Groenland

We asked the world’s press to commit to treating climate change as the emergency that scientists say it is. Their response was dispiriting

Today, all of humanity is under attack, this time from an overheated planet—and too many newsrooms still are more inclined to cover today’s equivalent of dance competitions. A handful of major newspapers are paying attention. But most news coverage, especially on television, continues to underplay the climate story, regarding it as too complicated, or disheartening, or controversial. Last month, we asked the world’s press to commit to treating climate change as the emergency that scientists say it is; their response was dispiriting.

In the Second World War, Britain’s media was a crucial part of the war effort to save the country from fascism. Now it must meet its responsibility to tackle the climate emergency. The first of the Extinction Rebellion three demands calls on the government to declare a climate & ecological emergency and to work with the media to tell the public the truth of the depth of the crises.