This week Aislinn spoke to journalist John Gibbons about the importance of reporting on the climate crisis.
John has been writing and speaking about environmental and climate-related issues for the last decade and a half.
He also maintains an environmental blog at ThinkOrSwim.ie and climatechange.ie, a one stop source of information and opinion on climate related issues.
Why is climate change journalism so important?
- Good journalism raises awareness with the public, as the media is the primary source of information to people. It can highlight the impacts and potential solutions, and also stress the urgency of the problem
- Climate journalism can help influence policy, as when issues are brought to the public’s attention it can encourage governments to implement policy
- Climate journalism also holds governments, corporations and institutions accountable for their responsibilities.
- Innovation and Solutions: Journalism can highlight innovative solutions to climate challenges.
- It can help provide accurate and updated information about the latest research and make it understandable to the public.
- Climate change journalism can highlight the work done by businesses to transition to a more sustainable future, as well as highlighting the issues with investing in fossil fuels
- Climate journalism often sheds light on environmental justice issues, such as how climate change disproportionately affects marginalised and vulnerable communities
Read about a UN report that states how climate change is currently impacting the world:
John Gibbon’s blog on climate change
