This classification targets the very means of tackling climate change — renewable energy, battery and storage technologies, electric vehicles, even efficiency improvements — by portraying them as unreliable, unaffordable or harmful. Narratives may claim that wind and solar power cause blackouts, or that the green transition is worse than the status-quo.

Here the narrative shifts focus from the science of climate change to the economics of its mitigation. It argues that decarbonisation or net-zero strategies will bankrupt nations, raise energy bills, destroy jobs, or disadvantage ‘‘ordinary people’’. The message is that climate policy is ideological, unaffordable and unfair.

This targets the institutions, governance frameworks and elites of the climate regime rather than its science. It argues that global summits (e.g., COPs), the UN, or technocratic elites are incompetent, hypocritical or corrupt. Examples include critiques of high-carbon travel by delegates or perceived elite lifestyles.

Addresses narratives that admit warming may be happening but downplay the severity. Key themes include: 'It’s too late anyway', '+1.5°C is impossible', or 'Climate change is a slow process'. By recasting the threat as mild or distant, these narratives reduce the perceived need for immediate mitigation.

The focus turns away from the science or policy itself and onto the individuals communicating it. The narrative asserts that these messengers are hypocrites, self-serving, ideologically motivated, or part of a conspiracy. The effect is to sow doubt in the messenger so that their message becomes suspect.