UCS Climate & Accountability Campaigns

Kyoto and the Stories We Still Need to Tell About Fossil Fuel Obstruction This past weekend, I walked into Kyoto, the Royal Shakespeare Company production at the Lincoln Center in New York, curious to see how they would turn the long, tedious Intergovernmental Panel on Clim...

"I walked out moved, unsettled, and profoundly grateful for the scientists and diplomats who refused to be intimidated into silence three decades ago." Read Dr Delta Merner's blog on "Kyoto", a play about the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Lincoln Center.

COP30 Barely Delivers, Rich Nations Continue to Force Inequitable Climate Outcomes COP30 barely delivers on adaptation, climate finance, fossil fuel phaseout, but important just transition progress made

“COP30 was supposed to be the COP of truth and implementation. Unless nations reckon with the ugly truths revealed here, there will be major repercussions for multilateral climate agreements and more importantly, for the lives of communities who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis.”

#COP30

E&E News: Boulder tells Supreme Court to stay out of its climate fight with Exxon Colorado communities say local governments have a right to sue on behalf of residents, citing opioid and asbestos litigation.

"Officials in Boulder, Colorado, are urging the Supreme Court to reject the oil and gas industry’s latest effort to kill a swath of climate lawsuits, arguing that local governments have the authority to protect their residents."

Climate Action Against Disinformation | A 2,900% Increase in Greenwash: Big Oil Targeted Brazil With Google Ads To Undermine COP30 In the 10 months leading up to COP30, in Belém, Brazil, Big Oil increased its use of Google Ads targeting the country, with the number of adverts spiking by 2,900% between September and October…

🛢️ Big Oil ramped up Google Ads in Brazil by 2,900% in just one month ahead of #COP30, according to new research from @caadcoalition.bsky.social @climainfo.org.br & @c3ds.bsky.social.The surge reflects the industry’s push to protect its social license to pollute.

Our mission is simple: we provide free legal advice and assistance to researchers being targeted by bad actors trying to censor, misinterpret, or otherwise silence them. If you or someone you know needs help: csldf.org/contact

A new report from @oilchange.bsky.social finds that the US govt gives the #FossilFuel industry a handout of $34.8 BILLION dollars in subsidies every year — even as everyday people struggle with the cost of living and the climate crisis grows worse & worse.

Read more: oilchange.org/publications...

🚨 BIG NEWS from #COP30:🇨🇴Colombia and 🇳🇱the Netherlands will co-host the 1st International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia – April 28–29, 2026.

Adaptation Finance Low-Balled, Glaring Omission of Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in New COP30 Text Glaring omission of fossil fuel phaseout, just transition, adaptation finance in new COP30 draft negotiating text, Mutirao

Today, the COP Presidency released new negotiation text, including an updated Mutirão package, which is much weaker than the earlier version, dropping mention of a roadmap for a just transition away from fossil fuels, "a glaring omission of an urgent call championed here by more than 80 countries.”

Noem at odds with Trump-appointed panel over future of FEMA Instead of further shrinking and dismantling FEMA, the FEMA Review Council wants to make it more independent.

Who’s surprised? #DHS Sec. #KristiNoem changes draft FEMA review council report. Former #FEMA head Cameron Hamilton asks blunt Q. “What degree of confidence do you have that the report that you submit to DHS will be what is submitted to the president?”
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

“This is the first time the United States has not send an official federal government delegation here to COP, and that is a very sobering, shameful moment,” said UCS’s Rachel Cleetus to Deutsche Welle from #COP30.

Happening today! 11:30am BRT / 9:30am EST. Learn about the importance of science-informed policy to protect the health and safety of people and democracies, live from Dr. Caldas at #COP30!

Astrid Caldas, key speaker at #COP30 on a panel on science and democracy.

TOMORROW at #COP30: UCS’s Dr. Astrid Caldas will deliver a keynote on the growing attacks on science and their impact on our democracy.

Join the live discussion hosted by @wedonthavetime.bsky.social

📅 November 20
⏰ 11:30–12:30 p.m. BRT / UTC -3
🔴 Livestream: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEIA...

Photo of people protesting unchecked gas expansion in the Global South at COP 30 in Belem, Brazil.

Today at #COP30: advocates from the US Gulf South, Latin America & Africa protested the unchecked expansion of massive new gas projects, which harm communities & undermine climate goals.

This is part of a global call for a fossil fuel phaseout, which has set the tone for COP30: dont-gas-africa.org

The global rivalries of the energy transition | DW News Desk YouTube video by DW News

UCS' Dr. Rachel Cleetus will soon be joining @news.dw.com live from #COP30 in Belém to discuss the clean energy transition, climate science and global politics on climate action! Tune in here: www.youtube.com/live/CjbDUZk...

A powerful call echoed by over 80 countries rang through the halls of #COP30 during an afternoon press conference today, demanding a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels!

Blue and tan press briefing flyer that says: Press briefing, Is COP30 Bending the Arc Towards Justice? An Honest Assessment by U.S. Civil Society. Panelists will provide observations on what is needed during the second week of COP30 to ensure a successful outcome. Speakers will also comment on the demands of Afrodescendants and the lack of access to civil society inside the Blue Zone, and how COP30 connects with power building back home in the United States. Moderator: Analyah Schlaeger dos Santos, Minnesota Power and Light, Youth N' Power and Shift US. Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director, Union of Concerned Scientists. Gemma Gutierrez, global climate justice campaigns apprentice, Youth N' Power. Cheryl Kwapong, senior project manager, The Chisholm Project; Co-Secretariat, Global Afrodescendants Climate Justice Collaborative. Brandon Wu, director of policy and campaigns, ActionAid USA. Monday, November 17. 1:30pm Belem, 11:30 am New York, 8:30 am LA. COP30 Blue Zone, Press Conference Room 2, Area D.

