Key takeaways from 'The Big Why' panel: The case to support climate and environmental journalism in Africa

During IPI’s recent panel with media experts on the need to support climate and environmental journalism in Africa, one participant shared her harrowing story. Powerful interest groups threatened her over the phone for her investigation into pollution linked to Uganda’s cement industry. As a female, freelance Ugandan journalist with few resources at her disposal to provide protection, she had to ask a difficult question climate reporters often contend with before publishing: Is this story worth the risk?

Africa’s environmental crisis is intensifying—from droughts to deforestation—yet journalists telling these vital stories face threats, censorship, and disinformation. IPI’s webinar titled “The Big Why” explored the importance of strong climate journalism in light of the risks and challenges that journalists encounter when covering environmental stories.