Syngenta and other pesticide companies used the COP30 climate conference in Brazil to promote programmes to recover damaged pastureland that campaigners fear will drive increased use of toxic chemicals. Trade groups hosted multiple events to promote a technique known as ‘degraded pasture recovery’, in which land that has been damaged by overgrazing or other forms of poor management is converted to grow soy, sugarcane, corn, or […] The post Pesticide Industry ‘Hijacked’ Climate Stage at COP30, Campaigners Say appeared first on DeSmog.

This story was co-published with Intercept Brasil. Public relations giant Edelman lobbied the Brazilian hosts of the COP30 climate summit to choose one of its oil and gas clients to help power the conference, even as it was gearing up to serve as an adviser at the talks aimed at curbing the use of fossil […] The post Exclusive: COP30 PR Agency Edelman Lobbied Presidency to Favour Fossil Fuel Client appeared first on DeSmog.

With the clock running down at the COP30 climate talks, the Brazilian hosts are working hand-in-hand with industry groups to secure backing for biofuels in the final text – despite fears that scaling production will drive deforestation and violate Indigenous rights. National delegations are at loggerheads over a proposal to include language backing the use […] The post Backed by Industry, Brazilian Hosts Seek COP30’s Blessing for Biofuels appeared first on DeSmog.

Did you know that food companies routinely make bacon look pinker and more wholesome by adding a chemical — nitrates — that increases cancer risk? In a similar way, the global agribusiness industry pays advertising and public relations agencies to mask its role as a major emitter of planet-heating greenhouse gases with a rosy glow. That […] The post Meet 5 PR Agencies Making Big Polluters Look ‘Ag-tastic’ appeared first on DeSmog.

Pathways Alliance, a lobby group most recently known for pro-pipeline billboards, also sponsored what they termed a carbon capture summer school in July. Environmental groups have called out the pro-industry event attended by university students and young professionals from 32 countries. “The fossil fuel industry has no place shaping education opportunities in the middle of the climate […] The post Pathways Alliance Sponsored a ‘Summer School’ Program in Saskatchewan appeared first on DeSmog.

Multinational consulting firm KPMG has been accused of using underhand methods to gain access to this year’s COP30 climate summit. Critics allege that the firm has been using seemingly unaffiliated advocacy groups to gain entry to the flagship conference in Belém, Brazil, with senior staff failing to disclose their affiliation to KPMG. KPMG, which has […] The post Corporate Giant KPMG Accused of ‘Sneaking’ into COP30 appeared first on DeSmog.

High-profile Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman was one of the keynote speakers at the annual conference of the Together Declaration, a conspiracy theory group with ties to Reform UK. Together held its fourth anniversary event on 16 November, which featured prominent Reform councillor Laila Cunningham, and former Brexit Party politician Alexandra Phillips. Together, which also […] The post Influential Labour Peer Maurice Glasman Addressed Pro-Reform Conspiracy Group’s Conference appeared first on DeSmog.

Koch Inc., the nation’s number two privately owned firm, imported more than a billion barrels of crude oil into the United States over the past decade, according to DeSmog’s review of company-reported federal energy data. Those lucrative oil imports helped build the Koch empire now fighting before the Supreme Court over President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Over 90 […] The post Battle Over Tariff Power Pits Trump Against Koch Network appeared first on DeSmog.

More than 300 lobbyists for food and farming organisations have participated at this year’s United Nations climate talks, known as COP30, taking place in the Brazilian Amazon, where agribusiness is the leading cause of deforestation, a new investigation has found. The number of lobbyists representing the interests of industrial cattle farming, commodity grains and pesticides […] The post More Than 300 Lobbyists for Industrial Agriculture Attend COP30 appeared first on DeSmog.

This investigative work had been supported by the Centre for Investigative Journalism The European Parliament voted on Thursday (13 November) to significantly dilute key elements of Europe’s climate agenda. Lawmakers took aim at the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires large firms to look beyond financial metrics and disclose their sustainability and human rights […] The post Overhauled EU Climate Law Faces New Threat from Consultancy Giants appeared first on DeSmog.

Agribusiness companies enlisted an army of Brazilian social media influencers ahead of the United Nations climate summit, now underway in the Amazonian city of Belém, where the meat industry’s surging greenhouse gas emissions and role in deforestation are high on the agenda. At least 195 influencers — from models and news anchors to doctors and right-wing activists — posted Instagram content sponsored by […] The post In Brazil, Agribusiness Giants Hire Celebrity Influencers to Win Hearts and Minds appeared first on DeSmog.

Top American oil and gas producers are using trade groups to gain access to this year’s COP30 climate summit in the absence of an official U.S. delegation, DeSmog can report. ExxonMobil and Chevron — which are among the fossil fuel industry’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters — have sent a combined total of 13 executives to the talks, while both companies have either sponsored events or […] The post US Oil Executives Flock to COP30 appeared first on DeSmog.

