Lyrebird Dreaming - Gregory Andrews
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Gregory Andrews is:
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At the United Nations last month, Donald Trump stood before global leaders and the world and declared again that climate change is a hoax.
He did this while floods and fires are ravaging communities, while coral reefs bleach before our eyes, and while scientists deliver ever more urgent warnings about the future of our kids and the entire planet.
It would be easy to dismiss Trump’s words as the rantings of one man, or the corruption of one political system. But his rhetoric fits a larger pattern.
Around the world, far-right leaders and authoritarian movements so often cling to climate denial.
And the question is: why? Why are the far right and fascists so often climate change denialists?
The alliance of power and denial
Part of the answer is simple.
Fossil fuels mean power. They mean wealth, jobs, influence, and campaign donations. They underpin whole economies.
Authoritarian leaders thrive on protecting those vested interests, whether in coal, oil, or gas.
If they are to admit climate change is real, they must admit those empires are killing us.
So instead, they call the science a conspiracy and double down on extraction.
Science is the enemy of authoritarianism
Another reason lies deeper. Fascism thrives on controlling the story - defining reality from the top down.
Independent science undermines that control.
Evidence, facts, and peer review don’t bend to the will of the “strongman.”
So authoritarian leaders attack science itself.
They call it fake, elitist, corrupt.
And climate science, which demands urgent collective action, is an easy target. (And the same goes for health science. Just look at Trump’s anti-vaccination actions!)
Nationalism against global cooperation
Climate change doesn’t respect borders.
It demands international treaties, collective commitments, and global solidarity.
But fascism clings to nationalism, sovereignty, and suspicion of “outsiders.”
To admit the scale of climate change is to admit no nation can solve it alone - and that truth cuts against the authoritarian instinct to build walls, close borders, and hoard resources.
From denial to weaponisation
It’s also important to see how the far right is shifting.
Some fascists still cry “hoax.”
Others have moved to a new strategy: accept that climate change is real, but twist it into justification for exclusion and control.
They talk of climate refugees and renewable energy threats.
They imagine militarised borders and “pure” homelands.
This is eco-fascism - not denial, but weaponisation of the crisis.
More than science, it’s about democracy
The real lesson is this: climate denial isn’t just bad science or policy.
It’s overt political strategy. It shields fossil fuel elites.
It undermines trust in experts.
It blocks global cooperation.
And it nurtures authoritarian power.
So here’s the thing.
Resisting climate denial must be much more than just defending the science.
It has to be about defending democracy itself.
When Trump, Barnaby Joyce, or Andrew Hastie label climate change a hoax, they’re not only denying the atmosphere.
They’re trying to deny us the future we deserve - one built on truth, solidarity, and justice.
Closing thought
Fascists deny climate change because they cannot control it.
They can’t bend the laws of physics to their ideology.
And so they pretend it isn’t real.
Our task - as citizens, as voters, as people of conscience - is to prove them wrong, by choosing facts over lies, action over delay, and democracy over authoritarianism.
Links
- The Guardian – Why right-wing populists are obsessed with climate change denial
- Nature – How political ideology shapes climate change belief and action
- Brookings Institution – How far-right parties exploit climate politics
- Scientific American – The real reasons why conservatives deny climate science
- IPCC – Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023
- Carbon Brief – Why people deny climate change and what to do about it