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Monday’s report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was striking, if not surprising. It warned that the consequences of climate change—including recent extreme weather events that have wreaked havoc around the globe—will grow dramatically worse this century if humanity fails to act. As CCNow executive director Mark Hertsgaard emphasized in coverage for The Nation, the report clarified “that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), as envisioned in the Paris Agreement signed at the last major climate summit in 2015, is imperative.”
UN Secretary General António Guterres, in his statement on the report, called it a “code red for humanity.”
Fortunately, the press seemed to get the message. Strong headlines and imagery featured prominently on front pages and homepages. The report also prompted segments on the flagship morning and evening programs on ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS. Throughout the day Monday, many outlets ran helpful explainers and op-eds unpacking the report.
But by and large, coverage quickly dropped off, replaced by other stories—a fact at odds with the blaring alert journalists had just shared with audiences.
November’s international climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, COP26, is approaching fast. The IPCC report is likely to serve as the foundation for much of the negotiation and debate there. Decisions made between now and the event’s conclusion will be critical in determining whether humanity limits warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which scientists say we must. The extent to which our audiences understand the necessity of that target—and, more importantly, of action—will shape the pressure world leaders feel, or don’t, to finally get climate right. And so journalists must keep this crisis, and efforts to address it, front and center.
In our column this week, CCNow deputy director Andrew McCormick offers a framework for climate coverage in the months ahead of November’s COP26 meeting, including two areas for special focus: climate justice and climate solutions.
Read the column, which is available for all CCNow partners to republish. And stay tuned for more from us soon on CCNow’s COP26 plans.
NEWS FROM US
Missed connections. For Columbia Journalism Review’s daily newsletter “The Media Today,” Jon Allsop writes that the Monday-Tuesday combo of the IPCC report’s release and the passage of a major infrastructure deal in the US handed journalists a golden opportunity to observe prominent connections between the two. But newsrooms mostly missed it. “The global climate crisis, the report, and the infrastructure bill are, in an important sense, all part of the same story,” Allsop writes. “America’s climate commitments aren’t just tied up in domestic political squabbles; they determine the administration’s credibility in international climate negotiations.” Read the column…
Talking Shop recap: Emotional fatigue & burnout. The last year and a half has been monumentally challenging for journalists everywhere. To learn how to cope with climate grief and journalistic burnout, our latest Talking Shop webinar featured frank discussion among peers, as well as a mental health professional. It was a constructive conversation to help journalists recognize warning signs and understand how they can cope. A recording and transcript of the event are here…
The climate connection, made easy. Evidence of climate change is all around us, but too often climate is absent from extreme weather reporting. See our new handy guide to help set your coverage straight. Print it out for referencing, email it to colleagues, share it with everyone in your newsroom. (We promise, making the connection is WAY easier than you think!) Check it out…
ESSENTIAL CLIMATE COVERAGE
Climate action lurches forward. The day after the US Senate passed a sweeping $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, Democrats in the chamber advanced a separate but complementary $3.5 trillion budget package which contains the lion’s share of President Joe Biden’s and the party’s climate action plan. Both bills’ futures are uncertain, but stakes are high, as scientists warn that time is short to implement sweeping change. From The Washington Post…
Lawmakers and industry, not individuals. In the aftermath of the IPCC report, many will ask what they can do to help fight climate change. We should do what we can to reduce our emissions, but as CNN explains, “no amount of individual action—changing lightbulbs, turning up the thermostat or reducing plastic consumption—will address the magnitude of the problem.” The onus is on lawmakers and industry—but citizens can put pressure on them. From CNN…
Western Wildfire Tracker. Wildfire season in the American West has gotten longer and more severe as a result of human-caused climate change. A New York Times interactive map helps audiences to track and visualize recent and ongoing wildfires, including details about the fires’ severity, their containment, and the threat to nearby communities. From The New York Times…
Allegations from the Amazon. An Indigenous rights group has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate actions by Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, as genocide and crimes against humanity. The group alleges that Bolsonaro has sought to clear Indigenous peoples out of the Amazon to make way for agriculture and mining—at a time when the forest’s health is critical to humanity’s climate survival. From Inside Climate News…
All on the line. With the Biden administration rejecting activists’ legal arguments against the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline, protests in Minnesota continue. Demonstrators, including representatives of local Indigenous communities, have been subject to pepper spray, rubber bullets, and arrest. “It’s a climate crime,” one protester said. “This is the largest tar sands pipeline in the world being built in the time of drought in Minnesota and catastrophic fires in Ontario and Manitoba.” From The Guardian…
Pictures misspeak 1,000 words. The June heat wave that struck the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia was deadly and unprecedented. But you wouldn’t have known it from the imagery many major news outlets ran with their coverage, which overwhelmingly depicted just another hot day and even fun in the sun. From Columbia Journalism Review…
REPUBLICATION RECOMMENDATIONS
The following stories deserve special consideration for republication by CCNow partners:
- ‘Abolish these companies, get rid of them’: what would it take to break up big oil? — From The Guardian’s & CCNow’s ‘Climate Crimes’ series
- A world of hurt: 2021 climate disasters raise food security alarms — Mongabay
- Female ‘Hotshot’ Firefighters Want Action on Reproductive Health Risks — The Fuller Project & The Guardian
- A mega-dairy is transforming Arizona’s aquifer and farming lifestyles — High Country News
For partner outlets: to submit stories for sharing, please use this form. Instructions for republishing and the full list of stories available for republication can be found in our Sharing Library.
ODDS & ENDS
Racial trauma and climate change. Tomorrow, August 13, at 3 p.m. US Eastern Time, the Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health will host a webinar exploring the compounding traumas of racial injustice and the climate emergency. From the event description: “Community psychiatrist and lifelong public and mental health advocate Dr. Annelle Primm will join us for a discussion on how community resources and strengths can be leveraged to support mental health and build resilience.” Learn more and register here…
Jobs. Inside Climate News is hiring a senior editor for justice. Grist has openings for a content partnerships manager and digital producer for audience. USA Today is hiring a fellow to fact check climate misinformation. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is hiring an enterprise reporter for environmental issues. And last but not least, The Washington Post is seeking freelance pitches for its Climate Solutions vertical.
Registration open for COP26. Journalists and other attendees can apply now to attend the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow, set for October 31 to November 12. Registration information is here…
Thanks for reading, and see you next time!
If you have any feedback on this newsletter, or know of information that should be included here, shoot us a note at editors@coveringclimatenow.org