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We’re thrilled to kick off Covering Climate Now’s next joint coverage week, which runs from Monday, June 27, through Friday, July 1, and focuses on food and water. We’ve heard from hundreds of journalists who plan to participate, and we’re so grateful to have everyone aboard.
We chose ‘Food & Water’ as our topic partly because eating and drinking are basic human activities that provide an easy way for audiences to understand how climate change affects all of us. What we did not anticipate was that this joint coverage week would come amid an alarming spike in world hunger, driven both by the war in Ukraine and climate-fueled heat waves and other extreme weather. The current dislocations in the global food system and the consequent human suffering are, sadly, a preview of the future if climate change is left unchecked. This makes sharp, abundant, empowering coverage of the food, water, and climate connection all the more necessary. Let’s make this joint coverage week a shining example of how good journalism is an essential climate solution.
Here’s what you can expect from us during the week:
- Not one but TWO newsmaker interviews. CCNow partners will speak with Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International, and Jennifer Morgan, climate envoy for Germany and former head of Greenpeace International, about rising global hunger. With Morgan, in particular, we’ll wrap up this weekend’s G7 summit in Germany, discussing what countries achieved, or didn’t, on climate and the food crisis. As always, stories from these interviews will be available for publication or broadcast by all CCNow partners. Expect the stories to be ready to run next week.
- Press briefing. How we grapple with the challenges that climate change presents for food and water is a complex question. To get journalists up to speed, a distinguished panel of experts will explain climate’s role in the global food crisis, how reforming water use can pay vast climate dividends, and how “regenerative agriculture” — farming practices that prioritize soil health and biodiversity — can be better both for the planet and for farmers’ bottom lines. The briefing will be Wednesday, June 29, at 12 pm US Eastern Time. RSVP.
- Daily mailings. Each day, we’ll send a roll-up of new coverage by our partners, including some stories that will be available for republication. We’ll also be highlighting great content that our partners have already published on key aspects of the food and climate connection, as well as resources to support your own reporting.
- Social media events. Throughout the week, we’ll hop on Twitter Spaces and Instagram Live to speak with journalists about their work on the food and climate connection. Specific dates, times, and subjects will be announced next week. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram — and tune in for practical tips and insights from reporters at the forefront of these issues.
Here’s how you and your news outlet can get involved during the week:
- Publish original content on the intersection of food and climate, or publish content made available by another CCNow partner, through our Sharing Library.
- Tune in for the press briefing and social media events.
- Amplify food and water stories on social media, using the hashtag #CCNow.
- Join the conversation in our CCNow collaboration-wide Slack workspace. Share your stories with fellow journalists, brainstorm ideas, and more. (If you haven’t joined already and want to, send an email to editors@coveringclimatenow.org)
Thank you everyone for your involvement. Now let’s go make some noise!
FROM US
Talking Shop rewind. We held a Talking Shop yesterday with journalists from India, Hong Kong, and the US to discuss how to report the climate connections to food and water. Topics included why food is a terrific bridge between personal and planetary health, using first-person reporting on food to build audience, why farmers, chefs and entrepreneurs are some of the best sources for engaging stories, and more. A recording and transcript can be found here.
Press Briefing. Join us Wednesday, June 29 at 12pm US Eastern Time for a press briefing with a panel of experts on climate, hunger, and the future of food. We’ll hear about climate’s role in the growing food crisis and solutions to help improve our food systems. RSVP.
NOTEWORTHY STORIES
West Virginia v. EPA. A ruling by the Supreme Court in the coming days could limit the US government’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. The case is the result of a multi-pronged strategy by “Republican attorneys general, conservative legal activists and their funders,” to weaken the executive branch’s ability to tackle climate change. By Coral Davenport at The New York Times…
Backtracking. To compensate for restricted gas supplies due to the war on Ukraine, several European countries are returning to coal, albeit reluctantly. The move raises concerns that the energy crisis could lead European countries to delay their transition to clean energy. By Sam Meredith at CNBC…
Medical coverage. Research journals have warned for years about the risks of climate change, but, in a first, The New England Journal of Medicine will devote articles to its health impacts. The first set looks at fossil-fuel-driven health harms, including the effects of climate change on children. By Victoria St. Martin at Inside Climate News…
Financial strain. More than three-quarters of Americans have experienced extreme weather in the last five years. Most people who experience major weather damage don’t receive financial support from the US government — and their finances suffer long-term. By Rebecca Hersher at NPR…
Facts bear repeating. Ohio State University researched audience responses to climate science and climate skepticism and found that accurate reporting only briefly influenced viewpoints. The short-lived impact of such coverage suggests that repetition — keeping climate front and center — is essential to defang climate denial and build accurate public understanding. By Fiona Harvey at the Guardian…
REPUBLICATION RECOMMENDATIONS
The following stories deserve special consideration for republication by CCNow partners:
- 5 Foods You Eat Everyday Could Disappear Because Of Climate Change, From Coffee To Potatoes – Green Queen
- California Towns Scramble to Prevent Next Wildfire Catastrophe – Capital & Main
- ‘It Could Have Been Any of Us’, Colleague Says, After Brazil Confirms Murders of Bruno Pereira, Dom Phillips – Energy Mix
- Five Months On, the Oil Spill’s Effects Linger – Hakai magazine
For partner outlets: The full list of stories available for republication and instructions for republishing can be found in our Sharing Library. To submit stories for sharing, please use this form.
ODDS & ENDS
Visual failings. Here’s a word of caution from Columbia Journalism Review that remains relevant on the use of appropriate imagery in reporting to reflect extreme weather events. Hint: ‘Fun in the sun’ photos should be avoided. Read it here.
The climate connection. Climate Central has launched the Climate Shift Index to help journalists and weathercasters quantify how climate change is impacting local weather in real time. A briefing on how to use the index will be held at 12 pm US Eastern Time today. RSVP.
Living with extreme heat. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute will hold a briefing on policies and practices to address extreme heat on Friday, June 24, 12 pm US Eastern Time. RSVP.
Climate justice. The Solutions Journalism Network, The Uproot Project, and The Solutions Project will host a webinar to discuss the key findings from the recently released Climate Solutions Narrative Trends report, as well as how and why a growing number of journalists are covering climate justice stories. Thursday, June 30, 3:30 pm US Eastern Time. RSVP.
Tip sheet. Earlier this month, E&E News published a leaked list of more than 160 coal ash facilities in 26 US states whose closure plans are being investigated by the US Environmental Protection Agency. SEJ has the backstory and ideas for local reporting. Check it out here.
Fellowship deadline. The application period ends this week, Sunday, June 26, for journalists and activists to apply to be a Bertha Fellow. Fellows investigate a core challenge question for a year and produce a package of work. More here.
Tweet of the Week
As the climate crisis intensifies droughts from Iraq to Spain to the US, remnants of past towns and societies have reemerged from receding waters.https://t.co/ge9R8LNXXs
— DW News (@dwnews) June 17, 2022
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
