When world leaders gather in Antalya in November for COP31, most people will follow the talks through the journalists covering them. But climate journalism is becoming more dangerous and more difficult — even as the audience it must reach is moving to places where truth and fiction are hard to tell apart.
FAKTA
- UNESCO and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media launched “Reporting the Environment: A Practical Manual for Journalists” on World Environment Day, 5 June.
- The manual was written by journalists, with contributions from Covering Climate Now, the Pulitzer Center, the Reuters Institute, EIF, Fondation Hirondelle and NICHE.
- UNESCO says at least 749 journalists, media outlets and reporting teams covering environmental issues were attacked in 89 countries between 2009 and 2023, and at least 46 environmental journalists have been killed since 2010.
- The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2026 finds that, for the first time, social media and video platforms (54%) are more widely used for news globally than television (52%) or news websites and apps (51%).
- UNESCO warns that environmental disinformation — fuelled by AI-generated content, greenwashing and misleading claims — is breeding mistrust in society.
A practical manual for a beat that now touches everything
Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are no longer only science stories, UNESCO says. They increasingly shape public debate on health, food, water, housing, migration, jobs, security, technology and governance. The new manual deals with the everyday problems of the beat: misinformation and disinformation, false balance, digital security, legal threats, source protection, solutions reporting and the growing influence of AI.
“The challenge today is not only environmental change. It is ensuring that people have access to reliable information about that change,” said Mariya Gabriel, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information.
The cost of reporting the environment
Behind energy, land, mining and logging stories stand powerful interests — and the toll is real. Citing its World Trends Report, UNESCO says at least 749 journalists, media outlets and reporting teams covering environmental issues were attacked in 89 countries between 2009 and 2023, and at least 46 environmental journalists have been killed since 2010.
“When environmental journalists are unable to report freely and safely, societies lose one of their most important sources of accountability,” said Ambassador Jan Braathu, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.
Where audiences now find the news
Meanwhile the audience is changing faster than ever. The Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2026 — based on surveys of nearly 100,000 people in 48 countries — found that 2026 is a milestone year: for the first time, social media and video network consumption is ahead of both TV news and news organisations’ websites and apps as the most widely used source of news globally.
Three in ten respondents said social media or video platforms were their main source of news; among 18–24-year-olds, the figure was one in two. Trust in news has fallen to 37% — the lowest level since the report began in 2015.
Disinformation on the beat
UNESCO warns that environmental disinformation — from AI-generated content and greenwashing to misleading claims and attacks on evidence-based science — is generating mistrust. For the reporters heading to Antalya, the assignment is therefore double: cover one of the most consequential climate summits of the decade, and do it for an audience increasingly reached through platforms where climate denial and spin travel fastest.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UNESCO/OSCE manual?
“Reporting the Environment: A Practical Manual for Journalists” is a global resource launched on 5 June to help journalists cover climate and nature stories accurately and safely, from navigating AI-generated disinformation to investigating environmental accountability.
How are audiences getting news in 2026?
For the first time, social media and video platforms (54%) are ahead of TV (52%) and news websites/apps (51%) as the most widely used news source globally, per the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026.
Read more climate stories at Watan News. Sources: UNESCO on the new manual, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026.
