The Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives, and leading journalists dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices, has launched an initiative aimed at supporting and protecting climate and environmental journalism across Africa.
The programme, which is supported by Global Affairs Canada, seeks to strengthen the role of the media in confronting the continent’s escalating environmental and climate crises.
From worsening droughts and floods to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the harmful impacts of extractive industries, African communities are grappling with growing environmental challenges that threaten lives, livelihoods, and sustainable development. Independent, fact-based journalism is critical to informing the public, shaping effective policy, and holding governments and corporations accountable.
However, journalists covering these pressing issues often face serious threats. Across the continent, environmental and climate reporters encounter physical attacks, harassment, censorship, and disinformation campaigns designed to undermine public trust in the media. These risks not only endanger journalists but also restrict access to vital information and hinder efforts to find sustainable solutions.
In response, IPI’s Africa Programme has launched this new initiative to directly address the threats facing environmental journalists and to enhance their capacity to report freely and safely. The initiative builds on IPI’s longstanding work to promote press freedom and journalist safety in sub-Saharan Africa, including extensive research into the unique challenges environmental reporters face both regionally and globally.
“Journalists covering the climate crisis are at the frontline of environmental protection and democratic accountability. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the impacts of environmental degradation are immediate and severe, environmental journalism is not just essential, it is urgent. Through this programme, IPI is reaffirming its commitment to supporting press freedom and ensuring journalists can continue their crucial work safely,” said IPI Executive Director, Scott Griffen.
IPI’s new climate journalism initiative is a significant step toward empowering journalists to investigate environmental harm, expose wrongdoing, and spark informed public debate on climate action throughout Africa.
