Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a global environmental group that began in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to use peaceful protests and actions that break laws to urge governments to take steps to prevent dangerous changes in the climate, the loss of many plant and animal species, and risks to society and the environment. The group was started in Stroud in May 2018 by Gail Bradbrook, Simon Bramwell, Roger Hallam, and Stuart Basden, along with six other members from the group Rising Up!
The Youth Climate Movement, also called YouNGO or the International Youth Climate Movement (IYCM), is a global group of youth organizations. These groups work together to encourage, support, and organize young people to take action to help address climate change.
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (Swedish: [ˈɡrêːta ˈtʉ̂ːnbærj]; born January 3, 2003) is a Swedish activist who urges governments to take action on climate change and social issues. She became well-known worldwide in 2018, at age 15, after starting a school strike by herself outside the Swedish parliament. This action inspired the global Fridays for Future movement.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a group made up of governments within the United Nations (UN). Its purpose is to “provide scientific information to governments so they can create climate policies.” The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) created the IPCC in 1988. The UN approved the creation of the IPCC later that same year.
Climate communication, or climate change communication, is a part of environmental and science communication that focuses on explaining the causes, characteristics, and effects of climate change caused by humans. Studies in this field began in the 1990s and have since expanded to include research about the media, how issues are presented, and how the public responds to climate topics. Since the late 2000s, more studies have been done in countries in the Global South, especially those focusing on climate communication with groups that have less access to resources.
The tobacco industry playbook, also known as the tobacco disinformation playbook or the tobacco strategy, is a public relations plan used by the tobacco industry in the 1950s to protect profits as evidence grew about the dangers of smoking, especially cancer. Similar tactics were used earlier, starting in the 1920s, by the oil industry to promote the use of tetraethyllead in gasoline. These methods are still used today by other industries, such as the fossil fuel industry, often with the same public relations companies and researchers.
From the 1980s to the mid-2000s, ExxonMobil, an international oil and gas company based in the United States, was a major force in denying the reality of climate change. It opposed efforts to reduce global warming through regulations. For example, ExxonMobil played a key role in stopping the United States from agreeing to the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change denial, also called global warming denial, is a type of science denial. It involves refusing to accept, ignoring, or arguing against the strong scientific evidence that shows human activities cause global warming. People who promote denial often use speaking strategies to create the false idea that scientists disagree about climate change when they actually agree.
Fossil fuel divestment is an effort to reduce climate change by applying pressure through social, political, and economic actions to remove investments in companies that extract fossil fuels. These investments include stocks, bonds, and other financial items. Fossil fuel divestment campaigns began on college and university campuses in the United States in 2011.
The Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) helps investors understand how companies are working to reduce climate change risks and how they are managed. It was created in December 2015 by the Group of 20 (G20) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Michael Bloomberg leads the group.