A new report published by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) ahead of the 2026 International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) has found that journalists covering climate and the environment across Nigeria and five other African countries cannot reliably obtain the records they need to hold governments and companies accountable. IPI has called on those governments to publish relevant records, enforce response deadlines, and protect the journalists who seek them
Titled “Access to Climate and Environmental Information: Challenges for Journalists in Six African Countries”, the report released on September 27, 2026, evaluates the gap between legal rights and real-world practice in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mozambique, and South Africa.
The report, published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, was authored by Eryn Schornick, a New York-licensed attorney and investigative strategist working at the intersection of governance, finance, environmental harm, human rights, and institutional accountability.
Contributors to the report are Nompilo Simanje, a lawyer and the Africa Advocacy and Engagement Lead at IPI, where she works at the intersection of media, technology, law, and human rights; Dr. Marystella Simiyu, Africa Senior Legal Advocacy Officer at IPI; Edzodzi Ahiadou, Africa Programme Officer at IPI; Amy Brouillette, IPI’s Director of Advocacy; and Dr. Silvia Chocarro, Head of Protection of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders at Article 19.
According to IPI, the six countries studied in the report differ in their legal systems, politics, and environmental pressures although all of them have active climate and environmental journalism, serious environmental challenges, and reporters covering powerful political and commercial interests.
The report compares the information journalists should be able to obtain with what they can access and use in practice. It also examines general access to information (ATI) frameworks alongside environmental, climate, and sector-specific disclosure rules.
IPI said the findings draw mainly on laws, court decisions, official platforms, oversight findings, and reporting by media and civil society organisations, and that confidential interviews with journalists provide additional evidence.
It explained that the main regional standards used in the report are the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, 2019 and the Commission’s Model Law on Access to Information for Africa. In addition, the Commission’s Resolution 657 of 2026 on Access to Information and the Right to a Healthy Environment provides the environmental benchmark.
IPI noted that the findings reflect information available as of August 2026 and that the study did not systematically test ATI requests or assess every institution, while evidence varied by country.
According to IPI, journalists investigating climate and environmental issues, including the impacts of climate change, pollution, natural resources extraction, and environmental harm, among other key topics, depend on timely, accurate, and usable information to provide the public with vital, credible, and timely information.
The report noted that although some countries have robust legal frameworks, which feature independent oversight bodies, such as South Africa and Ghana, critical environmental data remained fragmented and difficult to obtain.
A major finding of the report is that post-approval records represent the clearest disclosure gap and that although environmental impact assessments, consultation notices, and initial permits are frequently accessible during project proposals, tracking ongoing compliance is remarkably difficult.
Information concerning routine monitoring and official inspections, environmental violations, and regulatory penalties, as well as remediation and facility closure plans, is rarely linked to original authorizations or made easily accessible to the public.
The report detailed how shared structural failures manifest differently across the six targeted countries. For instance, it noted that South Africa and Ghana combine constitutional or statutory access rights with independent oversight agencies, such as South Africa’s Information Regulator and Ghana’s Right to Information (RTI) Commission, but face issues with slow request procedures, high fees, and scattered data.
It stated that although Nigeria and Mozambique maintain comprehensive ATI laws, they lack specialized, independent oversight bodies, forcing applicants to rely on sluggish administrative reviews or lengthy court litigation.
On Cameroon and the DRC, the report noted that neither country has enacted a comprehensive ATI law, leaving journalists dependent on fragmented media, constitutional, and environmental provisions without binding response deadlines or specialized appeal bodies.
According to the report, when official channels fail, journalists are forced to rely on field reporting, community interviews, leaked documents, satellite imagery, and independent testing, adding that this investigative work comes at a steep price.
It documented what it described as “a troubling safety crisis”, citing the fact that journalists investigating resource exploitation, illegal mining, and pollution in countries like Ghana, Mozambique, the DRC, and Cameroon have faced physical assaults, arbitrary detentions, equipment seizures, threats, and abusive legal harassment.
To bridge the gap between regional standards such as the ACHPR Resolution 657 and ground realities, IPI outlined five key priorities for national governments, companies, and international bodies:
• Building linked public records by creating searchable, centralized portals that connect project approvals with long-term monitoring, enforcement, and closure data.
• Ensuring timely access by enforcing strict legal deadlines, cutting through bureaucratic delays, and empowering independent oversight bodies to order prompt disclosures.
• Strengthening corporate accountability by mandating proactive disclosure from major concession holders and state-owned enterprises regarding their environmental impacts.
• Protecting journalists and sources by investigating attacks against media workers, protecting confidential sources, and shielding watchdogs from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
• Improving usability by providing environmental data in reusable digital formats and translating summaries into relevant local languages to aid affected communities.
