Achyutendra Tiwari
2nd year Law Student at Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur
"Almost every country across the globe accepts that there have been major climatic changes. These climatic changes are both threat for the biodiversity and a major concern for the mankind. It is evident that this environment degradation is a repercussion of exploitation of natural resources done by humans. Various International organizations recognize the importance of sustainable development and curbing environmental exploitation. Instead of all this, constantly there have been cases of killings of Green Reporters. Death threats are something which have become a daily affair of Green Reporters. Journalists vocal for environment are censored at various levels by private individuals and even by the Government. Using multiple reports and case studies, this article presents a critical view of the hypocritic behaviour shown by several countries and their governments towards Green Reporters."
Climate Change has taken root as 21st century’s most pressing crisis with consequent repercussions for ecosystems, markets and societies all over the world from climate change. As temperature profiles raise, sea levels increase and extreme weather events proliferate; competent, insightful and open journalism on these topics has never been more important. One of the world’s most dangerous professions is journalism covering environmental degradation and climate change.
Climate Change Status
The effects of climate change are now. They are terrible floods, dry seasons fueled by repeated droughts, hurricane season’s might rather burst out as Surigao del Sur sorrows to be unkempt and wildfires have appeared in sizes that unusual before popping up. Human-induced Climate change can warm with eventually resulting in unequivocal detrimental perturbations in nature that will ultimately have detrimental alterations for human health and well-being, says IPCC.
In today's scenario, environmental deterioration is rapidly accelerating, and on the basis of numerous reports surfacing new stories every year, we are accelerating the pace of the earth’s ecosystem that seems to be in danger. Significant increase in deforestation is happening at Amazon rainforest, which is considered the 'life of the earth' and deforms continuous loss of biodiversity, along with there will be an enormous emission of carbon due to the deforestation. Meanwhile, the world's glaciers are retreating, exposing millions to the potential of losing their primary sources of water. City centres linger, causing respiratory illnesses and premature deaths due to air pollution
Environmental Journalist Role
These challenges are best met when environmental journalists serve as a conduit of information to the public, identifying areas of concern where the public may be the most affected, and holding government agencies and corporate interests accountable for their actions or inactions. Environmental journalists look at complex scientific research, look into the practices of large firms, and “amplify the voices of impacted peoples”.
The reporting done by members of the press is not entirely non-partisan as it functions on the basis of forming public opinion (Fiske, 1997) and affects the formulation and shaping of policies regarding the aspects that bring a general human consensus. The solution to the conundrum that every human is faced with today in shaping public perception, therefore, lies within environmental journalism. On one side this journalism is a podium wherein the government meets with conversations by proxies no matter what measure of absolute power, excessive control, or mismanagement of governance gets contested.
Imposing Survival Threat to Green Journalism
However, the act of covering environmental issues poses great risks in and of itself. Around 50 environmental journalists were murdered between 2010 and 2020 reports RSF; many others are threatened, harassed or jailed. These environmental journalists are often targeted for their reporting, which challenges power interests such as illegal loggers, mining companies, agribusinesses and corrupt officials who profit from environmental exploitation.
Suppresso Filters
Take for example the case of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the courageous Maltese journalist who courageously confronted corruption, including environmental matters. Daphne Caruana Galizia, a well-known investigative journalist was killed in a car bombing in 2017 after exposing links between the Maltese government and the Panama Papers scandal, one of which dealt with environmental malpractices that had occurred.
In the case of Mexico, where a horrific rate of homicides of journalists prevails, Julio Valdivia, a journalist at El Mundo, was decapitated last year while reporting on illegal logging activities. The grisly killing of Valdivia underscores the danger faced by journalists, not least reporters covering environmental crime, in regions where state and local policymakers are on the one hand cooperative and on the other, criminal networks are in control.
Government Purge and Hypocrisy
Environmental journalists’ already perilous lives are further imperiled by state repression and hypocrisy. Many governments will go to international meetings and boast about their green credentials as part of what they call a 'sustainable nation', while shutting down journalists who try to out their dirty laundry. In Russia environmental activists and journalists are intimidating and imprisoned for reporting on subjects such as illegal deforestation in Siberia or pollution from mining activities in the Arctic.
In Brazil press denies to cover news reported by indigenous people and journalists who do not have immunity while filing news against subjects that are anti-governments like the Amazon rainforest burning issue. Journalist like Claudio Humberto de Oliveira, who cover such matters, has been threatened and attacked; there are fears that people like him could be silenced altogether.
And meantime, the rise of nationalistic, authoritarian regimes and the mainstream media creates an environment where fear and public outrage are manufactured, where truth is distorted, and where the government is praised as the only salvation. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of opening the forest to illegal activity by weakening the country’s environmental legal framework.
Root Causes of Violence
Violence against environmental journalists is a multi-faceted problem. It could be traced to narrative of media corruption by certain political system and authorities leading to a lot hate speech against media, weak rule of law, as well as no respect to freedom of expression which continues to flout the axiom of impunity against journalists. In some countries especially those based on corruption, investigative journalism is the crime for which the corrupt governments are fearful and the media continue at a cross-fire because of their unornamental role.
On the same hand, if journalists and their work are continuing to demean by their political leader as 'state enemy' 'middleman of negativity' what keeps balance in society due to which, the attacks on journalist become a media news, and as such the repression directed at this particular group of human beings is encouraged. In this situation, the people who tend to become whistleblowers and/or merely want to conduct research on governance and other issues are portrayed as "parasites" leading to wanton acts of aggression being brought against other competitors either in the same industry or on the same turf.
International Reaction and Responsiveness
The opportunity to help environmental journalists to better operate safely and pursue their mission is possible through international cooperation. For the defense of journalism and safety of journalists globally, organizations around the world such as RSF, MTC and some others play the role of advocating for free press freedoms. These organizations monitor violent situations, bring legal and administrative support to those who are in danger, and keep the government on their toes about press freedom commitments made to journalists worldwide though media freedom gapes still exist. However, particularly when it comes to the protection of journalists, environmental defenders are extremely poorly served by the international community when in fact it is their shared goal to fight for a better world with in it, a better place for the environment.
Toward the end, climate change is not merely environmental crisis it is a matter of the human rights. Targeting and killing of environment journalists is less of’ an attack on matter of the media, transparency, democracy, freedom of speech and media and entirely linked to how we decide to deal with global warming as a planet. Governments who try to curb environmental reporting and let those be that risk their life to report on that continent climate change need to be held accountable. In a given globalized shared environment, it's the responsibility of the people of the world to protect all journalists in order to safeguard environmental destruction. And journalist who despite the threats and risks against those involved in such cases press for the truth of current drama should be protected.
We must also demand justice for those journalists who have been killed because of their work, and we must support those who are brave enough to continue reporting accurately on matters of great concern, despite the threats. A public debate is only as good as the information and ideas it can and does encompasses, and one cannot deal with serious information and ideas if the journalism frees are not free to report on that.
In the absence of this freedom-of-the-press within the press, there would be no scope for debate on the Paris Agreement or the Sustainable Development Goals. It is by protecting these people, by ensuring that the dangers they face are recognized, and by holding the guilty parties to account for their crimes that we will begin the all-important process of telling the honest truth and charting a path beyond carbonized capitalism.
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