By Abbas Nazil
Canada’s climate progress has faced significant setbacks in 2025, as recent government decisions have weakened key environmental policies and stalled climate action.
In November, federal and Alberta authorities signed a memorandum of understanding removing strict climate policies in the province and supporting a new pipeline from Alberta to northern British Columbia.
Additionally, the federal carbon tax was canceled, funding for home energy-efficiency programs was ended, and sales mandates for zero-emission vehicles were delayed, moving Canada further away from meeting its climate targets under the Paris Agreement.
Experts attribute these setbacks largely to the influence of the fossil-fuel industry, which has spent decades protecting its profits and delaying climate action.
A newly published study by Samuel Lloyd and Katya Rhodes reveals how the industry’s propaganda machine, known as the Climate Change Counter Movement, has shaped public perception and policy debates.
Initially, this movement denied climate change or human contributions to it, but as extreme weather events became more evident, it shifted to promoting confusion through misleading narratives about policy design, economic necessity, and well-being.
Common tactics include fossil-fuel solutionism, suggesting that fossil fuels are essential to climate solutions, and exaggerating the economic costs of transitioning away from fossil fuels, while downplaying the severe consequences of continued emissions.
The study highlights that these narratives have filtered into public beliefs, leading many Canadians to falsely assume that fossil fuels can coexist with a clean energy future.
To counter these effects, experts recommend public reflection on internalized propaganda, researching the Climate Change Counter Movement, holding fossil-fuel companies legally accountable, and reinvesting in community engagement to rebuild trust and awareness.
Governments are encouraged to strengthen less-visible but effective climate policies and work to dismantle the structural power of the fossil-fuel industry through subsidy removal and regulatory reforms.
Despite the sophistication of the fossil-fuel propaganda network, the study emphasizes that coordinated action, legal accountability, and public education can reduce its influence and accelerate progress toward a sustainable, low-carbon future.
The study ultimately calls for urgent, multifaceted efforts to unite citizens, policymakers, and researchers in challenging misinformation and advancing meaningful climate action across Canada.
