Climate Change
Latin American media coverage from the ground at COP25 in Madrid
Reporting
As part of a reporting fellowship, nine freelance media professionals from Latin America formed a small and mighty news agency at the UN climate negotiations in Spain.
Seven journalists, as well as a photographer and a graphic designer, were selected to participate in the COP25 Reporting Fellowship for Latin American Climate Journalists. The fellows were in Madrid, Spain covering the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP25) taking place from December 2-13, 2019. The fellowship was a joint effort of LatinClima, Periodistas por el Planeta (PxP), the Stanley Center, and the Red Regional de Cambio Climático y Toma de Decisiones. For more information about the program, read this announcement.
As part of the program, the fellows covered the Marcha Por El Clima, where half a million people took to the streets in one of the largest climate protests in world history; participated in an orientation day co-organized with Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and their CCMP Fellowship; attended a breakfast briefing with experts from the Red Regional CCTYD; took part in daily meet-ups to discuss developments at the COP; conducted numerous group interviews; and much more.
As a result of the fellowship, the journalist fellows published over 55 stories in over 25 outlets across Latin America, most with photography and graphic elements from the fellowship’s photographer and graphic designer. View their stories and the scope of their coverage below. Also be sure to follow the fellows and fellowship organizers on Twitter, or subscribe to this Twitter list.
Want to follow what they’re up to while on the ground at #COP25? Subscribe to this Twitter list! https://t.co/vcS2G3OzXq
— Stanley Center for Peace and Security (@StanleyConnect) December 2, 2019
Please note that the headlines and summaries have been translated from the original reporting, which was first produced and published in Spanish or Portuguese. Links below are to the original versions. An asterisk (*) indicates reporting that was produced exclusively for the fellowship.
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- As Well As Climate Action, Young People Across the World Are Calling for Climate Education
Fabíola Ortiz, January 24, 2020, Equal Times
Also available in English and French. - Zé Silva: A Dissenting Voice Within Brazilian Agribusiness
Fabíola Ortiz, January 23, 2020, Diálogo Chino
Also available in English and Portuguese. - *Mangroves and Seagrasses Would Help Countries Increase Their Climate Ambitions
Michelle Soto, January 20, 2020, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero and graphic elements from Olga Cajina. Also published by Inter Press Service, La Prensa, EcocienciaGT, El Nuevo Siglo, and Verdebandera.
Blue carbon ecosystems have the potential to capture and store three to four times more carbon than terrestrial forests. They also protect communities from the impacts of climate change and provide environmental services that bring well-being to communities. Therefore, more and more countries are looking at mangroves, wetlands, and seagrasses with the aim of incorporating them into their new NDCs.
- As Well As Climate Action, Young People Across the World Are Calling for Climate Education
- *The Paris Agreement in Its Maze: Where Is the Ambition?
Francisco Parra, January 18, 2020, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero and graphic elements from Olga Cajina. Also published by La Prensa.
- Nature-Based Solutions Can Drag Down Global GHG Emissions
Fabíola Ortiz, January 13, 2020, Diálogo Chino
Also available in English and Portuguese. - By Mobilizing 20,000 Students for Climate, Young Woman Is an Icon in Kenya’s Environmental Defense
Fabíola Ortiz, January 6, 2020, ((o)) eco
- *Lack of Climate Ambition to Decarbonize Latin America
Fabíola Ortiz, December 31, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero and graphic elements from Olga Cajina. Also published by La Prensa and La Estrella.
Is it possible to decarbonize Latin America? What are the challenges that countries in the region face after a scenario of climate change and global warming of the planet towards 2ºC? Although the region emits 8.3% of the total global emissions, Latin America faces the challenges of leaving fossil fuels behind, investing in more renewable sources of energy, and harnessing the potential of its biodiversity to develop a “bioeconomy.” But it would only be possible with behavioral and mental changes, said experts interviewed during COP25. - *Aviation: An Emitter Virtually Absent From the Paris Agreement
Emilio Godoy, December 28, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero and graphic elements from Olga Cajina. Also published by La Prensa and La Estrella.
