ISLAMABAD: Climate change experts and journalists have highlighted the need for clean, nature-based solutions to the problem of climate change and the need to educate journalists towards promoting responsible reporting on the effects of climate change.
These issues were discussed and addressed at a workshop for journalists titled “Reporting on Climate Change: Making the Invisible Visible” on 2-3 August 2022 by the Center for Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) and the International Committee of the Red Cross. (ICRC).
Centered around enhancing the technical knowledge and skills of journalists, the aim of the workshop is to promote responsible and comprehensive reporting on climate change trends locally. Climate change is deeply linked to local patterns of inequality, and those who are already marginalized or in vulnerable situations will face the disproportionate impacts of this crisis.
Shahzeb Jilani, a leading journalist and lead trainer for the workshop, said, “It is imperative to put local communities in our stories and highlight the indigenous impacts of climate change that are often overlooked by mainstream media coverage.”
The workshop was attended by 13 print, broadcast and digital journalists from various media houses and expert sessions were presented by former Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, Director Karachi Urban Lab Dr Nausheen Anwar, Chief Materialologist Sardar Sarfaraz, Pakistan Met. Department, Dr. Sher Muhammad, Glaciology at ICIMOD and Maz Tanveer, Head of Communications at HANDS Pakistan.
Former Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam commented on the need for a unified national response to climate change saying “We have turned garden cities into concrete cities. There are too many policies and careless implementation. We must move towards clean, nature-based solutions to this crisis.
The workshop allowed participants to learn more about the science of climate change, disaster risk reduction and management, politics and progress on the science of global climate change and the government’s national response to this phenomenon.
Experts warned of the life-changing consequences of inaction on climate change and urged reporters to connect climate science with local priorities. “If we do not control the average temperature by 1.5 degrees by the end of this century, two-thirds of our glaciers will disappear, and there is no alternative,” said glaciologist at ICIMOD, Dr. Sher said.
The workshop is part of the ICRC’s largest humanitarian reporting initiative in Pakistan. Launched in 2017 in collaboration with CEJ, it is a comprehensive training project that aims to foster a culture of responsible reporting on humanitarian issues through thematic workshops, annual humanitarian reporting awards and fellowships.
