Urgent need to support environmental journalism highlighted in FID Report
A new report published by the Forum on Information and Democracy reveals that disinformation spreading in the climate and environmental sectors has become a global risk. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has drawn attention to the need to protect environmental journalists and urgently support independent, high-quality reporting for effective climate action.
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The new report from the Forum on Information and Democracy highlights a fundamental danger posed by disinformation spreading on climate and environmental issues. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has welcomed the report, which emphasizes the urgency of protecting environmental journalists—an indispensable condition for effective climate action—and supporting independent and quality journalism.
The report, titled "10 priorities to combat misinformation on climate change," was prepared following a year of work within the Working Group on Information Integrity on Climate and Environment, co-chaired by the governments of Brazil and Armenia. The report offers a concrete roadmap for states to combat the manipulation of climate-related information.
RSF, which launched the Forum on Information and Democracy in 2019 to establish democratic safeguards in the digital realm, contributed to this latest report to document violations against environmental reporters worldwide.
The report emphasizes that global information ecosystems are currently shaped by a toxic mix of climate-related disinformation, economic pressure, and increasing repression against journalists. These pressures specifically target journalists investigating environmental crimes, the mining sector, or greenwashing.
For RSF, this finding confirms a reality documented for several years: environmental reporters are among those most exposed to threats, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), physical and online violence, and harassment. In many parts of the world, conducting research on climate and natural resources means facing retaliation from powerful political and economic interests.
BRUTTIN: THERE CAN BE NO RELIABLE CLIMATE GOVERNANCE WITHOUT A FREE MEDIA
Thibaut Bruttin, Director General of RSF and head of the Forum on Information and Democracy, stated that they are pleased that the protection of journalists and environmental defenders is clearly identified in the report as a central element in the fight against climate disinformation.
"The report emphasizes that reliable climate governance is impossible without free, pluralistic, and economically sustainable media. As the director general of RSF and head of the Forum on Information and Democracy, I call on decision-makers around the world to adopt these solutions and implement them as soon as possible. The democratic urgency here merges with the ecological urgency."
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE REPORT
• Integrate information integrity directly into climate and environmental governance frameworks, acknowledging that climate action cannot succeed without access to reliable information.
• Reform digital advertising and economic incentives to combat the monetization of environmental disinformation.
• Hold digital platforms accountable.
• Sustainably support quality environmental journalism.
The work of the Forum on Information and Democracy, carried out with the participation of nearly 100 experts from 30 countries, is part of a broader international dynamic, following the Declaration on the Integrity of Climate Change Information, which was prepared under the leadership of RSF and signed by nearly 20 countries during COP30 held in Brazil.
IMPORTANT DATES FOR THE PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM
As the COP17 Biodiversity Conference to be held in Armenia in October 2026 and the COP31 Climate Conference to be held in Turkey in November 2026 approach, RSF calls on all states to translate these commitments into concrete public policies without delay. These policies include mechanisms to protect journalists, increased support for independent media, and ambitious regulation of digital platforms.
In recent years, RSF has condemned numerous violations against environmental reporters, emphasizing that those investigating ecological issues are regularly threatened, attacked, obstructed in their work, and even killed in countries such as Ghana, Burundi, India, Cambodia, and Brazil (particularly the Amazon). These cases reveal the scale of violence and intimidation affecting this profession worldwide.