Three Twitter/X narratives that are dominating at COP28
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:
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As more than 100 world leaders and thousands of climate activists gather at COP28 (and #COP28UAE continues to trend), we are tracking three key narratives that have begun to take hold on Twitter/X
The Essential Plastics Coalition is back with more video ads that attempt to claim that plastics aren’t as bad as we all think they are
The Virgin Atlantic plane that completed a transatlantic flight with 100% sustainable fuel last week received quite a bit of attention on Facebook
When social media ads are full of ‘green’ claims, how can we tell which are truthful and which aren’t?
Digital Advertising Roundup
Facebook + Instagram 👍
One new and notable climate-related ad campaign this week was a new fundraising effort from Greenpeace that ran on Facebook and Instagram nationwide. Bear with us, the ads do seem a bit strange: they feature images of celebrities like Alec Baldwin and Jane Fonda paired with pro-climate language that doesn’t actually seem to reference the celebrities.
Another new and notable ad campaign this week came from Sierra Club. They are running a new video ad on Instagram and Facebook in Arizona that goes after an Arizona water and gas company called Salt River Project to stop their oil and gas pollution. You can check out the video here >>>
And finally, the Essential Plastics Coalition/Center for Consumer Freedom (read: the Plastics lobby) is again running video ads on Instagram and Facebook nationwide that claim that plastics might not be as bad for the planet as we all think they are.
Google & YouTube 🎞️
There were no noteworthy climate or energy advertisers archived by Google last week.
Snapchat 🤳
There were no new ad climate or energy campaigns archived by Snapchat this week.
🔦 Spotlight: Three Twitter/X narratives that are dominating at COP28
This week, Twitter/X is abuzz with posts about COP28, the United Nations Climate Conference held this year in UAE. Everyone from the King of England to the Dalai Lama had some part in the online discourse. But as we examined the top-performing #COP28 posts, it became clear that three popular narratives had begun to form:
The Who’s Who of diplomatic climate relations
At a conference of more than 100 world leaders, one could anticipate that there would be a lot of handshakes and selfies – and indeed, there were. One world leader, however, seems to be going more “viral” at the COP28 than others. Narendra Modi, India’s controversial Prime Minister, has received a TON of attention on social media from other world leaders, as well as attendees. Just a few examples: Modi was lauded by Italian PM Giorgia Meloni (who dubbed their friendship #Melodi and garnered over 450,000 likes on the post), caught in deep conversation with Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh, and sought out for a handshake pic with former British PM David Cameron.
This online attention and support likely derives from diplomatic needs and the fact that PM Modi, as the head of the most populous nation on Earth, stands poised to make a huge climate impact. In his COP28 keynote address, Modi pledged to accelerate his nation’s shift to renewable energy.
More women and young people need a seat at the climate action table
Another central focus of the online COP28 climate conversation was the idea that more women and young people – who are and will be disproportionately affected by the harms of climate change – must be listened to and allowed to lead. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, took to Twitter/X to shout out his Youth Advisory Council and to share a message to young people to keep fighting.
This is also a topic that several prominent members of the American delegation highlighted. Vice President Kamala Harris shared a video of her conversation with a member of the EPA’s National Environmental Youth Advisory Council at COP28, and Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry posted about former Secretary Hilary Clinton’s panel about empowering women and girls to seek their own climate resilience solutions.
The looming presence of oil and gas at COP28
The third and final hot topic online about COP28 is a divisive one. Many influential figures posted their criticisms about COP28 for the role that oil and gas played in this crucial climate action meeting. Specifically, former Vice President and longtime climate activist Al Gore took to Twitter/X to post a lengthy criticism about the decision to appoint oil executive Sultan Al-Jaber to head COP28. The post has garnered over 10,000 interactions.
On a similar note, prominent organizations also went after world leaders for taking private planes to this climate gathering. British PM Rishi Sunak was a particular target, who took a tough question from POLITICO (which made its way to Twitter/X and gained 1.6 million views) and was called out in a post by Greenpeace UK.
Stay tuned…
These three narratives are certainly something to keep an eye on as we enter the second week of COP28. And we’ll be back next week with more analysis on the digital waves that this pivotal climate conference is making.
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 13,600 public Facebook posts mentioned climate or energy issues, and they earned a cumulative 900,000 interactions.
One climate-related topic that got a lot of attention on Facebook this week was the Virgin Atlantic plane that made a transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable fuel last week. Several outlets posted about it, and posts from the Washington Post and ABC7 received high levels of engagement.
Over on the Right, Bill O’Reilly had a whole lot of theories to share about President Biden and the COP 28 Climate Conference in Dubai this week. You can check that out here >>>
And finally, President Biden posted a lot of climate content on Facebook this week – and received a good amount of engagement on this call-out of Republicans, who have failed to support much of his administration’s climate work.
Here were the top-performing feed posts (excluding Reels and Stories) related to climate and energy on Instagram last week:
Last week, over 12,200 public Instagram feed posts mentioned climate or energy issues, and they earned a cumulative 9.5 million interactions.
The top three climate-related posts on Instagram this past week (in order) came from @pubity about the world’s largest iceberg which is currently moving and putting its animal residents at risk, from @nytimes about the toll that avocado farming is taking on Mexico, and from @wearebreitbart disparaging President Biden’s efforts to put more EVs on the road.
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.
P.S. Are you signed up for Climate Nexus’ daily newsletter, Hot News? It’s a one-stop shop for everything you need to know in the climate and environmental policy space. Subscribe here>>
US announces rule to slash powerful planet-warming methane by nearly 80% from oil and gas (CNN, 12/2)
At COP28, the Road to Climate Action Is Paved with Big Oil Loophole Language (DeSmog, 11/30)
Social media ads are littered with ‘green’ claims. How are we supposed to know they’re true? (The Conversation, 11/30)
‘We Need to Address the Issues of Burnout, Anxiety, and Sustaining the Movement’ (DeSmog, 11/29)
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