Digital ads target CA Gov. Newsom for a leaky gas facility in Los Angeles
A roundup of the climate conversation across social media this week
Welcome to Climate Monitor, a weekly, data-driven report on the digital strategies polluters and pro-Climate groups are using to shift public opinion and move legislation. Here’s what we found:
Toplines:
Food & Water Action is running new Facebook ads taking on CA Governor Gavin Newsom over a natural gas storage facility in Los Angeles with a history of leaks
At the first GOP 2024 debate, the candidates refused to verify that they believed in climate change… and a lot of people online (including Joe Biden) are mad about it
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard doesn’t want to talk about climate change when it comes to the historic wildfires in Hawaii
Digital Advertising Roundup
Facebook + Instagram 👍
For starters, here were the top 25 climate and energy-related advertisers on Facebook and Instagram last week:
The top spenders on digital ads in the climate and energy space are the oil giant Shell, the American Chemistry Council (AKA the plastics lobby), and the American Petroleum Institute.
One new and notable ad campaign this week comes from environmental advocacy group Food & Water Action. The organization is running ads on Facebook and Instagram in California calling for Gov. Gavin Newsom to shut down Aliso Canyon, a gas storage facility in Los Angeles that experienced a massive methane gas leak in 2015.
Also in California, the California Resources Corporation is running ads for their new Carbon TerraVault, a carbon capture and storage facility that will help facilitate CA’s transition to clean energy.
Nuclear Matters, a grassroots coalition of groups that support nuclear energy, is also running news ads across the US on Facebook and Instagram. The ads tout both the job creation and economic benefits of nuclear energy, as well as the safety that could come from US energy independence.
In a similar vein, the American Clean Power Association is running ads in North Carolina on Facebook and Instagram that feature small business owners who provide clean energy, like Ray and his wind farm in Corning, Iowa.
And finally, the Electrification Coalition, a pro-EV nonprofit, is running targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram in key states touting the Inflation Reduction Act’s impact in terms of “supercharging” the EV industry.
Google & YouTube 🎞️
In terms of new and noteworthy climate or energy advertisers archived by Google last week, the Resources Legacy Fund ($4,700) is continuing to run ads featuring “outdoor voters” calling on President Biden to establish more national monuments in the West.
Snapchat 🤳
There were no new and noteworthy climate or energy advertisers on Snapchat last week.
What’s Trending on Social Media
How are climate and energy issues being discussed by Americans on social media? Every week, we conduct a robust keyword search using CrowdTangle for general terms like “climate change,” “global warming,” “fossil fuels,” and over 40 more specific topics (like “electric vehicles,” “gas stoves” and “pipelines”). Here were the 10 top-performing public posts (by # of interactions) related to climate and energy on Facebook last week:
Last week, over 11,800 public Facebook posts mentioned climate or energy issues, and they earned a cumulative 874,400 interactions.
Following the GOP debate last Wednesday, this past week was a big one for Democrats in the climate and energy space on Facebook. Occupy Democrats posted several graphics highlighting the moment during the debate when all of the GOP candidates failed to raise their hands when asked if they believed climate change was real.
President Joe Biden also posted a tongue-in-cheek response to this moment on Facebook, which garnered over 11,000 interactions.
And finally, the discourse on the wildfires in Lahaina, HI continued with a video posted by former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard who called for people to stop focusing on climate change when it comes to this crisis. Check it out >>>
Here were the top-performing feed posts (excluding Reels and Stories) related to climate and energy on Instagram last week:
Last week, over 6,300 public Instagram feed posts mentioned climate or energy issues, and they earned a cumulative 7.3 million interactions.
The top three climate-related posts on Instagram this past week (in order) came from @manariushigua and @dreamworldprogram (as a joint post) about Ecuadorians’ vote to end drilling in the Amazon, @joebiden featuring his retort to the 2024 GOP candidates who don’t believe in climate change, and conservative publication @thebabylonbee about the “climate change hoax.”
Weekly Reading
Want to go deeper? Here’s a quick roundup of news from the past week at the intersection of climate, digital strategy, and advocacy.
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Fossil Free Media bought billboards to call out Big Oil for their role in the record-breaking heat this summer (The Guardian, 8/29)
The Montana climate lawsuit is inspiring other young people to take action on climate (Washington Post, 8/27)
Groups are working to rename public lands and monuments that are offensive or derogatory (Grist, 8/29)
That’s it for this week! If you enjoyed reading this week’s issue, feel free to forward it to a friend or colleague.
Climate Monitor is a product of the Digital Climate Coalition + FWIW Media. Tips/comments/questions? Email lucy@fwiwmedia.com