Facebook launches climate information page as global warming denial spreads on its platform

The social media giant also said it was acting to reduce emissions in its ‘value chain’ by 2030

(Barefoot Communications)

Facebook has launched a “Climate Science Information Centre”, a webpage for collected information about climate change from scientists and other experts.

The new page is similar to other pages the company has launched, such as the ‘Voter Information Centre’ for election information ahead of the November US presidential race.

It comes at a time when climate denial on Facebook is spreading rapidly and fake news can be some of the highest engaged content on the platform.

The social media giant said the Climate Science Information Centre will host "factual resources from the world's leading climate organisations".

It will feature facts, figures and data from the Met Office as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and others.

Facebook said the new tool would also include actionable steps individuals can take in their everyday lives to help combat climate change.

Social networks have been under pressure to improve their handling of misinformation, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic when a number of false claims relating to the virus were able to spread online.

"One of the biggest lessons we have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is how powerful Facebook can be for connecting people to accurate, expert advice and information during a global crisis," Facebook said.

"Now, we are taking a similar approach to the climate crisis by launching a new Climate Science Information Centre on Facebook to connect people to factual and up-to-date climate information.

"We have modelled the centre and the information within it on our Covid-19 Information Centre that has, so far, directed more than two billion people to information from health authorities, with more than 600 million people clicking through to learn more."

The social media platform also announced that its global operations will reach net-zero carbon emissions this year, supported by 100 per cent renewable energy.

The company said it was also setting the target of reaching net-zero emissions for its "value chain", which includes emissions from suppliers and other factors such as employee commuting and business travel, by 2030.

Additional reporting by agencies