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Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast

Mistakes, Mistruths and Misinformation: Climate's biggest myths debunked

Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast

Persephonica

News, Planet, Business, Society & Culture, Current Affairs, Green, Policy, Finance, Society, Environment, Science, Energy, Climate

4.71.1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Isn’t climate change just part of a natural cycle? Weren’t CO2 levels much higher in the past? And, even if we should be worried, can one person really make a difference?


Lies travel faster than facts. We’ve all been confronted by someone who doesn’t ‘believe the science’ and asks questions like these - but how do we change their minds?


A powerful report from the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) warns how coordinated misinformation campaigns are eroding public understanding and slowing climate progress around the world. And as anyone working in or advocating for climate action knows, persistent myths and misunderstandings continue to thrive - even as the science gets clearer, the stakes get higher, and the crisis becomes more urgent. What’s clear is that disinformation is a weapon, and it’s being targeted at climate action. 


So this week, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson tackle some of the most common (and frustrating) climate myths - where do they come from, why are they misleading, and how can we win the battle against them? 


Learn more 


⏳ Listen back to our episodes Momentum vs Perfection, where we explore different theories of change within the climate movement and the tension between urgency, impact, and doing things the ‘right’ way.


🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe



Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos:


Instagram @outrageoptimism

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism


Or get in touch with us via this form


Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning Editor: Sarah Thomas 


This is a Persephonica production for Global Optimism and is part of the Acast Creator Network.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello and welcome to outrage and optimism.

0:04.7

I'm Paul Dickinson.

0:06.0

I'm Christiana Figueres.

0:07.7

And we're not with Tom today, which is a pity but because there's a little more time to spend together, Christiana.

0:16.8

So, Paul, I have a question for you.

0:18.4

Anything.

0:19.2

What's the IPCC?

0:20.3

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.. Anything. What's the IPCC? The intergovernmental panel on climate change.

0:22.6

Good job.

0:23.4

What's the IPIE?

0:25.8

Well, of course, I know.

0:27.3

But I'm not sure do you know, Kristiana.

0:28.8

If I put the question back to you, what is the IPC?

0:31.7

Well, I have just learned that it is the international panel, just like the IPBCC, but on the information environment.

0:39.6

So this is a research body that I had not been aware of, but that does an absolutely

0:48.4

critical job, which is to assess the integrity of the information that is being put out there for

0:56.4

public consumption about climate change and climate science. I think that is a brilliant and

1:03.3

very, very important job that they are doing because the fact is, Paul, we know that there is so much misinformation out there,

1:13.5

so much deliberate, deceitful information being put out there, that it's important to have

1:22.4

an independent authority that is actually taking a look to see what are the motives behind information that is out there

1:31.9

and does it actually live up to the reality of science?

1:36.9

Well, you see, I now realize you mean the IPIE.

...

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