To commemorate the necessity of a free press while tackling the  climate crisis, this year UNESCO looks to greener pastures for environmental journalism 

The 31st World Freedom Day, which highlights the importance of the press and journalism around the world focused on ‘A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the environmental crisis’ which aims to give journalists liberties when reporting on climate change issues. 

World Press Freedom Day takes place annually on May 3 – and it sheds light on the struggles and impact of the press in tackling issues and raising awareness. As journalism works to reflects what is happening in society, this year’s theme is significant as the climate crisis has had negative impacts on the world and its ecosystems. The recent floods in Dubai and the ongoing heatwaves in Asia are just a few examples of the world’s spiraling weather patterns. 

Journalists have a seemingly crucial role to play in informing the public about climate change, and its effects as they are responsible for sharing climate news. Along with this responsibility, journalists are also obligated to report in the public’s interest, and the climate crisis falls well within the range of public interest reporting. And currently, there seems to be some challenges.  

The United Nations mentioned on their website that the significance of environmental reporting lies in its ability to shape democratic societies by raising awareness of the increasing environmental crisis and its consequences. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO mentioned in a statement on May 3, that “without reliable scientific information about the ongoing environmental crisis, we can never hope to overcome it… On World Press Freedom Day, we must reaffirm our commitment to defending freedom of expression and protecting journalists worldwide.” 

As a result, some news organisations across the world have increased their coverage of global warming and the climate crisis. A clear indicator comes from the reporting of the flooding in Dubai, which climate scientists have stated could be related to the world’s skyrocketing temperatures, and many mainstream media outlets have mentioned this in their coverage, with publications like CNN highlighting climate scientists’ views that global warming is causing these issues. This highlights how publications have made strides to improve climate related coverage and have invested resources in doing so. 

Reggy Moalusi the executive director of the South African National Editors Forum has mentioned that one challenge that journalists face in reporting on climate related news is a lack of resources. This is because newsroom sizes are decreasing, and journalists are having to cover more topics themselves. This means that journalists cannot dedicate time solely to climate reporting as they must have their hands in every jar at once, unlike 30 years ago. “Any kind of specialist reporting has gone down,” he mentioned.  

Established journalist and editor, Candice Bailey, told Wits Vuvuzela that South Africa has a lean environmental journalism landscape, meaning that this field in South African journalism is established, but can be built upon. She mentioned that “the focus on climate change improved the vision of environmental journalism.” Which indicates that the increasing relevance of climate issues may bolster the environmental journalism space in the country. 

This year’s World Press Day aimed to look at these issues between the press and the environment and find innovative and engaging solutions for them. UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day conference will be held in Chile on May 2-4  2024.