Climate Social Science Network
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Climate Social Science Network
@cssn.org
A global network of social scientists focused on political conflicts around climate change, headquartered at Brown University. https://cssn.org/
Climate denial never disappeared — it evolved. The same networks that once denied the science now work to obstruct climate policy and dismantle global climate governance.

See @plehwe.bsky.social, Justin Farrell, et.al's chapter, "https://bit.ly/PlFeCOGA" bit.ly/PlFeCOGA
November 10, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
What would it look like if the world came together to prevent the fossil fuel industry from obstructing science-informed public policy and its implementation? UCS's Kathy Mulvey decided to imagine what a COP free from fossil fuel industry influence would look like. act.ucsusa.org/4hSh9IA
Imagining a COP Free from Fossil Fuel Industry Influence
COP30 will be a pivotal moment in global efforts to limit the worst impacts of climate change and advance a just transition centering workers, communities, and Indigenous Peoples.
act.ucsusa.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
🔴 NEW | U.S. Dairy Industry Push to Water Down Global Emissions Framework

Revelations come as industry expected to gather at this year’s #COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil

📝 Latest from @clarecarlile.bsky.social👇

www.desmog.com/2025/11/10/r...
Revealed: U.S. Dairy Industry Push to Water Down Global Emissions Framework
Trade associations representing some of the largest dairy companies in the world have coordinated efforts to weaken international standards for how corporations measure their carbon emissions.  Expert...
www.desmog.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM
"We need to take down the ‘for sale’ sign on Mother Earth and bar entry to Cop for oil and gas lobbyists," Brenna Yellowthunder of @ienearth.bsky.social says.

See @ninalakhani.bsky.social's piece in @theguardian.com on how oil and gas are #CapturingTheCOP with lobbying access. bit.ly/Guardian117
How thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists got access to UN climate talks – and then kept drilling
Exclusive: Research shows oil, gas and coal firms’ unprecedented access to Cop26-29, blocking urgent climate action
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
COP30 is next week and we can expect to see countries OBSTRUCTING effective policymaking!

I’m excited to share this NEW policy brief on Obstruction in the UNFCCC from our @cssn.org working group

Download here: cssn.org/cssn-primer-...

@cop30brazil.bsky.social
CSSN Primer: Climate Obstruction in the UNFCCC
Obstruction has become a defining feature of the UNFCCC process, shaping both the pace and substance of global climate agreements. It is often subtle and context-specific, making it difficult for […]
cssn.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:40 PM
A lack of media prevalence has led the public to think that they are in the minority for wanting climate action. The reality is that most ("roughly 80 to 89%") want their governments to do more. See @amywestervelt.bsky.social's piece in @thenation.com. www.thenation.com/article/envi...
The Media Is Complicit in the Climate Confusion
The vast majority of people want their governments to take climate action—but most wrongly think they’re in the minority. The media is partly to blame.
www.thenation.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:31 PM
This research provides a critical step in understanding the Atlas Network, and an important example of the scale and influence of disinformation campaigns.
November 4, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Big Meat is following Big Oil’s playbook—funding science, shaping narratives, and deflecting blame.

Chapter 4 of “Climate Obstruction” reveals how PR + media framing obscure corporate responsibility for emissions.

Read: cssn.org/news-researc...
Global Assessment - Brown Climate Social Science Network
Climate advocacy has not failed, climate policy has been sabotaged, explains a new open access book, Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment.
cssn.org
November 4, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
There is a case US leadership of Obstruction.
The new CSSN volume reviews the evidence
bsky.app/profile/cssn...
It's finally here! 100+ scholars, global scope, practical insights. “Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment” shows how organized interests stall policy—and how governance can respond.

Open access available now! Or order for paperback and hardcover. cssn.org/wp-content/u...
November 2, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Coal, utilities, and transport firms use PR cover + front groups to block policy while appearing “part of the solution.”

Chapter 3 of “Climate Obstruction” exposes how this network shapes rules, silences protest, and spreads false “energy poverty” narratives.

Read: cssn.org/news-researc...
November 3, 2025 at 12:51 PM
"Mitigating climate change requires ending the burning of fossil fuels. Offsets distract from this crucial task." See Andrew MacIntosh, CSSN Scholar Gregory Trencher et. al.'s recent commentary in Nature: www.nature.com/articles/d41....
Carbon credits are failing to help with climate change — here’s why
The idea that emissions can be offset through projects that claim to avoid releases or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is fatally flawed.
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:07 PM
The fossil fuel industry’s playbook: Deny. Delay. Dilute.

