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(Menlo Park, CA, Tuesday, September 15, 2020) – Today, ahead of Climate Week, Facebook announced the launch of a new Climate Science Information Center on the platform to connect people to factual and up-to-date climate information, as well as set an ambitious new net zero emissions target for the company’s value chain.

The company has also announced their global operations will achieve net zero carbon emissions and be 100% supported by renewable energy in 2020.

Climate Science Information Center

The Climate Science Information Center is a separate, dedicated space on Facebook with factual resources up-to-date climate information from the world’s leading climate organizations and actionable steps people can take in their everyday lives to combat climate change. The company is working with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and their global network of climate science contributors to feature facts, figures, and data. Featured contributors include the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and others. Facebook News curators will also include posts from high quality publishers and other relevant sources to highlight relevant climate science news content.

One of the biggest lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is how powerful a force Facebook can be for connecting people to accurate, expert advice and information during a global crisis. The company will take a similar approach to the climate crisis, launching a new Climate Science Information Center, modeled on the Covid-19 Information Center that has, so far, directed more than 2 billion people to information from health authorities, with more than 600 million people clicking through to learn more.

Net zero emissions for our value chain

In addition to Facebook’s goal of reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions by 75% this year, they are also announcing they will achieve net zero emissions for operations. They are also setting an ambitious goal to reach net zero emissions for their value chain – including emissions from suppliers and other factors such as employee commuting and business travel – in 2030. Over the next decade, Facebook will work to decarbonize their operations and value chain, including by working with suppliers on their own goals, enabling new technologies and making their facilities as efficient as possible.

Tackling climate misinformation

Facebook also remains committed to tackling climate misinformation. They partnering with more than 70 independent fact-checking organizations globally, including one partner that is specifically dedicated to reviewing science content. As with all types of claims debunked by partners, Facebook reduces the distribution of these posts in News Feed and applies a warning label on top of these posts both on Facebook and Instagram so people understand that the content has been rated and what the ratings mean.

Facebook will also attach a link to the Climate Science Information Center to posts and ads that discuss climate change. This isn’t a judgment of whether the posts themselves are accurate, but providing access to authoritative information either way. The Center will launch in France, Germany, the UK and US to start and will roll out to other countries soon.

For more information, please visit www.about.fb.com/news.

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