19 Feb 2025 MD 2025-1 Editorial

The  international   humanitarian organization Concern Worldwide says that, “Climate justice is more than a concept. It’s a movement to recognize that the effects of climate change are not felt equally – and that it’s usually those who have done the least to cause climate change that suffer the most from these effects. Activists from many of the countries hit hardest by climate change (countries largely in the Global South) are calling for environmental inequities to be addressed, both to make up for the historical injustices of our current crisis and to create a safer world for all of us.”

Few would argue with that. However, climate justice indisputably rests on people’s ability to understand the issues, to express their concerns in public, to advocate for accountability, and to press for the political, economic, and social changes needed to tackle the climate emergency and its environmental and ecological impacts.

In the words of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “Climate change threatens the effective enjoyment of a range of human rights including those to life, water and sanitation, food, health, housing, self-determination, culture and development. States have a human rights obligation to prevent the foreseeable adverse effects of climate change and ensure that those affected by it, particularly those in vulnerable situations, have access to effective remedies and means of adaptation to enjoy lives of human dignity.”

The politics of censorship and silencing are nowhere more evident than in global climate debates. Media and press coverage have long been subject to government and industry pressure, and their misinformation and disinformation tactics. COP29, held in Baku, Azerbaijan (11-22 November 2024) – with its trendy theme “In Solidarity for a Green World” – was no different.

According to The Guardian (29 October 2024), in advance of the gathering large numbers of fake social media accounts promoted Azerbaijan’s hosting of the climate summit: “The accounts were mostly set up after July, at which time seven of the top 10 most engaged posts using the hashtags #COP29 and #COP29Azerbaijan were critical of Azerbaijan’s role in the conflict with Armenia, using hashtags such as #stopgreenwashgenocide. By September this had changed, with all of the top 10 most engaged posts coming from the official Cop29 Azerbaijan account.”

Global Witness, which carried out the study (above) reported by The Guardian, said “artificially inflating the reach of government posts was drowning out independent criticism of the country’s record on the climate crisis and repression of human rights.”

At the same time, partisan voices were given privileged access to COP29. Analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition showed that at least 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists were granted access to the United Nations climate talks in Baku, outnumbering the delegations of almost every country at the conference, with the only exceptions being this year’s host country, Azerbaijan, next year’s host Brazil, and Turkey.

Climate justice is now recognised as an existential threat that demands concerted action at many different levels. Excluding voices and alternative views is an affront to democratic freedoms and carries immense risk to people’s lives and livelihoods and to the environment itself. It is vital for civil society to be seen and heard in public where climate-related issues affecting human rights and justice are under scrutiny. Equally important is access to independent and unbiased news and information about climate change.

As noted by Arthur Grimonpont, Head of RSF’s global challenges desk Reporters Without Borders (30 October 2024): “The right to information about the exploitation of natural resources is vital to understanding the disastrous consequences of extraction, including the massive pollution of ecosystems, destruction of bio-diversity, depletion of resources and exploitation of workers. Without journalists present to cover forest clearcutting, photograph giant open-cast mines or tell the stories of displaced and exploited populations, crimes against the environment and fundamental rights will take place in deadly silence. We urge the international community to pressure the countries concerned to remove these obstacles and to guarantee the protection of environmental journalists.”

As writers in this issue of Media Development point out, in today’s digitally mediated world we need to focus on marginalized peoples and communities; how to leverage digital technologies and tools for climate action; and how to mitigate the impact of digitalisation on climate. Digital inclusion and digital literacy will be key.

Photo credit: Madrid, Spain, 6 December 2019. Shana Rose shouts her heart out in a cry for climate justice, as thousands upon thousands of people march through the streets of central Madrid as part of a public contribution to the United Nations climate meeting COP25, urging decision-makers to take action for climate justice. Copyright LWF/Albin Hillert.