According to new research commissioned by BayWa r.e., the renewable energy firm, online discussions around the climate crisis have fallen by 12% since 2022.

The study, which was undertaken on behalf of BayWa r.e., reviewed more than 41 million data points, analysing trends across social media, news sites, and blogging platforms from January last year to this month.

In addition to the headline statistic that digital conversations around climate change fell by 12% – despite the expectation that 2023 will be the hottest year on record – the research also uncovered that conversations concerning COP, the United Nations’ yearly climate change conference, have also declined.

In terms of numbers, COP28, which kicks off tomorrow in Dubai, has received 425,000 mentions in the four weeks leading up to it, while COP26 had 1.6 million within the same period. This means that COP-related discussions are down 73% since COP26, which was held in Glasgow two years ago and dubbed “the world’s best last chance” for the climate crisis.

Amid these declines, online conversations about artificial intelligence – not least about its impact on our lives – has shot up 342% since last year. Most notably, mentions of AI in an end-of-the-world context are 8% higher than climate change, while mentions around the climate crisis in this respect have actually fallen by 23.5% since 2022. This is in spite of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underlining earlier this year that we’re at a “critical moment in history.”

Remarking on the research, Matthias Taft, BayWa r.e.’s chief executive, commented: “At a time when, more than ever, we need to be taking climate action, the conversation has been falling – with discussions focused more on potential existential threats than increasing world climatic disasters, which we are now regularly experiencing globally.

“What’s equally concerning is that this drop in conversation is happening in the run-up to the world’s biggest climate conference – one tasked with solving these very problems. Arguably demonstrating a lack of belief or even interest in COP28’s ability to deliver action when it is needed most.”

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Relatedly, DIGIT covered the news this morning that the UK’s financial watchdog, the FCA, is releasing new measures in a bid to battle greenwashing, and help improve the trust and transparency of sustainable investment products.