GreenLatinos in the Amazon: COP30
When my abuelita watched the news during last year’s record-breaking heat wave, she told me, “El clima siempre ha sido así.” Her comment, simple yet familiar, revealed a deeper issue. A seed of doubt had been planted and nurtured over years of misinformation. Across our communities, such seeds continue to grow. They are fed by misleading stories online that say climate change is exaggerated, natural, or simply not “our” problem. However, when lies spread faster than solutions, they delay action, divide our communities, and put our families’ health and safety at risk.
Information Integrity Takes Center Stage at COP30
As world leaders currently gather for the Conference of the Parties (COP) 30 in Brazil, one issue has finally entered the global platform: information integrity. Although this has been an issue for decades, this COP represents a historic milestone as it will be the first COP on Climate Change to formally recognize the central role of information integrity in effective climate action. Climate progress doesn’t depend solely on policies or technology; it depends on trust and the ability to reach consensus.
Around the world, false information about renewable energy, extreme weather, and climate policy has been undermining the public’s understanding and political will. Because of this, the UN has warned that disinformation is now one of the greatest obstacles to meaningful climate action.
GreenLatinos and CAAD Step Up at COP30
Recognizing the urgency of these challenges, GreenLatinos has joined our partners in the Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition to address information integrity at COP 30. Together, we elevate how Spanish-language disinformation weakens climate ambition, both online and in daily life throughout the Americas and the Spanish-speaking world.
This threat is deeply personal for us. Spanish climate disinformation targets our core community values, such as our families, faith, and health. When oil and gas lobbyists claim clean energy will destroy jobs or raise prices, they exploit very real fears within working-class Latino households. Similarly, when videos dismiss waves or floods as merely “natural cycles,” they erase our community’s lived experiences, discourage preparation, and absolve fossil fuel companies of responsibility.
The consequences are all too real. Within the US and Latin America, false information leads to outdoor workers laboring through record heat, families breathing polluted air, and children facing higher risks of asthma and other complications.
This perpetuates a harmful cycle, leaving Latino communities more vulnerable and less empowered to demand accountability and change.
Our Strategy: Culture, Truth, and Collective Power
To confront these harms, GreenLatinos launched the first national, bilingual strategy to counter climate disinformation through our Climate Disinformation Program. Our Climate Loteria campaign, a myth-busting interactive guide, uses culture and humor to unpack misinformation narratives. Our presence at COP 30 advances this mission. Alongside CAAD, we’ll advocate for equitable content moderation across all languages, ensuring our communities receive the same online protections and accuracy as English speakers.
Our vision is clear: a digital world where anyone can search for climate information in any language and access the truth, not misleading narratives. In this world, online spaces protect us from manipulation, and local communities have the tools they need to stop the spread of misinformation before it takes hold.
Achieving this vision is possible. Through collective action, transparent platforms, and shared accountability, we can build a climate movement grounded in truth and justice. GreenLatinos will remain steadfast in this work because when our comunidades have access to accurate information, we don’t just fight disinformation, we build resilience, power, and hope for generations to come.
Juan Pablo Alvarado is the Spanish Climate Disinformation Program Manager at GreenLatinos, where he leads national efforts to combat Spanish-language climate disinformation through partnerships, community engagement, and culturally relevant digital strategies.
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This blog post was a collaboration between our Climate Justice & Clean Air and Spanish Climate Disinformation programs.
