Reporting the Climate Crisis
Discover how IWPR journalists are examining climate violence's effects on their local communities.
Also see
Ghana: How Local Media Defied Pressure Over Vast Mine Deal
Volunteer-run station asked questions about a controversial salt mining project. Then the threats and violence began.
Afghan Women Bear Brunt of Drought Burden
Looming crisis weighs heavy on those most often responsible for sourcing water to meet their household’s needs.
Environmental Damage as a War Crime
Despite widespread destruction, prosecuting Russia will come with many challenges.
Investigating Ecocide in the Kharkhiv Region
Five senior Russian commanders have already been charged over environmental crimes in the oblast.
Water Conflicts Loom in Central Asia
An ambitious infrastructure project in Afghanistan risks exacerbating scarcities in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Reporting the Climate Crisis
Discover how IWPR journalists are examining climate violence's effects on their local communities.
Welcome to IWPR’s Frontline Update, your go-to source to hear from journalists and local voices at the front lines of conflict.
THE BIG PICTURE
As COP30 – the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference - winds up this week, IWPR looks at how our global network of local journalists are covering this crucial topic in their own regions.
From Ghana to Ukraine, Afghanistan and Central Asia, grassroots journalism continues to drive change as conflict and instability strain the global dynamics so vital to climate diplomacy.
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE
“Local voices matter because they humanise climate conversations,” said Philip Teye Agbove, a Ghanian journalist whose investigation for IWPR into how commercial salt production had impacted his community’s economic survival and cultural heritage was shortlisted for an Amnesty International Media Award earlier this year. “They show that behind every degraded wetland or polluted river are families losing income, culture, and dignity. They remind global audiences that climate change isn’t an abstract future threat; rather, it’s an everyday reality.”
Grassroots journalism also highlights underreported aspects of the climate emergency, including its disproportionate impact on women and girls.
In Afghanistan, a growing water crisis is having a severe impact on women and girls, not least because they are the ones most often responsible for collecting precious supplies for both household tasks and drinking.
“Even though women are prohibited from all public spaces,” Nadia, a young woman in Kabul, told IWPR, “when it comes to fetching water, it’s a woman’s responsibility to cover up in hijab and push a cart to collect water.”
And environmental damage is also being exploited as a weapon of war. In Ukraine, investigators are pursuing war crimes cases over the mass destruction of natural resources and poisoning of the atmosphere.
“Undoubtedly, war crimes affecting the environment, including acts of ecocide, are being documented…” Kharkiv prosecutor Oleksandr Suziy told IWPR contributor Yuriy Larin. “The actions of the Russian army are impacting the ecological balance of the entire country.”
WHY IT MATTERS
Climate change remains underreported in many regions, such as in Central Asia, where a severe water crisis risks fuelling tensions between volatile neighbouring countries as well as harming the whole region’s social and economic development.
Responsible and inclusive journalism on the climate crisis is critically important for sustainability and stability, as well as the search for international collaboration and future solutions.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Local reporters remain crucial to connect global climate issues to the real-life impact on often under-represented or marginalised communities, and play an important role in building support for grassroots actions that feed resilience and progress.
“True climate justice,” said Agbove, “is impossible without media freedom, accountability, and the courage of community journalists who give a voice to the voiceless.”
