Following a historic agreement in Paris, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network is commissioning a second series of stories on the changing climate, this time focusing on the response to the Paris agreement and the resilience of people, communities and governments around the globe who are adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Following a historic agreement in Paris, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network is commissioning a second series of stories on the changing climate, this time focusing on the response to the Paris agreement and the resilience of people, communities and governments around the globe who are adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Taking Action on Climate Change
At COP21 in Paris, the world applauded as 196 countries pledged to stand together in an unprecedented agreement to cut global carbon emissions and stave off accelerated changes to the Earth’s climate. Now it’s action rather than promises that will make the difference.
With the ink barely dry on the climate agreement, government action to mitigate these adverse changes while pursuing sustainable economic development and poverty reduction initiatives is in the spotlight. But significant obstacles to implementation of these promises loom large. Intergovernmental programs such as the United Nations’ flagship Green Climate Fund, for example, have recently launched new projects, but face lingering questions about transparency and internal divisions over funding sources.
On the ground, meanwhile, many communities have already been practicing various forms of climate resilience to adapt to such changes posed by increased drought, extreme weather events and sea level rise. Often these actions fill voids left by insufficient or nonexistent government policies to respond to these changes and protect the poorest and most vulnerable to these impacts.
As the need to respond to the Paris agreement and strengthen climate resilience becomes more urgent, EJN is looking to fund stories that investigate public and private financing programs and hold government action accountable for the commitments they made in Paris, and that bring global attention to communities that are implementing sustainable, scalable solutions, investigate.
Story Themes
Welcomed stories are those with ideas that capture the efforts of vulnerable local communities – particularly women, youth and indigenous peoples – to adapt to challenges posed by the changing climate. With renewed attention on government response, ENJ is also interested in proposals that investigate new and existing climate action programs, including the Green Climate Fund, which recently launched projects in Peru, Malawi, Senegal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Fiji, and East Africa.
More information at Earth Journalism Network- call for papers on climate adaptation and response