Twitter has announced that it will no longer allow adverts on its site that deny the scientific consensus on climate change.

The Associated Press reports that this policy is already in place at Google and there was no indication that the change would affect what users post on the social media site.

In a statement on Friday (April 22) the company said: "“Ads shouldn’t detract from important conversations about the climate crisis."

The announcement, coinciding with Earth Day, came hours before the European Union agreed upon a deal requiring big tech companies to vet their sites more closely for hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content.

Braintree and Witham Times: Twitter made this announcement on Earth Day (PA)Twitter made this announcement on Earth Day (PA)

Twitter said it would provide more information in the coming months on how it plans to provide “reliable, authoritative context to the climate conversations” its users engage in, including from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The UN-backed science panel’s reports on the causes and effects of climate change provide the basis for international negotiations to curb climate change.

The company already has a dedicated climate topic on its site and offered what it described as “pre-bunks” during last year’s UN climate conference to counter misinformation surrounding climate change.