Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay are the countries that signed the declaration on November 12, recognising “threats to information integrity” as one of the key challenges.
On the third day of COP30, they affirmed to ensure equitable access to accurate, evidence-based information on climate change and cooperate on capacity building, especially as the spread of misinformation including outright denial of climate change and deliberate attacks on environmental journalists and scientists are all delaying urgent action.
“We live in an era in which obscurantists reject scientific evidence and attack institutions. It is time to deliver yet another defeat to denialism,” Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a statement, as per a press note.
“Climate change is no longer a threat of the future; it is a tragedy of the present,” he added.
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Misinformation weakens the foundations of public debate and trust and undermines capacity to build collective solutions, the declaration stated.
Pacific Islands get backing as sea levels rise
In another notable development at the climate summit, Pacific Island states, who are most at risk from rising sea levels, got legal backing from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in urging the world to limit global warming.
Pacific Island nations have long urged the world to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius but their calls have largely rested on moral and political arguments. That balance has shifted after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark advisory opinion in July 2025, declaring that climate action is not merely aspirational but a legal obligation under international law.
The ICJ rejected the narrow interpretation that only specific treaties such as the Paris Agreement govern how states must act on climate change. Instead, it outlined a broader legal framework rooted in human rights law, the law of the sea, environmental treaties, and customary international law. Together, these establish that states have a legal duty to adopt and maintain ambitious climate measures.
For small island nations — which contribute little to global emissions yet face existential threats from rising sea levels — the opinion offers both vindication and leverage. It shifts climate diplomacy from the realm of moral persuasion toward one of legal accountability, giving vulnerable states a stronger basis to demand action from major polluters.
Read more: COP 30 Day 1: UN stresses cooperation, claims Paris Agreement is working, highlights AI innovation
