State of Emergency: Reporting on Solutions to Climate Change

In advance of COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow later this month, the Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is holding a free webcast, State of Emergency, on the importance of climate-solutions journalism.

Participating in the panel discussion are: Mike De Souza, managing editor of The Narwhal; climatologist Blair Feltmate, University of Waterloo; Laura Lynch, host of CBC's What on Earth; Linda Solomon Wood, founder and editor of Canada's National Observer; and Jonathan Watts, global environment editor of The Guardian. Fatima Syed, a reporter at The Narwhal and host of The Backbench podcast will lead the discussion. This Special Event webcast takes place on Tuesday, October 26 at 1 p.m. ET, five days before the opening of the UN conference that is expected to attract world leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"Climate journalists today have this difficult moral duty to not merely report what's happening to the natural world around us—and by extension how it's impacting human life—but also to confront it," says Syed. "Reporting on solutions is a big part of meeting that challenge. I'm looking forward to learning how this panel of climate reporters and editors are trying to shift the climate conversation to include more solutions."

In August 2021, the UN released its latest climate report, leading the Secretary-General to declare it a "code red for humanity." As the report notes, climate change is rapidly and fundamentally altering our landscapes - be they environmental, political, economic, or social. From record-breaking heatwaves to prolonged droughts to migration crises and even production declines, our changing climate impacts all aspects of society. And though human activity is substantially driving climate change, it can also provide solutions through ingenuity, changing habits, collective action and more.

Journalists have a role to play, too, in ensuring that climate reporting doesn't cover only the worst impacts of the crisis, such as mass flooding, superstorms and forest fires, but also elevates potential solutions and inspires audience to act. In the lead-up to the conference on October 31, this panel will explore the importance of climate-solutions journalism in sharing valuable knowledge and lessons learned from academics, news leaders and local communities.

DATE: Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021
TIME: 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT

Read the full release.

Registration not required. The webcast will be livestreamed here.