Climate Arena 2024

From logging to agricultural land conversion, human activities on land significantly impact the global cycles of greenhouse gases. As a result, not only does it affect the climate, but also plants, mammals, birds, lichens and fungi.  

But these complex "cause and effect" relationships are difficult to grasp, making it challenging to get a big picture and report on them effectively. More than ever before, we need a "systems" way of looking at the complex relationships between climate, land use and biodiversity to dissect how they are influenced by human actions and driven by factors like the international trade.

This session will feature scientists working on these issues and -interactively- unfold some of this complexity using systems thinking tools, and discuss how journalists can report on these pressing matters.

In collaboration with CLEVER and DETECT projects.

The EU has been pedalling back on the Green Deal and now the Parliament has shifted more to the right. What’s next? Come hear from two experienced journalists and a lobby expert about what to watch out for in the next EU legislative term in the context of chemicals.  

Where will the EU be focusing on after indefinitely shelving the REACH revision that would regulate companies on toxic chemicals? How does the legislative process work on climate regulations at the EU level? What will be the lobbyists to watch out for and how do they operate? What is the corporate playbook and what should journalist be aware of?

Food production is a leading cause of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and premature deaths, but it is also a major victim of the climate crisis. This is the result of decades of corporate consolidation, a myopic focus on efficiency and productivity, and an over-reliance on techno-fixes. Big Agriculture resists changes that the public supports, with a playbook similar to Big Tobacco and Big Oil.

Much of this is hidden from us by complexity and a lack of media attention. But investigative reporters can play a critical role in changing this by using data, FOIA, and open source tools. Lighthouse Reports' Food Systems Newsroom will lead a discussion about how innovative techniques and collaborative methodologies can invigorate food reporting, helping journalists to reframe consumer-oriented reporting into narrative-driven stories about a broken system and how it can be changed.

Intensive animal farming is a huge climate matter. Its mass scale contributes heavily on emissions and its impact destroys groundwater resources and soil. At the same time, animals themselves are suffering both human actions and the effects of climate crisis. The majority of Europeans are in full support of stringent regulations on animal welfare but there is intensive lobbying effort that succeeds in shutting down any efforts.  

Animals are an alarmingly underreported topic in the media. In this panel, two journalists with extensive experience on writing on these issues will explain how the system works, where the stories are, and the best practices on reporting on animal-related issues in Europe.

Countries across the world have committed to be Net Zero by 2050 or sooner, but real climate action happens at the lower levels of governance. How can journalists find the data they need on local and regional action and untangle the web of relationships and responsibilities on climate adaptation? And how to interpret these?

In Germany, a team of over 20 journalists created the first comprehensive fact base on climate adaptation in Germany. With expert advice from TU Dortmund University and through surveys, the team analysed whether all 400 German districts, independent cities and regional associations were prepared for extreme weather events like heat, drought, heavy rain and flood.

In the UK, the NGO mySociety, in partnership with Climate Emergency UK, has wrangled data from the UK’s 395 local governments for the last three years to develop a comprehensive picture of the UK’s climate ambition and progress.

In this session, they will tell you how you can collect this type of information in your own country, deal with (big & dirty) data, collaborate with civil society and/or scientists, and how you can write your adaptation stories so they make sense.

Come join us for a dive into the murky world of plastics. There is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation around plastics recycling among the public, but even among journalists too. In this session, you’ll hear two journalists who worked on this topic discussing the inner workings of the plastics industry, the lobbying against regulations, and how plastics offsetting became the new license for the industry to pollute even more. They will share their work, their methods and what to look out for if you want to investigate this big topic.