Climate Social Science Network

The facts behind the Digger story are very nicely presented in this recent report on the fossil fuel industry propaganda campaign to spread doubt about human-caused #globalwarming. Both watching the movie and looking at this report are highly recommended. climateintegrity.org/projects/cli...

Grateful to @cssn.org at the Institute @brown.edu for Environment & Society for generously supporting my new project: Post-Command Governance in the Age of Corporate #ClimateObstruction: The End of Rules and the Rise of Regulatory #Shaming? (2026–2028) #climatepolicy #regulation #law #climatechange

Happening today!

Needless to say, the link between fossil fuels and Reform’s cash is not subtle (thank you @desmog.com) www.desmog.com/2026/10/12/w...

In building the story of climate and food messaging, researchers J. Jacquet and @loredanaloy.bsky.social document archival communication strategies from the beef industry: - Questioning dietary change impact - Minimizing carbon outputs - Hiring internal experts news.miami.edu/rosenstiel/s...

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s arguments today in Suncor v. Boulder, CCI’s Corey Riday-White released the following statement: “Justices across the ideological spectrum asked good, skeptical questions that poked holes in Big Oil’s attempt to stop Boulder’s case before it can go to trial."

Climate Superfund legislation is a hot topic in the US, and every state who has proposed it has a different story. See the @motherjones.com article which covers our recent CDL report on state superfund lobbying. www.motherjones.com/environment/...

New publication from Yitayal Addis Alemayehu, G. T. Mersha & A. S. Ali. Authors observed the "economic interests, political decision-making, bureaucratic practices, and social or ideological narratives" which fuel climate obstruction in the East African region. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

It’s simple: You shall not knowingly pollute your neighbors’ land, water, or air—nor shall you lie & deceive about doing so—but if you do, you must pay for the damages you have caused. @coveringclimatenow.org @thehill.com @mason4c.bsky.social @billmckibben.bsky.social

US Senate Democrats publish report on Trump’s deals with fossil fuel billionaires: “appointed positions, deregulation, and favorable policies in exchange for campaign cash.” See report here: www.epw.senate.gov/public/index...

I just finished @leahstokes.bsky.social's new book, The Carbon Wave. I'd planned to read it slowly over weeks, one short chapter each day as a break from other tasks-- to unwind. Ended up reading the entire thing in 24 hours, simply because I couldn't put it down. (1/2)

Worth another look, and updating please! www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1...

My new open access article with @michelezadra.bsky.social in @poppublicsphere.bsky.social critically reflects on the potential for citizens' climate assemblies to provide an escape route from the apparent “democracy–decarbonization dilemma". doi.org/10.1017/S153...

For Rutgers Climate Week, see @daniellefalzon.bsky.social @kdepryck.bsky.social and other experts speak on "The Science and Politics of the IPCC: Current Challenges in Informing Policy." Event is online and open to the public. Register here: rutgers.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

New book from CSSN scholars "highlight[s] communication governance as a foundational ... dimension of environmental politics, one that strongly influences democratic participation, public engagement, and the prospects for equitable and effective sustainability transitions." #climateobstruction

The finance sector has gotten a free pass on responsibility for climate change. That is ending... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

If environmental groups wield an “outsized influence ... over the federal government, law and natural resources policy," as Chairman Westerman claims, you certainly wouldn't know it by looking at congressional policy outputs ... subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...

Nice toolkit and bill tracker on state-level data center regulation, from Climate XChange: climate-xchange.org/resources-fo...

Wow. "25 of the 38 organizations (66%) supporting Exxon and Suncor have documented financial ties to fossil fuel defendants, the broader fossil fuel industry, or climate denial foundations and dark-money networks" consumerwatchdog.org/energy/new-r...

Our sizzlin' new report (out this morning) covered in here- Supporters of state-level legislation to recover costs for climate disasters from oil companies outnumber opponents 3:1 in public hearings, but behind closed doors, opposition lobbyists ply their wares. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Findings from the @climateintegrity.org show that gas companies have known their impact for decades. Natural gas being touted as the 'climate solution' is a large part of the industry's success. See the full report below. climateintegrity.org/projects/nat...

Sign up to our newsletter below and get the latest digest of climate obstruction related work! If you are interested in mis-/disinformation, greenwashing, corporate capture, litigation and more, then join over 1500 people in receiving our monthly newsletter. cssn.org/about-us/sub...

Important work, and a valuable collaboration with @tcij.org!

When lies are proffered as truth, and the purpose of governing is self-enrichment and aggrandizement of the Dear Leader & Co at the expense of the governed, it makes perfect sense to select a climate denier to lead the government agency responsible for overseeing the National Climate Assessment.

This is a big deal. www.desmog.com/2026/07/20/h...

Land use and agriculture rule much of Brazil's environmental policy. Scholars and CSSN members Daniela Campello et. al. observe how the government operates within Brazil’s Agribusiness Caucus (FPA). They find shocking anti-environment results. See their findings: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

much agreement with this 🧵 but pol science has clearly shown that ideologically opposition to clean energy is a direct function of political efforts in fossil fuels sectors and constituencies to generate such ideology. So no, fossil lobbying for their interests and culture wars are not separate.

See their piece in the @ucs.org blog: blog.ucs.org/delta-merner...

So many important details in here of how SPN think tanks connect and influence policy energyandpolicy.org/man-who-kill...

In case you missed it: Exxon's executive counsel is leaving the company to join the U.S. DOJ's newly renamed Energy & Natural Resources division, which lists blocking climate lawsuits against oil and gas majors as a priority. 🫠🫠

I was presenting work on the greenwashing assessment framework, authored by me and colleagues at the Spinning Climate Change Working Group at @cssn.org

Important work from Delta Merner and Joana Setzer - see some of the key questions facing courts, and where the conversations of corporate climate accountability are going. www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminst...

They (Big Oil) drill (their nefarious messages & view of the world) into our brains in countless ways. That academics & university’s have unintentionally aided & abetted them is not surprising but it is disappointing and it shows who outsmarted whom. @gchalliance.bsky.social

Congratulations to @timmonsroberts.bsky.social and colleagues for this wonderful book and for ensuring everyone can read it for free. Everyone has the right to know how fuel fuel CEOs, lobbyists, and spin doctors have deceived us and gambled with our lives and all life on earth out of sheer greed.