News

Oliver Hayes,
Head of Policy and Campaigns
Estimated reading time 2 minutes

The Labour party’s mission to achieve ‘clean power’ by 2030 is welcome and necessarily ambitious.

The Government knows that meeting this target requires building a huge amount of solar, onshore and offshore wind, battery storage, as well as the grid infrastructure (pylons, substations etc.) to link it all together. 

They also know that doing so will be locally controversial, especially where there’s a perception – fairly or otherwise – that the benefits aren’t felt by those expected to put up with changes to their locale. 

Local disquiet must be met with honest and sensitive engagement from Labour – nothing good comes from communities feeling like they are being steamrolled.

But political, industrial and even state opponents of climate action see this local unease as something to weaponise in their own cynical and bad-faith mission to derail the green transition.

That’s where the online world comes to the fore. 

We know that authentic, minority opposition to ULEZ in London in 2023 was artificially amplified to imply widespread anger. (The reality, of course, is that ULEZ is now popular and incredibly effective). 

It’s an easy trick to pull with relatively little means (bots don’t cost much) and more so now that some social media platforms are signed over to a politics that actively undermines climate action.  

And it’s effective. A massive online outcry can spook politicians and silence supportive voices. This confected outrage is particularly impactful in local votes where turnout is low and the poll can be transformed into a de facto referendum on a single issue. 

So, with anti-net zero politicians riding high following this year’s council and mayoral elections, with by-elections an inevitability of any parliament, and with the devolved nations going to the polls in 2026, lancing the online boil is more important than ever. 

It won’t be easy. The only long-term solution is for Governments to regulate platforms at the design level, forcing them to be transparent about the very human priorities baked into their algorithms, and to prioritise safety – not ‘engagement’ – at the product design level. 

Global Action Plan continues to push for the Online Safety Act to be implemented and enforced in such a way. 

But we’re also determined to find the people in communities who feel silenced by local online bullies and their bots, and help them posit an alternative reality – one that is actually real – with sophisticated digital strategies that ensure their posts compete with the antis. 

We want to help politicians discern what’s genuine and what’s fake. 

And we want to work with institutions in the climate sector and beyond to build their recognition of the fact that our existing online climate is making climate action harder and we need their help to reform it – the job can’t be left to the small but mighty band of digital rights and tech accountability movements. 

Fostering an online climate that respects human rights, encourages debate and civil disagreement, and facilitates access to trustworthy information is essential if we are to collectively rise to the climate challenge. 

It’s not a nice to have – it should be the foundation of all climate campaigning. 

Find out more about Global Action Plan’s work on online climate here.