Today at #COP30! Tune in at 11:30 am ET to hear from US experts like UCS' Rachel Cleetus on what's needed in the final week of negotiations to ensure a successful outcome + demands of Afrodescendants & how COP30 connects with power building back home.

Livestream: unfccc.int/event/us-cli...

Blocking fossil fuel disinformation in Belém and beyond Fossil fuel companies should be barred from COP climate talks, where they attempt to derail discussions, and their disinformation must be tackled

World leaders must bar fossil fuel companies from shaping COP talks. Future COP hosts must also refuse to retain PR firms (like Edelman) tied to fossil fuel companies. #KickBigPollutersOut

Climate policy must be guided by science, evidence, and justice – not fossil fuel industry influence.

The UCS Position on a Fossil Fuel Phaseout UCS supports a fast and fair phaseout of fossil fuels around the world.

Let's be clear: any plausible scenario to meet global climate goals demands dramatic reductions in fossil fuel use, in this decade and beyond. A fast & fair fossil fuel phaseout is necessary. We can't continue to let vested fossil fuel interests threaten action towards a safer & healthier future.

Recognizing and Resisting Obstruction at COP30 As the world gathers in Belém, Brazil, for the annual UN climate summit COP30, both expectations and stakes are high. This conference marks thirty years of global climate negotiations, and ten years s...

Here, Delta Merner covers key places to watch for – and call out – obstructive industry tactics during the #COP30 negotiations. We must protect the integrity of the UN climate process and ensure that these negotiations deliver what science and justice demand. #KickBigPollutersOut

In this letter signed by 400+ scientists, academics, NGOs & climate leaders, @caadcoalition.bsky.social outlines the consequences of ongoing deception & delay tactics by the fossil fuel industry, and calls for policymakers to take immediate action on climate information integrity at #COP30 & beyond.

Decades of Deceit Why the case against the major fossil fuel companies for fraud and climate damages is so strong.

As the world runs out of time to limit the worst effects of climate change, it is disgraceful that the very industry that caused this crisis – intentionally spreading disinformation and delaying action for decades – is still being given a seat at the most important international climate talks.

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.

As our colleague @kathymulvey.bsky.social points out, none of the 60+ countries that have submitted pledges have included targets to reduce oil & gas production or phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Fossil fuel industry obstruction is a key explanation for this glaring omission.

New analysis from #KickBigPollutersOut shows that 1600+ fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted access to #COP30 climate talks, proportionally a 12% increase from last year😖Fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber almost every country delegation, with 1/25 registrants repping the fossil fuel industry 😦

Recognizing and Resisting Obstruction at COP30 As the world gathers in Belém, Brazil, for the annual UN climate summit COP30, both expectations and stakes are high. This conference marks thirty years of global climate negotiations, and ten years s...

Global climate negotiations are complex. #COP30 brings together nearly 200 countries to address a shared crisis. That level of coordination is extraordinary, and disagreement is plentiful. Some reflect genuine differences, but others are deliberate efforts to stall, dilute, or redirect ambition.

Gavin Newsom Brings Defiant Note to COP30 Talks Leave it to California’s governor to bring a little Hollywood energy to the Amazon. Gavin Newsom arrived in Belém as a pointed rebuke to US President Donald Trump’s decision not to send an official US...

The Trump admin pressed for the IEA to include a scenario w/ rising oil & gas demand for decades. UCS’s Rachel Cleetus: “At 2.9C of warming under the Current Policies Scenario, it is not a world in which anyone can be safe or an economy can thrive”...Investors should treat CPS w/ "zero credibility."

World Energy Outlook Underscores Inevitable Clean Energy Growth, Urgency of Rapid Fossil Fuel Phaseout World Energy Outlook 2025 underscores inevitable clean energy growth and the urgency of rapid fossil fuel phaseout

UCS’s Rachel Cleetus says “The IEA’s latest report underscores the daunting challenge ahead for rapidly decarbonizing the world’s economy but also highlights the opportunity for tremendous wins for consumers’ pocketbooks, public health and addressing energy poverty that pathway provides.”

World Energy Outlook 2025 – Analysis - IEA World Energy Outlook 2025 - Analysis and key findings. A report by the International Energy Agency.

This morning, the IEA released its 2025 World Energy Outlook, underscoring the rapid growth in renewables globally, but the urgent need to accelerate that momentum to meet climate goals.

Blocking fossil fuel disinformation in Belém and beyond Fossil fuel companies should be barred from COP climate talks, where they attempt to derail discussions, and their disinformation must be tackled

"Requiring delegates to disclose affiliations and funding is a vital step in exposing fossil fuel influence. Yet with the 1.5°C target slipping away, disclosure alone is insufficient. World leaders must advance to disqualification, barring fossil fuel companies from shaping COP negotiations."
#COP30

🤝 Today on COP30’s first ever official Information Integrity Day, over 195 individuals and 189 organisations have joined us to urge governments to codify information integrity, counter climate disinformation, and put public health and human rights first.

buff.ly/6hNxaiq

💡 @timmonsroberts.bsky.social makes 3 points at the @caadcoalition.bsky.social & @ucs.org presser #COP30:

1 Disinformation is everywhere

2 Those w/ structural power deploy disinformation to maintain status quo.

3 Solutions exist & they're urgent.

More info @cssn.org & cssn.org/news-researc...