“You are not alone. Far from it. If you are concerned about the climate crisis and want your national government to do something about it, you are part of an enormous global majority.”=
So wrote Jonathan Watts in a piece Sumaúma published on Monday declaring that the Amazon-based news outlet was joining Covering Climate Now’s 89 Percent Project. The 89 Percent Project launched with a Joint Coverage Week on April 21 and continues through 2025 with another Joint Coverage Week coming before the COP30 climate summit in November.
That summit will take place in Brazil, making the perspective of Sumaúma particularly relevant during the months ahead. Named after one of the largest trees in the rainforest and staffed by Indigenous as well as western journalists, Sumaúma’s reporting is grounded in the conviction that “the most important centers of a planet experiencing climate collapse are not Washington or Beijing … [but rather] the enclaves of life on which our survival depends — the oceans, tropical rainforests and other diverse biomes.”
“Almost nine out of every ten people on the planet share [the opinion that stronger climate action is needed],” Watts wrote, adding, “You would never believe that from skewed social media, conservative news organisations or politicians of almost all stripes. They would have you think that climate action is unpopular, expensive and a worry only for a radical clique…. This ruse needs to be called out. And the best way to do that is to show that reality is completely different: The world wants change.”
Another new 89 Percent partner comes from Denmark, where digital news site Zetland on Monday republished one of the project’s anchor pieces: “Spiral of Silence” by The Guardian’s Damian Carrington.
Founded in 2016 by four former legacy media journalists determined to “make news less stupid and journalism more beneficial to society,” Zetland developed an ad-free business model “that is funded, supported, and driven forward by its members.” It has been financially sustainable since 2019, the same year it was named Europe’s best news app.
Not many news outlets in today’s world enjoy financial sustainability, a status Zetland attributes to listening to the thousands of “citizens who choose to contribute to [our] mission. We exist to give meaning to their lives and improve the public conversation.” Among the principles that guide Zetland’s journalism are: “We do not contribute to information overload: we focus on the defining issues of our time, not on what happened five minutes ago.” And another principle: “We fight cynicism and search for solutions.”
Sumaúma and Zetland exemplify a core mission of CCNow’s since our founding in 2019: helping journalists and news outlets around the world learn from and work with one another. The 89 Percent Project carries that mission forward by focusing on the overwhelming global majority that wants stronger climate action and hasn’t seen itself reflected in most reporting to date. The need for accurate, empowering news coverage of the climate emergency and its solutions has never been more urgent. We invite fellow journalists and newsrooms everywhere to join us.
From Us
CCNow Basics: Climate Science 101. Yesterday, CCNow’s resident meteorologist and TV engagement coordinator David Dickson hosted a webinar to help journalists get up to speed on the basics of climate change science. We covered concepts like the greenhouse effect and global warming, as well as how we know climate change is caused by humans, and specifically fossil fuel use, and not other natural factors. Watch a recording.
Power & Progress newsletter. The latest edition of our newsletter about the politics of the renewable energy transition spotlights the states, cities, tribal governments, and more who are suing oil companies for climate damages, on the grounds that the companies knew about climate change and did nothing to prevent it — which now are leading to attacks and “highly unusual” countersuits from Republicans and the Trump administration, whom oil companies now are lobbying for possible legal immunity. Check out the Power & Progress archive and sign up to get it every other Tuesday.
Climate at the Border newsletter. Our latest for journalists working in the US-Mexico border region looks at how conditions there have both fueled wildfires and how fires and residual smoke have reshaped border life, including public health. Check out the Climate at the Border archive and sign up to get it, in English or Spanish, every other Wednesday.
