Covering Climate Now, the global journalism collaboration, has announced 49 winners of its 2026 Journalism Awards — selected from more than 1,200 entries by a judging panel of 120 journalists from over 30 countries.
The winners, announced on 17 September 2026, span 14 subject-based categories as well as dedicated prizes for large projects and collaborations and three Emerging Journalists of the Year, according to the organisation’s official announcement. Now in its sixth year, the programme is described as a globally recognised standard for excellence in climate storytelling.
Journalists of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement honour
Judges named three Journalists of the Year: Kim Min-wook, a broadcast journalist and filmmaker at South Korea’s MBC News; Roli Srivastava, founder and editor of The Migration Story, an outlet covering India’s migrant labour force through a climate lens; and Sammy Roth, who in 2025 founded the culture-focused newsletter Climate-Colored Goggles after a pioneering stint at the Los Angeles Times.
Covering Climate Now also presented only its second-ever Lifetime Achievement award. This year’s recipient is Fiona Harvey of The Guardian. “For decades, she has told the climate story with exceptional rigor, panache, and impact, while never losing sight that it is fundamentally about people and the future we all will inhabit,” said executive director Mark Hertsgaard.
Bangladesh and Asia in the spotlight
In the Large Projects & Collaborations category, the Earth Journalism Network’s cross-border investigation “Dark Side of the Boom” took one of the honours. Led by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, the project brought together 14 newsrooms across 11 countries to investigate the environmental consequences of Asia’s expanding digital economy — from the electricity demand of artificial intelligence to water consumption and pressures on local communities.
The Bangladesh reporting in the winning project was carried out by Shamsuddin Illius for The Climate Watch. Two more Bangladeshi journalists, Usraat Fahmidah and Rifat Anik, won in the Extreme Weather category for their multimedia work “Where Land Disappears”, published by Asian Dispatch, on the struggles of women in Banishanta.
Why the awards matter this year
“Lifting up excellence in climate reporting is particularly important this year, as some newsrooms around the world have retreated from climate coverage even as the effects of a warming planet become more urgent,” said Covering Climate Now co-founder Kyle Pope. “This work offers a blueprint for re-engaging with the climate story.”
Outlets represented among the winners range from global mainstays such as The Associated Press and the BBC World Service to climate-focused outlets including Grist, Carbon Brief and Canary Media, and frontline newsrooms such as Kenya’s Nation Media Group, Mexico’s El Universal and Brazil’s Agência Pública. The Journalists of the Year category is sponsored by the Michaux Family Foundation in memory of Ginny Michaux, while the Solutions category is sponsored by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
Read more of Watan News’ climate coverage in our climate news section.
Key facts
- 49 winners of the 2026 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards, announced 17 September 2026
- More than 1,200 entries from journalists in dozens of countries; judged by 120 journalists from 30+ countries
- Journalists of the Year: Kim Min-wook (MBC News, South Korea), Roli Srivastava (The Migration Story), Sammy Roth (Climate-Colored Goggles)
- Lifetime Achievement: Fiona Harvey (The Guardian) — only the second ever
- Large Projects & Collaborations: Earth Journalism Network’s “Dark Side of the Boom” (14 newsrooms, 11 countries), with Bangladesh reporting by Shamsuddin Illius