- Six Measures to Protect Forests From Climate Change
Martín De Ambrosio, December 20, 2019, SciDev.Net - Bolivian Government Denounces Burning in the Amazon
Fabíola Ortiz, December 17, 2019, ((o)) eco - Latin America at COP25: What It Did and What It Took
Martín De Ambrosio, December 17, 2019, SciDev.Net
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero and graphic elements from Olga Cajina.
- From the Ecological Illusion to the Defeat of Multilateralism
Martín De Ambrosio, December 16, 2019, La Nación - COP25: A Minimum Result
Francisco Parra, December 16, 2019, La Tercera - Argentina Recovers Its Science Ministry
Martín De Ambrosio, December 16, 2019, SciDev.Net - Big Emitters and Oil Companies Win With Failure of COP25
Emilio Godoy, December 15, 2019, Inter Press Service - COP25: Preliminary Texts of Climate Summit Are Described as “Unacceptable”
Michelle Soto, December 14, 2019, Medium - Brazil Receives ‘Fossil of the Day’ Award for Threatening the Paris Agreement
Fabíola Ortiz, December 13, 2019, Platforma - *Indigenous Territories Are Effective in Conserving Forests and Reducing Emissions
Fabíola Ortiz, December 13, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero. This story explores the questions: What is Latin America’s contribution to facing the global climate crisis? What solutions can indigenous peoples offer and how can they help the region to increase its ambition? - African Negotiators Criticize ‘Limited Progress’ at COP25
Fabíola Ortiz, December 13, 2019, InDepthNews - Agriculture in the Region Joins Climate Action
Martín De Ambrosio, December 13, 2019, SciDev.Net - UN Warns of Human Rights Violations Due to Climate Change
Fabíola Ortiz, December 12, 2019, TVI 24 - Youth Call for Human Rights to Be at The Core of Climate Talks
Fabíola Ortiz, December 12, 2019, InDepthNews - The Voice for the Climate Is Young and Culturally Diverse
Michelle Soto, December 12, 2019, AM Prensa
- Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy: “There is nothing more harmful to the environment than illegal activity”
Fabíola Ortiz, December 12, 2019, ((o)) eco - New Nuclear Power Plant Under Study
Emilio Godoy, December 12, 2019, Revista Proceso - The Way out Is to Strengthen the Amazon Fund, and Not Create a New One, Say Analysts at COP25
Fabíola Ortiz, December 12, 2019, UOL Notícias - COP25 in Final Phase: Negotiation Will Extend Beyond Friday Without Agreement on Several Key Issues
Francisco Parra, December 12, 2019, La Tercera - *Latin American Forests Seek to Enter Carbon Markets
Emilio Godoy, December 12, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero. - Chile’s Carbon Neutral Alliance Adds Hundreds of Companies but Only 7 Countries
Francisco Parra, December 11, 2019, La Tercera - The Greta Effect: Is It Good or Bad for Climate Negotiations?
Martín De Ambrosio, December 11, 2019, La Nación - Juan Cabandié: “We are going to reduce the 5000 open-air landfills in Argentina”
Martín De Ambrosio, December 11, 2019, La Nación - Costa Rica at COP25
Michelle Soto, December 11, 2019, AM Prensa
- Laguna Verde, the Nuclear Disaster Announced for 4T
Emilio Godoy, December 11, 2019, Revista Proceso - *Amazonian Indigenous People Share Experiences on the Defense of Their Territories
Eduardo Franco, December 11, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero and graphic elements from Olga Cajina.
Indigenous women Waorani, Sarayaku, and Sapara from the Ecuadorian Amazon were present at Minga Indigena, the social summit that meets in parallel to the Conference of the Parties (COP25) on climate change, where they shared their struggles for the defense of their territories from oil exploitation.
- Maisa Rojas and Progress at the COP: “At this speed we will not reach the necessary response”
Francisco Parra, December 11, 2019, La Tercera - *Costa Rica Needs More Local Science to Adapt to Climate Change
Michelle Soto, December 11, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero and graphic elements from Olga Cajina. Also published by Delfino.cr.
For Costa Rica, climate change is a reality and adaptation to it, understood as those strategies aimed at reducing risks, is an imperative need. Faced with this, science can provide inputs to design actions that are effective and maximize investment in a country where funds are not abundant. Is science in Costa Rica supporting climate change policy?
