This Monday, February 28, 2022, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) released its new report that inevitably reminds everyone of the urgency to act. Only here, in the eyes of the media, does this alarming assessment seem to carry no weight in the context of the war in Ukraine. So how can this very real urgency exist?
“Should one emergency drive out another? † With this question Camille Crosnier started her column, this Wednesday 2 March, on France Inter† In front of listeners, the journalist lamented the cruel lack of media visibility of the second part of the IPCC’s 6th report. And rightly so, the media attention for global warming is (still) almost nil.
Instead of warning the population, it seems that the newspapers prefer to tackle lighter issues “such as the end of the mask in certain public places, the agricultural fair, the Carnival of Venice or the way of life in Finland, among others. †
The IPCC’s findings are alarming, however, and to create a sense of urgency and compel politicians to act, scientists need the support of the media, as explained by Alexandre Magnan, climate change adaptation specialist and co-author of the report, quoted by Camille Crosnier:
† We were working on a report that makes troubling findings on the scale of humanity and the news in France isn’t talking about it, it’s troubling. We need a strong relay from all media to help us get the message across and put pressure on government policy. †
Watch (a signed video France InterR):
fragments:
“Russia’s war in Ukraine is overwhelming information and, as so often, the majority of citizens have no idea what the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is. †
“Hence the importance that the public sphere, in a broad sense, really tackles these subjects. The stakes are enormous and the collective ‘+ climate in the media’ wants to help the ‘mainstream’ media, as they say. †
Our main requirement is that TV channel journalists, news editors and the entire television media ecosystem are trained on climate issues and planetary limits, we believe this is essential. The IPCC report specified that one of the main obstacles in Europe to the fight against climate change is that citizens do not consider it an emergency. †
“The ability to also ask ourselves why we don’t necessarily hear or want to hear certain information… rather, it’s true, sometimes burying our heads in the sand. †
meditate.