An organization whose goal is to shape media coverage on climate change is giving specific instructions on how to cover COP28 meetings in Dubai.The December 7 update from Covering Climate Now highlighted strident calls for action from the meetings and offered resources to media to shape coverage.“The 1.5-degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in Dubai.“Not reduce. Not abate. Phaseout — with a clear timeframe aligned with 1.5 degrees C.”CCNow complained Sultan Al Jaber, the president of COP28 and CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company, had “mansplained” the science of fossil fuel phaseout to former Irish president Mary Robinson in November, “preposterously claiming there was no science behind the need to phase out fossil fuels.”CCNow immediately followed with an explanation of its own.“As COP28 wraps its first week, it’s important for journalists to understand crucial distinctions in the language Guterres and Al Jaber are using — between ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels and ‘phasing down’ their use, and between ‘abated’ and ‘unabated’ use of dirty energy. Later, however, it issued a follow-up email to explain it had gotten it wrong.“Note: In this week's Climate Beat that was previously sent out, we noted a missing word in the fourth paragraph that demands correction,” the clarification read.“‘Unabated’ refers to fossil energy sources whose emissions are not prevented from reaching and thus overheating the atmosphere — for example, through the use of carbon capture and storage technologies.”Either way, CCNow says “Guterres is correct” and “The IPCC has previously made clear that humanity needs to cut roughly 50% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and totally phase out fossil fuels by 2050 to avoid the worst climate impacts.”“Phasing down fossil fuel use over the next five years can align with science if the result is to cut emissions in half by 2030. But ultimately, such a phasedown has to be a step towards an all-but-total phaseout of fossil fuels by 2050.”The media nudge group said “‘unabated’ refers to fossil energy sources whose emissions are not prevented from reaching and thus overheating the atmosphere — for example, through the use of carbon capture and storage technologies.”Sir David King, a former chief science adviser to the UK government, called the idea oil and gas production could go on this way was “absurd’ during a recent CCNow press briefing.Either way, Saudi Arabia’s minister has already said his country will not agree to any language in the final text committing to even a phasedown of fossil fuels, much less a phase out.Al Gore told Bloomberg that he wants to change COP rules so that a final text can be approved by a 75% supermajority of countries, instead of the current requirement of unanimous consent. Gore said it would be “extremely difficult” to get such a rule change approved, but “the stakes are so high that we have to try every strategy.” More than 100 countries at GOP have stated their favour of a fossil fuel phaseout and CCNow wants the media to make the idea unanimous.“Because the final text of a COP requires a consensus vote, time and again petrostates have been able to stymie real progress. It’s here that civil society — and journalism — can shine: By exposing the deception and sheer obstinacy of big polluters blocking climate action.”CCNow has a contingent of journalists at COP28 and has made resources available to its 500 member media organizations and individuals with their combined audience of two billion.These include CCNow’s COP28 Resource Hub which includes the COP28 Reporting Guide, now also available in Spanish.“Building on the success of its recent newsroom training initiatives, CCNow has launched The Climate Station, a free, customized training program to help local TV stations across the US cover climate stories more effectively.CCNow is also recruiting an associate audience editor and a regional TV engagement coordinator.
