Australia needs to fight back against big US tech companies that are exacerbating fossil fuel dependence and climate disinformation, former defence leaders say.
In a new report they warn that new and formidable anti-climate action and anti-renewable energy alignments have emerged in recent years in the form of far-right political movements, the digital tech sector and fossil fuel states, exacerbated by the election of US President Donald Trump.
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They say a disinformation war is being waged on democracies via traditional media influence, coordinated online activity and algorithmic amplification to shape narratives and perceptions of reality at scale.
And they warn the problem has become a national security threat with consequences for Australia’s sovereignty, economic resilience, disaster readiness, institutional trust and strategic autonomy.
Retired Admiral Chris Barrie, former chief of the Australian Defence Force, said the fight against the disinformation war would require political courage and decisive action.
“There has been a failure to understand how energy dependence on fossil fuels will cause both economic disruption and more perilous physical conditions for Australians,” Admiral Barrie said.
“Now the two issues are colliding. We are facing an unprecedented energy crisis [made] worse by the world’s failure to face its fossil fuel addiction.
“Layered on top is a climate disinformation war globally and in Australia that is actively undermining the capacity to build a renewable, clean energy future and curb coal and gas exports.
Retired Admiral Chris Barrie says fighting the disinformation war will require political courage. (ABC News: Jerry Rickard)
“If these threats are not checked, accelerating climate change will crash society as we know it.
“This is not speculation — it reflects the warnings of the world’s leading climate scientists.”
Scale of climate disinformation challenge
The report is titled The Climate Disinformation War: How to fight back for Australia’s democracy and security.
It was released by the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group (ASLCG) today.
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Other executive members of the ASLCG include Cheryl Durrant, a former director of preparedness and mobilisation for the Australian Defence Force, and Retired Colonel Neil Greet who served in the Australian Army, among others.
The report said the current global energy crisis revealed the fragility of the fossil fuel-driven energy system.
It also showed how quickly the online information space could become overwhelmed with disinformation about renewable energy.
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“The public is increasingly anxious about disinformation and reform in these areas is politically popular,” it said.
“And events that throw fossil fuel energy systems into crisis, like the attack on Iran by the USA and Israel in March 2026, bring the limitations of those systems into stark relief.
“But at the same time, fossil fuel companies, flush with high oil and gas prices, are already spreading narratives about the inevitability and stability of fossil fuels, and necessity of retaining the energy status quo in a time of uncertainty.
“There was a similar playbook on oil and gas price inflation in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
The report said where “sustained information operations” were shaping national energy policy — by undermining renewable energy investment stability, eroding trust in scientific and governmental institutions, and polarising communities around infrastructure projects — the implications extended beyond public debate.
The implications had instead elevated into the realm of national security, democratic stability and economic resilience.
“Australians now live in a world increasingly shaped by propaganda and disinformation rather than factual information,” it warned.
“The release of lightly regulated and unreliable generative AI [artificial intelligence] products has accelerated this trend, driving information systems deeper into a crisis of verification and accountability.”
Anti-climate action propaganda
The report said the current US administration had an aggressive anti-climate action and anti-renewables agenda and was “a dominant purveyor of climate disinformation and propaganda”.
It also drew attention to the role that big US tech companies are playing in the global spread of disinformation.
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“US foreign policy is now organised around increasing the USA’s geopolitical dominance through forcing dependency on US tech companies and the fossil fuel sector,” the report said.
“At the same time, consolidation of information power among a small number of global technology and media platforms has concentrated control over digital communication infrastructure in the hands of a small group of private actors, many of whom are reducing moderation of harmful disinformation and weakening cooperation with democratic governments attempting to regulate it.
“This consolidation is also harming climate journalism as these new media monopolies slash climate reporting teams in traditional media.
“The result is a structural deterioration in accurate information and storytelling on the climate crisis and its implications.”
Solutions for Australia
The report said the challenge for Australia’s government was huge.Â
It said it would have to try to rebuild a healthy information ecosystem and that will require a whole-of-society approach.
That meant rebuilding accountability for climate information, ensuring credible information dominates during crises and disasters, protecting organisations and individuals sharing factual information from intimidation, and preventing domestic policy distortion from foreign or coordinated influence.
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It said Australia’s government had undertaken a number of welcome measures in the past decade to manage disinformation and online harms, including expanding the role and funding of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.
However, the report said, the government’s efforts were “not remotely commensurate” with the sheer scale, resourcing and coordination of anti-climate action and clean-tech disinformation networks in the Australian information environment.
It outlined a set of actions to up-end the disinformation war, including:
Comprehensive anti-trust architecture, such as the current European Union Digital Markets Act, to prevent tech platforms that amplify disinformation from becoming too powerful to regulateDigital platform, social media and AI regulation, making companies take responsibility for online disinformation and other harms, organised around principles of liability, user control, transparency and systemic riskUrgent, enforceable regulation of generative AI as chatbots and image generators rapidly scale disinformation
The report also suggested reforming Australia’s defamation law and improving election transparency.
It said some initial steps that could be taken included investing in public resilience, research, independent journalism, and secure communication systems, funding climate observatories, think tanks, and data collection infrastructure.
It also recommended becoming a signatory to the UN Conference of Parties (COP) Declaration of Information Integrity on Climate.