Chapter 2 of “Climate Obstruction” shows how Big Oil reinvented obstruction for the net-zero era.

Read: cssn.org/news-researc...
October 28, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
This was an interview based on our chapter on agriculture in the book "Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment". The ebook is open access and you can find it here, and @drilledmedia.bsky.social is doing a whole series of podcasts on the book, check it out!

CC: @cssn.org
October 26, 2025 at 12:07 AM
The Climate Obstruction in the IPCC and UNFCCC working group has published a briefing which can be found on our website here: cssn.org/cssn-primer-.... The brief introduces a typology of 14 obstruction tactics which we will watch for as the negotiations proceed through COP30.
CSSN Primer: Climate Obstruction in the UNFCCC
Obstruction has become a defining feature of the UNFCCC process, shaping both the pace and substance of global climate agreements. It is often subtle and context-specific, making it difficult for […]
cssn.org
October 27, 2025 at 5:00 PM
See @skepticalscience.bsky.social's shout out on our book, Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment - skepticalscience.com/new-book-cli...

The book is out now open access on our website here:
cssn.org/news-researc...
New Book - Climate Obstruction: A global Assessment
Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment is a new book from Brown University’s global Climate Social Science Network, for which a team of more than 100 scholars explored who’s blocking action on clima...
skepticalscience.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:17 PM
What exactly is climate obstruction—and how does it differ from denial?

Chapter 1 of “Climate Obstruction” explains in short: the science is clear—but powerful actors are slowing action.

Read and download our book here: cssn.org/news-researc...
October 21, 2025 at 3:49 PM
A story of Scotland's past fossil fuel capitalism, de-industrialization, and clean transitions. CSSN scholar @dominicmhinde.bsky.social brings us on a journey through the Highlands to uncover what a sustainable future can look like. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/events/domin...
Dominic Hinde, Drifting North: Finding the Future in Scotland's Past - Manchester University Press
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
October 20, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
BIG launch this week--the book is available, free, online at our @cssn.org website:

cssn.org/news-researc...
October 16, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Listen to @drilledmedia.bsky.social's newest podcast on how the coal, utilities and transportation obstruct climate policies - featuring experts Jen Schneider and Gregory Trencher. This episode is a companion to chapter 3 of our brand new book, available on our website. drilled.media/podcasts/dri...
S14, Ep6 | How the Coal, Transportation, and Utilities Industries Obstruct Climate Policy
Investigating the obstacles to action on climate change.
drilled.media
October 15, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Are fossil fuel companies really "part of the solution to the climate crisis" or "essential allies in the energy transition"? CSSN scholars Marcel Llavero-Pasquina and Antonio Bontempi investigate companies' stake in the transition in their new paper below. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Oil and gas industry’s marginal share of global renewable energy
Nature Sustainability - The decarbonization of oil and gas companies may not be as speedy or robust as advertised. This analysis finds that renewable energies make up just a minor fraction of the...
www.nature.com
October 15, 2025 at 6:48 PM
To order a physical copy and download our book, visit our site here: cssn.org/news-researc...
October 14, 2025 at 5:18 PM
It's finally here! 100+ scholars, global scope, practical insights. “Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment” shows how organized interests stall policy—and how governance can respond.

Open access available now! Or order for paperback and hardcover. cssn.org/wp-content/u...
October 14, 2025 at 3:22 PM
See the latest episode of @drilledmedia.bsky.social where authors of our upcoming book, Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment discuss the rise of rightwing populism and its relationship to climate resistance. The podcast can be found here: drilled.media/podcasts/dri...
S14, Ep2 | Welcome to the Rapture! How Rightwing Populism and Accelerationism Intersect with Climate
Investigating the obstacles to action on climate change.
drilled.media
September 30, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Climate Social Science Network
In which Jesse Bryant explains the connection between accelerationism and climate politics, and why tf Joe Rogan is always talkin about the Kali Yuga

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh9b...
Welcome to the Rapture! How Accelerationism Intersects with Climate
YouTube video by Drilled
www.youtube.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:39 PM