Christopher Andrew

Thesis: Misinformation and UK Climate Governance

The World Economic Forum has identified the spread of misinformation as one of society's biggest threats. This is playing out in the context of climate change, with false information circulating about the impacts of different climate interventions and policies. These false narratives undermine climate action and delay initiatives at a time when decisive measures are urgently needed. With time running out to meet the UK’s legally binding net-zero targets, it is vital to understand how climate misinformation is influencing UK climate policy and receptiveness to it.

This research examines the influence of misinformation on UK climate policy and public perceptions. This will be explored through three case studies: London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion, Oxford’s 15-minute city, and H100 Fife, the hydrogen-to-homes heating scheme. Across these cases, the project asks what narratives enter policy processes? By what mechanisms and pathways does misinformation influence different stages of the policy process? How do policy actors and publics perceive and respond to misinformation? To what extent does misinformation influence the design and success of these initiatives? These questions will be addressed through a mixed-methods approach that combines policy and media analysis, semi-structured interviews, and online surveys. Process tracing will then be used to assess whether and how climate misinformation contributed to changes in policy debates and implementation.

Biography:

Chris earned his BSc in Geography and Environmental Science through the Open University whilst working at Gradko International as a laboratory assistant analysing NO2 and H2S diffusion tubes. He then earned his MSc in Environmental Leadership and Management from the University of Nottingham, where he explored retrofitting biodiversity in urban areas. The next year, he was hired as a research assistant on the Climate Change Disinformation, Distrust and Disruption (C3D) project to explore the existing literature on climate disinformation, a role which influenced his chosen PhD project. Now he is a PhD student within the School of Geography’s ‘Economic and Political Worlds’ theme at the University of Nottingham.

School of Geography

University of Nottingham

2026 Cohort

Supervisors:

Dr Chris Ives

Dr Meghan Alexander