While the lens of climate justice has gained a foothold in climate policy spaces, “the world also needs to pay attention to how communication and information deficits undermine the struggle for climate justice,” writes Media Development editor Philip Lee.

The response to climate change, “the most pressing and complex challenge of our times,” must place communication rights at the center, he stresses in “Information Integrity, Human Dignity, and Climate Change,” the first issue of WACC’s journal in 2026.

The new issue explores the nexus between the aspirations of WSIS+20 and the outcomes of COP30, the United Nations policy processes for the information society and climate change, respectively.

In his contribution, Aniruddha Jena of the Indian Institute of Management Kashipur outlines how WSIS+20 together with the Global Digital Compact can interface with COP30’s push for action to offer a practical, people-centered template for implementation. “That is how summits move from words to the world.”

True climate adaptation means hearing the lived experiences and knowledge of the communities most affected by climate change, says, climate communicator I. Arul Aram of the ICAT College of Design and Media. A multistakeholder commitment to “addressing communication and climate justice gaps” is needed, he says.

“[Artificial intelligence] must sit within a broader ecosystem where people, culture, and communication come first,” note Kudzaiishe Ndawana and Ngoni Muchenje from the Methodist Development and Relief Agency (MeDRA) in Zimbabwe. They tell how the WACC partner is integrating digital tools with Indigenous communication and knowledge to build climate resistance in rural communities.

Edilberto M. Sena of the Amazon News Network (RNA) – co-leader of the WACC-supported COP30 community media team – and the grassroots eco-movement Tapajós Vivo explores the two sides of the economic growth coin through the lens of COP30. In a contribution available in Portuguese and English, he explains how people’s movements are using communication to resist and offer alternatives.

Francophone journalist Serge Bisimwa reflects on the impact of AI on press freedom in the mineral-rich eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the digital technology brings both increased risks of disinformation and opportunities for media professionals and civil society.

The issue includes an excerpt from the Declaration of the People’s Summit at COP30; an open letter signed by a range of stakeholders including WACC that calls for COP30 to codify information integrity; a statement by the Association for Progressive Communication to the UN General Assembly’s meeting on WSIS+20 review outcomes in December 2025; and an AI summary of the WSIS+20 outcomes.

Media Development 1/2026 is available to subscribers and WACC members. Articles in the issue include: