5 false claims about climate change debunked by science

Social media is flooded with inaccurate or misleading information about climate change.

Experts see this as a problem because if people believe these lies, actions to combat climate change could be delayed.

The BBC analyzes five false claims that are regularly repeated on the internet.

1. “Climate change is not real”

A Spanish-language video on TikTok with thousands of views falsely suggests that man-made climate change is not real.

And just like this, countless publications in different languages ​​are distributed on social networks.

However, the scientific evidence says otherwise.

The average global temperature on Earth is already has risen 1.1°C since the end of the 19th century.

Scientists conclusively link it to the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

These gases, such as carbon dioxide or methane, trap extra energy in Earth’s atmosphere and warm the planet.

Global warming is already having far-reaching consequences: the oceans are warming and sea levels are rising, some species are disappearing and the food supply is in danger.

Besides, they are more frequent and intense extreme weather eventssuch as heat waves.

“These changes are not abstract concepts,” said Izidine Pinto, a Mozambican climate scientist at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.

“These are tangible, observable changes that have been extensively studied and documented by climate scientists.”

2. “Current climate changes are natural”

This tweet in French incorrectly describes global warming as a “natural” process over which humans have little or no influence.

This statement is often made by social media users who question the role of humans in climate change.

To support this, they often say that there have been multiple cycles of warming and cooling in the history of our planet.

The existence of these cycles is well documented, however were mainly caused by natural causessuch as changes in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

And scientists have convincingly shown that without the burning of fossil fuels, the current warming trend would not have occurred.

The pace at which these changes are taking place is also significant.

The last time Earth experienced a major change in average temperature, increased by 5°C over a period of several thousand years.

But the current rate of warming is significantly faster: in about 150 years, the planet has already warmed by 1.1°C.

And scientists say that based on current climate agreements, temperature increases could accelerate 2.5°C by the end of the century.

3. “Climate change is not our problem”

This Nigerian user posted on X – formerly Twitter – that climate change is not an African problem.

It’s a common statement among social media users in developing countries, who sometimes describe climate change as: a ‘western problem’ with little relevance to your daily life.

Others wrongly suggest that climate action is part of one “storyline” of the richest countries to prevent the growth of emerging economies.

Prosperous countries – such as the United States, the United Kingdom, China or the European Union – have in fact been responsible for most of the historical greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

But climate change knows no borders and its effects are already being felt around the world, especially in low-income countries, many of which lack the resources to adequately prepare.

In recent months, several countries in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Iran) have been hit by drought, and others in East Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia) have suffered severe flooding.

“Climate change is a global problem, but with uneven impacts,” says Farhana Sultana of Syracuse University in the United States. He assures that “it disproportionately affects the communities in the developing world that have contributed least to the creation of the problem.”

This has led some climate activists to call on richer countries to take the lead in financing actions to prevent further changes in the climate (mitigation) and help others deal with the damage already caused (adaptation).

“All countries must do that focus their greatest efforts on both mitigation and adaptationand top emitters must do more to reduce anything that contributes to further climate deterioration,” Sultana explains.

4. “The sea level is not rising”

This tweet, written in Portuguese, falsely suggests that sea levels will “remain the same” despite global warming.

Similar claims are often published alongside photographs of coastal areas to illustrate how no sea level rise is actually visible to the naked eye.

As the planet warms, the ice trapped in glaciers and ice sheets begins to melt, increasing the total amount of water in the ocean.

Moreover, water expands when heated and NASA assures that the oceans have already absorbed 90% of the planet’s warming. As temperatures increased, the oceans also expanded.

It is estimated that over the past 100 years, global sea levels have risen has already increased between 160 and 210 mm.

This process is accelerating and is already having an impact: rising sea levels accelerate coastal erosion and facilitate flooding.

Scientists suggest that if action is not taken soon, sea levels could rise to 2 meters by the end of 2100.

This means that millions of people currently living in coastal areas could soon see their areas inundated or even submerged.

“The manifestation of this reality is clearly visible in many coastal communities in West Africa,” says Ayoola Apolola, a Nigerian PhD student researching climate-induced extreme sea level rise.

As an example he mentions the city of Ilaje, in southwestern Nigeria, where some reports indicate this “More than half of the population has been displaced” as a result of sea level rise.

5. “Climate change benefits us”

In countries exposed to extremely cold climates, the idea of ​​a warmer planet may seem attractive at first glance.

For example, on Facebook, a user in Russia suggested that warmer weather in the fall is a positive consequence of global warming.

The problem is that any marginal benefits that might accrue from climate change are dwarfed by its broader impact on the entire planet.

The UN estimates that if the average global temperature rises by 1.5°C by the end of the century, climate change will occur could cost the world $54 trillion.

The impact of these changes would be widespread.

Countries in the Middle East could see agricultural lands turned into deserts. Pacific island nations could disappear as sea levels rise. And African states could be hit by food shortages.

And even in colder countries, such as Russia, forest fires are becoming more common as the climate becomes warmer and drier.

“The fact is that we have observed many extreme events around the world” says Trang Duong, assistant professor at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

“In July 2023, heat waves occurred in North America, Europe and China. Floods are also becoming more frequent and intense around the world. “All these disasters cause catastrophic economic losses and human lives.”