Redrawing a Line in the Sand: Reporting Climate Change

Mobilizing a critical mass of
people, communities, and cities to drive demand for clean energy, transport,
and environmentally sustainable consumption is the focus of a campaign launched
last week at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore. “Redraw The Line” is a
public awareness campaign created by The Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social
Awareness and Ogilvy & Mather with the support of the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

A Media Leaders Forum on the
subject “ Media and Multi-Sector Partnerships in Achieving Positive Social
Change” , featuring Dr Martin Blake and Ken Hickson, among others, and ably led
by the BBC’s Sharanjit Leyl, was a feature of the day’s events. Jessica Cheam
has the story. Read More

By Jessica Cheam in Straits Times
(9 December 2011):

There is far less coverage of
climate change – an important topic affecting billions of people – than
coverage of conflicts.

Media organisations, especially
in Asia, should devote more resources to reports on environmental issues, says
a senior United Nations official.

In recent days, publications
around the world have given far fewer column centimetres to the UN climate
change talks in Durban, South Africa, than the conflict in Afghanistan, said Mr
Shun-ichi Murata, deputy executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap).

‘It is an important conflict, but
so is climate change, and it has far-reaching consequences for billions of
people,’ he told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the Media Leaders’ Forum
at Marina Bay Sands on Wednesday.

Government leaders from around
the world have converged on Durban to negotiate the issue of reducing global
carbon emissions to combat worsening climate change.

Mr Murata says the media has been
biased in its coverage of the talks – predicting their failure even before
negotiations started. ‘It’s unfair of the media to make such statements even
before the talks begin. There is still the possibility of progress being made,’
he said.

Dr Martin Blake, executive
director of GreenAsia Group, a Singapore-based environmental management
solutions firm, who also spoke at the event, noted that there have been
encouraging trends in Asia. The region has seen an increase in climate change-
and environment-related news in the past few years.

‘In Singapore, we’ve seen
publications dedicating journalists to this agenda and this is very good. But
the media can do more,’ he said. One way is to take a more practical approach
to reporting on the issues, and avoid sensationalism.

He noted that there is a
misguided tendency for the media to focus on ‘bad, apocalyptic-type news’ on
climate change, such as disasters and doomsday scenarios, which can turn
readers off a serious topic.

There are many opportunities to
focus on ‘good news’, such as positive examples of businesses and communities
responding to the climate change challenge, he said.

Escap’s Mr Murata added that
media organisations could play a key role in getting Asian consumers to accept
green products and shift to a more sustainable lifestyle and pattern of
consumption. ‘This is crucial for Asian economies to grow sustainably. They
need to build resilience against volatility of prices for food, energy and
resources,’ he said.

Media reports are also important
in giving a voice to vulnerable and poor communities throughout Asia, who would
otherwise not be heard, he added.

The inaugural Media Leaders’
Forum, which attracted about 100 participants, aimed to discuss the role and
responsibility of media companies in affecting behavioural change on climate
change issues.

It was organised by Media
Alliance, a Singapore-based non-profit organisation, in partnership with the
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Asian Development
Bank, among others.

Source: www.eco-business.com

Asia Development Bank reports (7
December 2011):

SINGAPORE – Mobilizing a critical
mass of people, communities, and cities to drive demand for clean energy,
transport, and environmentally sustainable consumption is the focus of a
campaign launched today at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore.

“Redraw The Line” is a public
awareness campaign created by The Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social
Awareness (The Media Alliance) and Ogilvy & Mather with the support of the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (SIDA) in response to the challenges posed by climate
change.

The campaign draws on the
participation of the media, entertainment, and advertising industries; private
sector sponsors; bilateral and multilateral development agencies; and youth or
university students.

“We are still waiting for an
international commitment that will drive our nations to respond to the climate
challenge as a global community, however, there are agents of change responding
to climate change at every level,” said David McCauley, ADB’s Lead Climate
Change Specialist. “Our goal is to mobilize a critical mass of people,
communities and cities to take action that addresses the main impacts of
climate change.

“Redraw The Line” is an Asian
regional initiative that is emphasizing the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam
during its first year. Other countries may be added over the next five years.

Under the direction of regional
media partners Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific and Viacom International Media
Networks, youth teams will produce locally and culturally relevant messages and
communication techniques. These will be based on the main climate change
concerns of their country, as determined by their national climate change
commission and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Selected institutions include
Bangkok University’s International College Media Lab and Assumption
University’s School of Mass Communication in Thailand, along with the Academy
of Journalism and Communication in Viet Nam. A university in the Philippines is
still being selected.

National media companies in the
three target countries are being invited to join the awareness campaign.
Synovate, a market research company, is supplying pre- and post-measurement
support through a climate change market survey on consumer awareness and
attitudes.

Source: www.adb.org