Lobbyists and representatives of Canada’s oil and gas industry are part of Canada’s official delegation to this year’s U.N. climate talks in Brazil, in keeping with the high number of fossil fuel representatives in attendance at the summit. About a dozen individuals representing fossil fuel interests were part of the 240-person Canadian delegation, according to […] The post ‘Inviting the Fox Into the Henhouse’: Canada Delegation to COP30 Loaded with Fossil Fuel Representatives appeared first on DeSmog.

The UK government is running its events at the flagship COP30 climate summit in partnership with a major supplier to the fossil fuel industry, DeSmog can reveal. For the second year running, the UK pavilion is being sponsored by AVEVA, an industrial software firm with hundreds of oil and gas clients – including some of […] The post UK Partners With Oil Industry Supplier at COP30 appeared first on DeSmog.

In 1944, German war planners apparently dismissed reports about the staggering scale of U.S. wartime production. The newly constructed Willow Run plant operated by the Ford Motor Company in Michigan eventually produced a B-24 bomber every hour, 24 hours a day. This mile-long factory consumed 16 million pounds of aluminum each month and employed 42,000 workers. The four-engine B-24 could carry four […] The post What Wartime Hubris Can Teach Us About the Global Energy Transition appeared first on DeSmog.

Jensen Huang, the CEO of supercomputer chip-maker Nvidia, has for years claimed that his company’s artificial intelligence products, as some of the most advanced scientific tools in history, will help the world solve climate change, warning last year that “climate disasters are now normal.” Yet Huang is now loudly cozying up to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, even […] The post Nvidia CEO Praises Trump Energy Chief — a Climate Denier — and his ‘Passion’ for Science appeared first on DeSmog.

Have you registered for the Climate Consciousness Summit 2025? The Climate Consciousness Summit 2025 is a transformative seven-day online event that brings together leading voices in climate action, trauma-informed care, and regenerative solutions to explore new ways of responding to the climate crisis. Staged by the Pocket Project in partnership with DeSmog, and co-hosted by Matthew Green, […] The post Join DeSmog at the Climate Consciousness Summit 2025 appeared first on DeSmog.

In the city of Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil has kicked off the COP30 climate conference, a summit framed as a pivotal moment to reduce emissions and keep the Paris Agreement alive. More than 50,000 people are expected to attend, from heads of state to civil society groups. But as attention […] The post Mapped: Big Food’s Routes to Influence at COP30 appeared first on DeSmog.

The sponsors of the sustainable agriculture pavilion at this year’s COP30 climate summit in Brazil will include the pesticides and seeds giant Bayer, which South American campaigners allege has promoted an industrial agricultural model that is driving “massive deforestation” on the continent. Bayer will pay at least R$1mn (£142,000) for “diamond” sponsorship of the “Agrizone” […] The post Brazil’s COP30 Agriculture Sponsors Linked to Deforestation and Land Conflict appeared first on DeSmog.

The Telegraph, which has accused the BBC of bias and a lack of editorial rigour, has been forced to amend a swathe of climate inaccuracies. The BBC’s director-general and CEO resigned this weekend after a critical review of the broadcaster’s coverage was leaked to The Telegraph. The Telegraph has used this opportunity to slam the BBC […] The post The Telegraph’s Record of Climate Falsehoods appeared first on DeSmog.

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. Experts say these changes would lead to double-counting of the dairy sector’s emissions cuts, allowing the industry to sell carbon credits to polluting companies for reductions that they are also counting against internal targets. Consultation documents and position papers reviewed by […] The post Revealed: U.S. Dairy Industry Push to Water Down Global Emissions Framework appeared first on DeSmog.

British national newspapers devoted more than triple the space to advertising polluting industries such as oil, airlines, and sports utility vehicles than they did to covering last year’s United Nations climate talks, according to a new study. Total high-carbon advertising — including for fossil fuel companies, cruises, and banks financing oil and gas – amounted to […] The post UK Newspapers Publish More Ads for Polluting Products Than Climate Coverage appeared first on DeSmog.

This story has been published in partnership with Intercept Brasil. Oil giant Shell tapped into Brazil’s love of the soap opera to sell more fossil fuels, hiring famous actors to appear in adverts designed to lure customers to its petrol stations by associating the company with clean energy. The “Caminhos do Amanhã” (“Paths of Tomorrow”) campaign originally featured Sophia Abrahão […] The post Revealed: Soap Opera-inspired Clean Energy Ads Helped Shell Boost Petrol Sales in Brazil appeared first on DeSmog.

Lord David Frost has been announced as the new director-general of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the influential anti-government lobby group. The IEA’s press release hailed the former Brexit negotiator and Conservative minister for his “clarity of thought, strategic leadership, and ability to deliver institutional change”. The statement did not mention Lord Frost’s role as […] The post New IEA Boss Lord Frost’s Record of Climate Science Denial appeared first on DeSmog.

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the anti-state pressure group, must implement reforms to be more transparent and less politically biased, according to the charities regulator. The Charity Commission launched an investigation into the IEA in May, based on “perceptions of potential political bias, perceptions of a potential lack of transparency around funding, and perceptions that […] The post Charity Commission Demands More Transparency and Neutrality from IEA appeared first on DeSmog.