Noteworthy Stories
Green conclave? Which cardinals have been “outspoken and action-oriented” on climate change and the environment? A digital tool sorts cardinal electors on a range of issues, including climate change, and write-ups introduce audiences to those at the forefront of faith and environmentalism — from the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea, Luxembourg, and elsewhere. By Brian Roewe for National Catholic Reporter…
Dark clouds. Five former directors of the National Weather Service, who served in the role between 1988 and 2022, have warned in an open letter that further cuts to the agency’s staffing and budget by the Trump administration will result in avoidable deaths amid extreme weather events. By Evan Bush and Chase Cain for NBC News…
Sinking homes. Alaska is warming two to three times faster than the rest of the world, leaving tribal communities there — 40% of federally recognized tribes reside in the state — grappling with erosion, flooding, and permafrost degradation. These disasters are contributing to a housing shortage, which, amid subsequent government neglect, are leading communities to “extreme acts of adaptation,” including dragging homes across tundra to safer ground. Some worry, if conditions don’t improve, that keeping their tribe together will become impossible. By Jess Zhang and Megan Gannon for The Margin…
Thin ice. In Canada, shorter and warmer winters are threatening activities key to Indigenous communities’ economies and culture, such as broomball, hockey, ice fishing, and goose hunting. “We used to have [broomball] tournaments every few weeks,” said one resident of Cat Lake First Nation in northern Ontario, “but we haven’t been able to do that because the ice goes bad really early.” By Hilary Beaumont for The Guardian…
Saving the shea tree. Some in Africa describe shea butter, derived from shea tree nuts, as “women’s gold,” because its trade — especially exports to the US and Europe — provides an income to millions of women across the continent. Today, though, prolonged droughts due to climate change have shrunk the shea tree population and severely reduced their yields at harvest time; conservationists, in Uganda and elsewhere, are searching for solutions to rescue both the tree and the livelihoods that depend on it. By Njoroge Muigai and Anna Okumu for BBC News Africa…
The wind rises. Wind energy is considered essential to reducing Japan’s reliance on coal and gas, especially given the country’s special aversion to nuclear power, following the Fukushima disaster in 2011. And indeed, Japanese climate and environment groups have cheered the proliferation of offshore projects — yet, now, those groups find themselves at increasing and unusual odds with conservationists, who worry that offshore developments threaten delicate wildlife habitats. The country’s northernmost island, Hokkaido, for example, presents ideal conditions for wind energy development but is also home to the endangered white-tailed eagle. By Nithin Coa for Earth Island Journal…
Quote of the Week
“Our worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life. We know that’s a nightmare shared by those on the forecasting front lines — and by the people who depend on their efforts.”
– Five former National Weather Service directors,
on staffing and budget cuts by the Trump administration
Resources, Events, Etc.
American climate change opinions, over time. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has launched a new version of the CCAM Explorer, an interactive dashboard presenting findings from the organization’s signature “Climate Change in the American Mind” surveys. The tool now includes 31 datasets from between 2008 and 2024, “letting you investigate changes in Americans’ opinions about climate change over time and across different demographic and political groups.”
Creative Commons climate change photography. Climate Visuals, a program run by the nonprofit Climate Outreach, curates a wealth of photographs that can help journalism outlets visualize climate change, in addition to “guidance, resources and research on what makes for compelling, impactful climate change photography.” Recently added collections in the image library include “Visualising Air Pollution,” “Energy and the cost of living in Europe,” and “Carspreading.”
Conflict and climate change. The Transnational Institute has a briefing on “how the global arms race fuels climate instability, and [suggesting] ways to communicate on the issues that do not further legitimize military greenwashing.”
Food & Farming Journalism Network webinar. On May 22, Sentient Media’s Food & Farming Journalism Network will host a webinar, “Uncovering Agriculture’s Climate Impact,” featuring top experts, “[sharing] cutting-edge research on the powerful link between food systems and climate change.” The event will include an on-the-record, journalist-led Q&A. Learn more and register.
Jobs, Opportunities, Etc.
National & large outlets. Fortune is hiring an energy reporter (New York). ImpactAlpha is hiring an impact investing reporter (remote). Sinclair is hiring a national investigative journalist. The Pulitzer Center is hiring a director of editorial programs (remote or Washington, D.C.; apply by May 18).
Local & smaller outlets. The Taos News in New Mexico is hiring a senior reporter and assistant editor. The Durango Herald in Colorado is hiring a reporter. The Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky is hiring a state government and politics reporter. The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., is hiring a military reporter. The Connecticut Examiner is hiring a staff reporter, preferably with experience covering the environment. El Tímpano is hiring a senior health reporter/editor, to cover the California Bay Area’s Latino and Mayan immigrant communities (apply by May 12). New Hampshire Public Radio is hiring a senior news editor. The Anchorage Daily News in Alaska is hiring “at least three” reporters and a news editor (apply by June 9).
Applications are open for the 2025 Kozik Environmental Justice Reporting Grants. The National Press Foundation and the National Press Club Journalism Institute will award grants of up to $15,000, from a pot of up to $45,000, “to support journalism in any medium that centers on environmental justice and environmental racism in the United States.” Learn more and apply by May 27.
The University of Southern California Annenberg Center for Climate Journalism and Communication is launching a sustainability communication certificate program, which kicks off this summer. During the online, six-week program, “participants will learn how to convey sustainability messaging with accuracy and balance, avoiding both greenwashing and misinformation/disinformation.” Learn more and apply by May 31.
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