Former President J. A. Kufuor has Charged Journalist to take Climate Change Reporting Serious

Former President J. A. Kufuor Launching Guidebook

 A guidebook for Journalist on climate change was launched last Tuesday 20 May 2014 at the Accra International Conference Center, to serve as a toolkit for journalist to be able to identify and be abreast of climate change issues. 

Speaking at the launch, the United Nation Special Envoy on Climate Change and Former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor charged journalists in Ghana and across Africa to take up climate change reporting serious.

He indicated that the spate of the adverse impact climate change poses to human lives and development has turned the subject into a force that needs to be reckoned with. “Climate change has progressed from not just being an environmental issue but development issue as well” he added.

Recounting the loses of other sister nations, the Former President Kufuor reiterated that even though Ghana might not have immensely contributed to climate change, the country is also not immune from its impact; there is therefore the need to raise the awareness of climate change among the public and be educated on the appropriate mitigation and adaptation measures they may consider to augment efforts by government.

Ghanaian Journalists are advised not to sit on the fence but ensure that government pays attention to the issue through agenda setting.

A representative of UNESCO to Ghana, Tirso Dos Santos, appealed to journalism institutions to use the guidebook as a reference book to throw more light on climate change.

A Throw back on Media Coverage of Environmental Issues in Ghana

It is also stressed that man’s environment is essential to the well-being and the enjoyment of basic human rights-even the right to life itself. As partners in development, the media is charged to give priorities to the coverage of those areas that touch on the lives of the people. In other words, media content should be development-driven and should center on the environmental, economic, social well-being of the people.
However, an unpublished research conducted by MaryJane Enchill in May 2014 to inquire about the extent of media coverage of environmental issues, precisely climate change revealed an abysmal engagement of the media in climate change report.

The research revealed the media is skeptical about environmental reporting; precisely climate change. Although the 30 journalist interviewed have heard of climate change, only 2 could make a development case for climate change and so were those willing to further engage in the subject.  Between January to March, only 9 and 6 environmental reports, precisely sanitation were observed on GTV and TV3 respectively. 

While a section of journalist claimed environmental issues are not lucrative enough as compared to political and business issues, others blamed lack of expertise or capacity to engage in the environment and climate change discourse. It is therefore heart-warming to guidebook launched bridge the knowledge gap related to climate change.