- *Challenges for the Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions in Climate Change Adaptation
Eduardo Franco, December 11, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero. Also published by La Prensa, Delfino.cr, and La Estrella.
Almost half of the existing solutions to achieve the climate objectives come from agriculture, forestry, and other sustainable uses of land. Although currently, this sector only receives 3% of the funds allocated to climate action. Considering the biomes it shares, Latin America has significant potential to apply nature-based solutions, says expert. - COP25: African Countries Cannot Wait for the Outcome of the Conference to Start Adapting to Climate Change
Fabíola Ortiz, December 10, 2019, Agência Lusa
Also published by Inforpress and other outlets. - COP25: Brazil Expects to Achieve 50% Renewable Energy by 2050 – Energy Minister
Fabíola Ortiz, December 10, 2019, Agência Lusa
Also published by Observador, Porto Canal – SAPO, RTP Notícias, and other outlets. - Chile Faces Hard Days in Madrid After No Major Advance in Negotiations
Francisco Parra, December 10, 2019, La Tercera - *Chile Is Not Pushing for Human Rights When Negotiating Carbon Markets
Francisco Parra, December 10, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero. Also published by El Desconcierto, La Estrella, and Climate Tracker in English and Spanish. - Salles Defends “Monetization of Environmental Resources” by the Paris Agreement
Fabíola Ortiz, December 10, 2019, ((o)) eco - Costa Rica at the Climate Summit
Michelle Soto, December 10, 2019, AM Prensa
These six journalists are on the ground covering @COP25CL, with the amazing @NinaCorderoFoto taking photos and @okajina making graphics (like the one below). Want to see the stories? Click here: https://t.co/nkeYhLVigU pic.twitter.com/zj2GSZ3Tsx
— Devon Terrill (@devonterrill) December 10, 2019
- *What Greta’s Young Activists Do in Madrid
Martín De Ambrosio, December 10, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring photography from Nina Cordero. Also published by La Estrella and La Prensa.
This story chronicles the daily activities of young climate activists at COP25 in Madrid. Who do they meet? What do they want? - Human Rights Must Be Included in the Paris Agreement, Says UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Fabíola Ortiz, December 9, 2019, Agência Lusa
Also published by Observador, Expresso, SAPO 24, ZAP Notícias, and other outlets. - *Geoengineering: The Return of an Environmentalist’s Nightmare
Martín De Ambrosio, December 9, 2019, LatinClima
Featuring graphic elements from Olga Cajina.
This piece explores the potential damage to the world climate system caused by one form of geoengineering: solar radiation management.
- Two Fewer Coal Power Plants and Climate Change Law: Chile’s surprising ads at the COP
Francisco Parra, December 9, 2019, La Tercera - Social Summit Demands Strong Commitments in Climate Talks
Emilio Godoy, December 9, 2019, Inter Press Service
Available in English here. Also published by Diario Digital RD. - Youth Gathered at Social Summit Say Feel Abandoned, Marginalized by Politicians
Fabíola Ortiz, December 8, 2019, Noticias ao Minutos - COP25 Social Summit Wants to Echo Voices of Outrage and Pressure World Leaders
Fabíola Ortiz, December 8, 2019, Agência Lusa
Also published by Correio da Manhã , Observador, Renascença, Expresso de Ilhas, and other outlets. - How Will Chilean Presidency of COP25 Be Evaluated? This is what’s coming for the key week of the summit
Francisco Parra, December 8, 2019, La Tercera - Thousands March for the Environment in Madrid
Michelle Soto, December 7, 2019, AM Prensa
- The 15 Key Messages from the Pre-COP25 in Costa Rica
Michelle Soto, December 4, 2019, Medium - Taking Science as a Basis and Assuming the Goal of 1.5°C, the Messages That the Pre-cop25 in Costa Rica Send to the Climate Summit in Madrid
Michelle Soto, December 4, 2019, Medium - COP25: Countries to Conclude Paris Agreement Rules While Thinking About the Amazon
Michelle Soto, December 4, 2019, Medium - Carlos Alvarado: “The very narrative of climate change has alienated citizens”
Michelle Soto, December 4, 2019, AM Prensa - Carlos Alvarado: “As a generation of leaders we will be judged for our response to the climate crisis”
Michelle Soto, December 2, 2019, AM Prensa