Google and the United Nations have partnered to ensure that when people
google “climate change,” they’re presented with a variety of verified,
authoritative sources of information in 12 languages. In addition to organic
search results, Google is surfacing short and easy-to-understand information
panels and visuals on the causes and effects of climate change, as well as
individual actions that people can take to help tackle the climate crisis.
“We are happy to collaborate with Google to ensure that factual, trustworthy
content about climate change is available to as wide a global audience as
possible,” said Melissa Fleming, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for
Global Communications. “Misinformation is so widespread these days that it
threatens progress and understanding on many critical issues, including climate.
The need for accurate, science-based information on a subject like climate
change to rise to the top of searches has therefore never been greater.”
In his 2021 report, Our Common Agenda,
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for tackling the
“infodemic” of
misinformation
plaguing the world and proposed introducing a global code of conduct that
promotes integrity in public information and facts and science in public
discourse.
For Google, the search features are part of a larger push to build products and
tools that empower people to better understand and limit their personal
environmental impact — adding to a growing arsenal of educational tools that
help
employees
and
consumers
do their part to rein in their carbon footprint in a variety of areas.
The 50 Liter Home: Lessons from a multi-industry global collaboration
Join us as leaders from Electrolux and Procter & Gamble share insights and progress to date on ‘The 50 Liter Home’ — a partnership aimed at reducing water consumption in the home, while also generating awareness that leads to better lifestyle choices for sustainable water use — Wednesday, Oct. 16, at SB'24 San Diego.
“Global search interest in ‘how to be sustainable’ reached an all-time high this
year,” said Chris LaRosa, Senior Product Manager, when the climate search
feature was first launched in three languages last October. “At Google, we
believe technology has a crucial role to play in a carbon-free future and we
want to help people make more sustainable choices every day.”
Following the English, French and Spanish versions rolled out last
fall, UN climate content is now also featured on Google Search in Arabic,
Chinese, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese,
Russian, Thai and Vietnamese.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published May 2, 2022 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST