Why Stuff is treating climate change as an emergency
Think of it as renewing our vows. Almost three years ago, Stuff announced it was prioritising climate change with insistent coverage aimed at disturbing our collective complacency. What was then called Quick! Save the Planet has morphed into The Forever Project , a dedicated team of climate journalists working on a multi-platform effort to articulate the peril, and share solutions. Now, as world leaders gather in Glasgow for a crucial climate summit , the time feels right to reaffirm our commitment, and step it up. READ MORE: * COP26: James Shaw confirms no new methane cuts involved in joining global pledge * COP26: Is this our last chance to act on the climate crisis? * COP26: World a step closer to key climate cash goal * COP26: Can we pay other countries to save the climate for us? Should we? * Kiwi journo heads to prestigious university Today, Stuff has joined dozens of media outlets including Scientific American, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation, The Guardian, Al Jazeera English and La Repubblica in signing a declaration promising to treat climate change as an emergency . If youre a regular reader, I hope youd say we already give it unwavering attention. We consciously strive to cover important climate developments , to uncover new information , and inspire hope . Our senior climate reporter Olivia Wannan has been reporting from Glasgow on the developments that matter most to New Zealand and the world. Our Hot Air Sucks! animated videos break down just how the heating planet is worsening floods, droughts and wildfires and ruining the ski season. But, as the declaration says, language matters. Recognising that the climate emergency is here, and that failing to slash emissions will make extraordinary heat, storms, wildfires , and ice melt routine, is the right, and accurate, thing to do. Weve thought hard about what this means for our reporting. It doesnt mean a straight swap of the words climate emergency in place of climate change. It is an emergency, but climate change, the physical phenomenon, remains a scientific concept backed and explored by thousands of peer-reviewed studies. What this does mean is that were renewing our commitment to keep this front and centre of the news. Were committing to make it a top priority, even when other disasters strike. Thats the best thing to do, for our readers, and their children and grandchildren, great-nieces and nephews and distant mokopuna down the track. Its time for journalism to recognise that the climate emergency is here. This is a statement of science, not politics. Thousands of scientistsincluding James Hansen, the Nasa scientist who put the problem on the public agenda in 1988, and David King and Hans Schellnhuber, former science advisers to the British and German governments, respectively have said humanity faces a climate emergency. Why emergency? Because words matter. To preserve a liveable planet, humanity must take action immediately. Failure to slash the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will make the extraordinary heat, storms, wildfires, and ice melt of 2020 routine and could render a significant portion of the Earth uninhabitable, warned a recent Scientific American article. The medias response to Covid-19 provides a useful model. Guided by science, journalists have described the pandemic as an emergency, chronicled its devastating impacts, called out disinformation, and told audiences how to protect themselves (with masks, for example). We need the same commitment to the climate story. We, the undersigned, invite news organisations everywhere to add your name to this Covering Climate Now statement on the climate emergency. Originally Signed By: Covering Climate Now, Scientific American, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation, The Guardian, Noticias Telemundo, Al Jazeera English, The Asahi Shimbun, and La Repubblica with dozens of outlets joining since. Covering Climate Now is an alliance of 460+ publishers worldwide committed to improving and accelerating coverage of climate change. It was founded by Columbia Journalism Review and The Nation.