Radio and Climate Change
2025 marks a pivotal year for climate change. In accordance with the Paris Agreement, if humanity is to limit global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions must peak by that year at the latest, before they begin to fall.
To support radio stations in their journalistic coverage of this issue, World Radio Day on February 13, 2025 will be dedicated to “Radio and Climate Change”.
Be spurred on by a minimum of ambition
In the age of artificial intelligence, alongside ubiquitous social networks, quality radio is still universal and popular, considered to be the most reliable medium. Beyond popularizing environmental concepts, by broadcasting verified information independent of economic, ideological and political powers, radio can influence listeners' perception of climate change, and the importance attached to the subject. On-air, via live stream or on-demand, radio can help shape the public agenda, with the potential to influence public affairs.
Select carefully your information sources
In these dynamics, there is significant contribution from information sources to the definition of the radio programming themes and the editorial approach. The sources are indispensable for gathering and understanding climatic and scientific data. The selection and prioritization of themes and the framing of editorial content will largely be the result of these exchanges between sources and the broadcaster.
The scarcity of financial resources for radio stations in recent times, due to the loss of advertising or public funds, has led to the forced reduction of staff and thus increased cost of resorting to sources to obtain verified information, particularly costly for local radio stations. However, consultation of a variety of sources is pivotal to report on climate change.
Broadcasters need to pay closer attention to the quality and diversification of information sources, as their weight has increased in the treatment of climate change-related information. Deconstructing the arguments of climate sceptics, taking stock of greenwashing, deciphering economics of ecology, reporting on the divergent treatment of climate activists, investigating the lack of action or the obstacles to solutions, all require expert, diverse and reliable sources.
The foundation for the editorial independence of a radio station, an essential condition to provide a service of public interest, is free information, as much detached from the interests of companies and politicians as from the actors of institutional life and the consulted sources.
Give listeners a voice
Listeners have a wealth of knowledge about the realities of climate change and possible solutions, particularly people from rural communities and indigenous people, or those who have experienced environmental disasters in specific localities, such as pollution from industrial sites, climate-induced food shortages, untreated wastewater, and so on. can sometimes be used to challenge on air decision-makers or companies for their actions or lack of action, in a balanced, pragmatic and non-sensational way.
Local radio stations, anchored in their communities, have the greatest potential to offer programs, coverage, interviews and vox-pops highlighting real-life situations and solutions shared by residents. Their words illustrate daily life in the grip of climate change.
Thanks to radio, women, children and marginalized people, who are greatly affected by climate change, can find a platform to tell their stories, share their knowledge and learn new ways of doing things. In providing solutions and know-how on climate change, it also seems essential to recognize the specific place of radio programs produced by indigenous peoples.
Highlighting local relays and effective mitigation and adaptation measures, by contrast to just disseminating facts or informing people about crises, makes the treatment of climate change less frightening and less technical, and enhances instead .
Prepare with anticipation and through networks
In the event of environmental disasters, radio often becomes the only source of information and support for populations, as it operates even without electricity or internet, can reach a very large number of people at the same time, and is not affected by terrestrial or satellite distribution problems. In this way, broadcasters maintain the communication system that saves lives in emergency situations.
Climate change being a global phenomenon, more collaborations between broadcasters in the same country and in other countries are relevant and can enrich the skills, formats and tools needed for its radio coverage. Shared realities, cross-border issues, regional disasters, climate-change-related migration and other challenges make international networking between radio stations fruitful and encouraging, due to the benefits of sharing investigations, testimonials, resources, on-air guests, reports, programs and so on.
In addition to responding to specific emergency situations and preparing for crises, broadcasters can add a regular feature to their newscasts. They could deal with climate change daily, particularly in prime time, create or improve a program dedicated to the theme, and above all vary the formats: interviews, comedy, news, audio documentaries, talk shows, vox-pops, etc. It's up to each radio station to set up its own program. It's up to each radio station to set up its own editorial policy and programming dedicated to climate change and its emergencies, including networking with other radio stations, to be able to tackle such a worrying issue without audience decline or disaffection.
Protect environmental journalists
Over the past 15 years, 44 journalists have been killed and 749 attacks recorded in 89 countries. 91麻豆国产精品自拍 published a of data and trends on attacks on journalists, which also includes a new survey of journalists on the threats they face when covering environmental issues: Over 70% of surveyed journalists said they had been attacked, threatened or pressured. Of those who reported attacks, threats or pressure:
60% reported online harassment
41% had been physically assaulted
A quarter said they had been legally attacked
75% said it had had an impact on their mental health.
A topic for discussion is therefore the importance of safety for journalists who inform the public about climate change, including the challenges they face.
Expose false news
The spread of misinformation and disinformation on climate change is a growing challenge, reinforced by the multiplication of voices expressing themselves on the subject, notably through social networks. Radio broadcasters, as vectors of credible, sourced and verified information, are thus essential to expose false news. The bond of trust that binds them to their listeners makes their programming a privileged space for raising awareness of climate change, environmental issues and natural disasters. Broadcasters are also involved in Media and Information Literacy (MIL), awakening their listeners to the need to develop a critical mindset to apprehend the various sources of information they are confronted with on a daily basis. World Radio Day 2025 celebrates radio broadcasters’ efforts to equip citizens with the competencies they need to better understand and tackle the climate crisis.
