CLIMATE WITHOUT FILTERS

CSO: COGLOBAL
Area: Responsible consumption and sustainable production
Location: Campillos and Casares (Province of Malaga), Almodóvar del Río and Carcabuey (Province of Cordoba) y Northern district of the city of Granada (Province of Granada).

Type of project

To influence the passive, sceptical or denialist attitudes of groups of teenagers with diverse profiles, including those who are disillusioned and disengaged from the environmental debate, using a participatory, playful and inclusive approach. The project connects personal attitudes with local actions to drive global change, promoting responsible consumption based on science. It also aims to influence the perceptions and behaviours of older people, encouraging greater individual responsibility and reinforcing the public administration’s commitment to citizen participation and municipal sustainability.

12 months of duration.

General: According to the recent Opinion Barometer on Children and Adolescents, children and adolescents consider pollution and the environment to be their second biggest concern. However, when analysing actual attitudes, a parallel with adults can be observed: in Andalusia, 16.4% of the older population doubts or denies climate change, and nationally, 40% of young people aged 15 to 19 believe that the ecological crisis is exaggerated. Both young people and adults perceive little urgency to act and low individual commitment. Information overload and fake news exacerbate this gap: 51% have difficulty identifying fake news and 24% do not verify information. In addition, the increase in online hate speech encourages aggressive and discriminatory attitudes, increasing the vulnerability of children and adolescents to environmental misinformation. There has been an increase in carefree, sceptical or denialist opinions among young people, with a low perception of their ability to influence the climate crisis, which translates into unsustainable behaviour. ‘Clima sin Filtro’ seeks to address this situation by promoting understanding of scientific evidence, critical thinking and the active participation of children and young people in proposing sustainable solutions and community dialogue.

Target (Disengaged)

Mobilised citizens: Students aged 10 to 14 (125 / 25 per municipality) and senior citizens (50 / 10 per municipality).

Demobilised citizens: Teenagers (50/10 per municipality) and senior citizens (10/2 per municipality).

Multiplier agents: Town councils (5); Educational centres (5); Senior citizen centres (5); Environmental education entities (5); others.

The engagement strategy is based on:

Random selection of classrooms and participation of entire classes, ensuring representativeness and the inclusion of sceptical profiles;
A playful, participatory methodology (fact-checking challenges, cooperative games, and guided dialogues) that creates a fun, motivating, and non-judgmental environment where each participant can express themselves freely and reflect without fear of making mistakes;
A formal alliance with the five local councils and the five educational centres, which provide spaces, amplify the results and co-organise a public intergenerational meeting in which young and old present their conclusions to the community.

The aim of the project is for at least 70% of students and 50% of older people to reach level 3 (‘action supporter’) by the end of the project, as measured by a pre-post test.

Science – Based

Project activities will be designed based on up-to-date research from reliable sources, adapting to the evolving characteristics and context of the target population.

The activities are built on verifiable evidence (local meteorological data, emissions inventories, and studies on misinformation) and apply two tools highlighted in the Scientific Committee’s Guide: (1) pre-bunking (anticipating refutation before exposing the hoax) and (2) data-based storytelling. During the workshops, students use a simple fact-checking protocol (source origin, internal consistency and empirical support) with real examples detected in their networks; older people contrast their climate memory with official historical series, reinforcing collective confidence in the evidence. In addition, each session will feature scientific advice thanks to the collaboration of environmental protection and climate change organisations, which will provide speakers and up-to-date material to ensure the technical rigour of the content. The process culminates in the Practical Guide to Detecting Environmental Fake News, published in PDF format, with QR codes to open data repositories and a section on ‘verified local hoaxes’ to facilitate replication in other municipalities. The main indicator will be an average improvement of ≥ 20% in the commitment score between the initial and final tests.

Gender

Equality is incorporated as a cross-cutting theme in the project in accordance with the Scientific Committee’s Guide and Coglobal’s Equality Plan, through gender mainstreaming, the use of disaggregated data and the visibility of female role models. In management, the team maintains parity, external contracts include equality clauses, and the Equality Commission collects disaggregated data and ensures inclusive language. In terms of content, the contributions of women scientists and climate activists are highlighted, evidence is presented on women’s greater concern, responsible consumption and critical thinking regarding the environment, and the differential impact of climate change on women and men is emphasised. In terms of participation, gender balance is guaranteed in classes, intergenerational meetings are scheduled at times compatible with care responsibilities, and female attendance is promoted through dissemination on networks and associations. In terms of follow-up, the percentages of women in the team and presentations, female participation in workshops, and the relevance of testimonials included will be measured. With these measures, the project ensures that women and men participate, learn, and exercise leadership on equal terms throughout the intervention.

Planned activities

Combating climate misinformation by strengthening, through participatory methodologies and a gender-based approach, scientific verification capabilities and joint action by adolescents and adults in five Andalusian municipalities; creating local networks for mutual learning and environmental co-responsibility.

Action model

Through coordination meetings and online co-design workshops, teaching and facilitation staff, together with local councils, have access to a participatory educational resource on climate verification (scientifically validated and with a gender focus), along with the necessary training and measurement tools, as a common basis for implementing the intervention.

Through a training process, participating students master climate verification tools, carry out a participatory diagnosis of their environment and develop proposals for responsible consumption and sustainable solutions.

Through intergenerational meetings, public actions and communication campaigns, young and older people share climate knowledge, submit proposals for action to local councils and distribute the Practical Guide, creating a local network committed to detecting and stopping environmental hoaxes.