowd applauded. 

To Peterson, a conservative Canadian pundit whose influence is expanding into geopolitics and policy making, the prospect of this failure is cause for celebration. 

During the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference – a right-wing networking event organized, promoted, and moderated by Peterson – journalists from DeSmog and Canada’s National Observer witnessed efforts to spread anti-net zero strategies across a growing conservative network that includes Canada, the US, the UK, Europe, and Australia.

Yet Peterson is in some ways an unlikely figure to lead a global campaign against net zero. DeSmog’s Geoff Dembicki digs into how Jordan Peterson became a global anti-net zero power broker in this special investigation by DeSmog and the National Observer. Read the full story.

According to a leaked attendee list, Peterson’s potential ARC audience ranged from Trump administration officials and allies to fossil fuel executives and climate denial organizations, political leaders from Europe, and right-wing tech billionaires. 

As part of the Trump administration’s own version of an anti-net zero strategy, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Lee Zeldin recently announced that the agency will “reconsider” federal rules that would have required coal plants to start planning to reduce CO2 emissions. That means coal plants could keep running, and polluting, for decades. The EPA’s justification? One of its new pillars: “Make the United States the Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World.” 

But it could prove a costly gamble for electricity customers across the U.S. — in no small part because burning more fossil fuels to power AI would not only accelerate climate change and make it more destructive, but also, new research shows, risk driving up utility bills and adding to inflation. Read more from Sharon Kelly.

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director

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Credit: Marc Fawcett-Atkinson/National Observer

Trump Plan to Use EPA to Promote AI Could Harm the Climate and Drive Up Electric Bills

— By Sharon Kelly (9 min. read) —

Utilities asked EPA chief Lee Zeldin to unleash AI growth by scrapping carbon capture deadlines and other fossil fuel regulations, passing costs onto consumers.

How Jordan Peterson Became a Global Anti-Net Zero Power Broker

— By Geoff Dembicki (9 min. read) —

The Canadian psychologist is leading a Trump administration-linked network opposed to eliminating greenhouse gas pollution by 2050.

An Open Letter from EPA Staff to the American Public

— By Guest (4 min. read) —

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

Q&A: Kritee (Kanko) on Navigating the Emotional Toll of the Assault on Climate Action

— By Matthew Green (8 min. read) —

A Zen Buddhist priest’s guide to supporting yourself and your community in these testing times.

Heritage Foundation and Allies Discuss Dismantling the EU

— By Sam Bright (7 min) —

The group behind the radical Project 2025 agenda is increasingly turning its attention to Europe.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Canada Proud

Canada Proud is part of a network of conservative groups and social media pages initially founded by conservative activist Jeff Ballingall. According to its website, Canada Proud describes itself as “a grassroots group of Canadians working to defeat Justin Trudeau,” the liberal prime minister of Canada from 2015 until January 2025. “Since launching in September 2019, Canada Proud has built a nationwide movement of Canadians committed to defeating the Trudeau Liberals. We are using the power of social media to hold the Trudeau government accountable.” Ballingall is the founder of the Mobilize Media Group, a public relations company that “creates compelling social media content that influences public opinion.” On October 25, 2021, Canada Proud quoted Toronto Sun columnist Lorrie Goldstein in a tweet: “Increasing the cost of living so that we spend less money buying fewer goods and services created by fossil fuel energy is the goal of climate change policies.”

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