RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
06/19/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/19/2026 08:27
Access to environmental and climate information in France: RSF presents its 10 recommendations for the national plan
On May 19, France announced the forthcoming publication of a national plan for access to environmental and climate information. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has set out 10 recommendations to strengthen the promotion and protection of reliable and independent journalism on environmental issues. Against a backdrop of growing threats to journalists and the rise of climate disinformation, particularly online, these recommendations aim to ensure high-quality reporting that serves the public debate.
"As climate disinformation flourishes and journalists investigating environmental issues are increasingly exposed to pressure and attacks, safeguarding the integrity of information must become a priority for public policy. Defending the climate also means defending everyone's right to access reliable facts: without independent journalism, there can be no informed public debate nor democratic decision-making commensurate with the environmental emergency. Whilst the challenge is global, the response also requires concrete national commitments. The forthcoming national plan for access to information on the environment and climate change represents a unique opportunity to move beyond mere declarations of intent and to make France a model in this field. With two major international meetings approaching - COP 17 on biodiversity, to be held in Armenia in October 2026, and COP 31 on climate change in Turkey in November 2026 - RSF calls on France and all states to take these recommendations into account when implementing concrete public policies.
Anne Bocandé
RSF Editorial Director
As the effects of climate change intensify and call for political and societal responses proportionate to the urgency of the situation, disinformation continues to sow doubt about the human causes of climate change. Studies show that companies in the fossil fuel sector have been running disinformation campaigns for many years. This climate disinformation is also being perpetrated by foreign actors seeking to influence French and European climate policy.
Added to this persistent phenomenon is the pressure being exerted on journalists investigating environmental issues. Following their 2024 investigation into the pork industry, the Breton investigative media outlet Splann! and two of its journalists Inès Léraud and Kristen Fal'chon, were the target of a SLAPP - an acronym for "strategic litigation against public participation", a legal action intended to intimidate and discourage criticism on matters of public interest. The complainant was a prominent figure in the pig farming lobby and the case was dismissed in June 2025.
Such attacks sometimes take an even more direct form. One of the wheels on the car belonging to Morgan Large, a journalist with Radio Kreiz Breizh (RKB), was unscrewed, and her dog was poisoned in 2021. This was an act of sabotage and a life-threatening attack on a journalist investigating the agri-food industry in Brittany where she lives and works.
More recently, in January 2026, around 50 oyster farmers set fire to the entrance gate of the French daily newspaper Midi Libre in Saint-Jean-de Védas, in the south of France, after the paper reported on the health ban on consuming oysters from the Thau lagoon.
Methods of intimidation against science journalists are also becoming increasingly inventive and sometimes take a criminal turn. Coinciding with the publication of investigative articles on PFAS pollution (the "forever chemicals"), Stéphane Horel, an investigative journalist at the daily Le Monde, has been the victim of a series of incidents - thefts and attempted break-ins at her home - which could suggest deliberate attacks linked to her investigative work.
A global concern, government commitments
Around the world, many journalists face obstacles or threats due to their coverage of environmental issues: restricted access to the field and to information, the insecurity of sources, harassment campaigns, abusive legal proceedings, or even physical violence. To mark World Environment Day on June 5, RSF identified the 10 main forms of obstruction faced by journalists covering these topics.
To raise awareness of the major danger posed by climate and environmental disinformation, the Forum on Information and Democracy, launched by RSF, published Ten Priorities for Combating Climate Disinformation in February, a report setting out recommendations for governments as part of the Workstream on the Integrity of Information on Climate Change and Environmental Issues, co-chaired by the governments of Armenia and Brazil. Among other things, the Forum calls for reform of the digital advertising market, for digital platforms to be held more accountable, and for the integrity of information to be included as a requirement of climate and environmental governance.
10 recommendations from RSF to safeguard the right to information on climate change
1. Recognise the right to reliable information as an integral part of environmental protection
Environmental protection and the protection of reliable information are two major challenges of the 21st century and are intrinsically linked. As such, France should recognise the protection of the right to reliable information as an integral part of environmental protection and enshrine it in any action plan to combat climate change.
2. Protect environmental journalism
As environmental issues become increasingly central to public debate, journalists covering these topics may be targeted and attacked.
A rapid alert and protection system for environmental journalists in France should enable them to report any difficulties they encounter promptly.
3. Support the coverage of environmental issues by the news media whilst respecting their editorial freedom
Although the majority of climate disinformation is disseminated online outside the news media sphere, the news media play a leading role in providing access to facts on climate and environmental issues.
Monitoring and evaluating media coverage of environmental issues can have positive effects when conducted as part of constructive media criticism, with the aim of supporting and encouraging greater attention to these topics. However, the fight against climate disinformation must not be used as a pretext for exerting pressure on the editorial freedom of the news media.
4. Incorporate the integrity of climate change reporting into France's new partnership policy
Given the very high costs of environmental investigative journalism, RSF calls on France to increase its support for environmental journalism projects and collectives of environmental reporters, whilst respecting their editorial independence.
The sustainability of media covering climate and environmental issues should be a priority in France's official development assistance.
5. Demonetise climate disinformation, remonetise reliable information
Numerous studies demonstrate the profitability of climate and environmental disinformation.
Tackling the opacity of the online advertising market would have two positive effects: it would demonetise climate disinformation and redirect part of the advertising revenue towards news media.
France should mobilise and work with the European Commission and member states to reform the online advertising market.
6. Integrate climate issues into efforts to combat information manipulation and foreign interference
New research demonstrates the overlap between climate disinformation and information interference. To safeguard public debate, particularly during election periods, it is important that the authorities and agencies responsible for combating information manipulation are able to identify these dynamics at national and local levels.
7. Recognise climate disinformation as a contributor to systemic risk posed by platforms under the Digital Services Act (DSA)
Work with the European Commission and researchers on the basis of the DSA (Article 40) to better understand the systemic risks posed by climate disinformation, its actors and techniques, and their effects.
8. Create an interministerial coordination function for information integrity
As information-related challenges, increasingly intersect across all levels of government, there is an urgent need to ensure effective interministerial coordination.
The government could establish an interministerial delegation responsible for information integrity, which would enable better coordination between the relevant government departments (economy, ecological transition, digital affairs, culture, etc.).
9. Strengthen France's multilateral action on information integrity and climate change
As a founding member of the Partnership for Information and Democracy and a member of the Global Initiative for Climate Change Information Integrity, France is one of the pioneering states on the international stage.
France could strengthen its efforts by supporting the work of the various international organisations addressing these issues.
10. Fund research into climate disinformation
Globally, research into climate disinformation accounts for only six per cent of research on information ecosystems.
Despite the lack of available data and the opacity of digital platforms, France could fund a research programme to better understand the dynamics of climate disinformation.
Published on 19.06.2026
RSF - Reporters sans frontières published this content on June 19, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 19, 2026 at 14:27 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]