By Dennis Peprah
Aburi, (E/R), Jan. 25, GNA – Journalists have been urged to put a spotlight on climate change to enhance the understanding of the citizenry to the dangers it poses to the earth.
Mr Jerry Sam, the Executive Director of Pensplusybtes, a not-for-profit organisation who made the call, said the Ghanaian population could contribute to addressing or tackling the climate change crisis, only if they understood and appreciated climate change intricacies and impacts.
He was speaking at the opening session of a three-day training workshop to build the capacity of selected Journalists to investigate and write in-depth and compelling stories on climate related issues.
Penplusbytes with support from DW Akademie under its Climate Crisis Journalism Project is organising the workshop that would expose, re-orient and empower the 15 Journalists to the intricacies of climate change, international best practices, trust building, and addressing disinformation.
Mr Sam said it was imperative to fight the growing climate crisis with a multi-pronged approach, saying training would greatly equipped the journalists with the requisite knowledge and skills to inform, educate and shape public discourse on the climate crisis in a responsible manner.
He said though the impact of climate change remained heavier in Africa, the continent did not have enough resources to opt for climate sciences adaptive measures, hence the need to empower the media to well communicate climate related issues to the public.
“The world is a common property and nations have the collective responsibility to protect it”, Dr Martin Segtub, a lecturer at the UPSA and a facilitator, said, adding the effects of greenhouse gas had already altered the ecosystem, weather patterns, food supplies, lives and economies.
Climate change would increase in all regions of the globe over the coming decades, with increasing and extreme heat waves, as well as longer and shorter warm seasons, he said.
Dr Segtub, also a climate change communication researcher, indicated that developing countries bear the brunt of climate change impact, saying “Africa is a vulnerability hotspot for climate change and we all must do something and support mitigations measures.”
GNA