The Federal Ministry of Environment in partnership with the European Union (EU) has commenced a three-day training for 36 media professionals on climate change reportage.
The training, under the auspices of the Department of Climate Change (DCC) and the Nigeria Climate Change Response Programme (NCCRP) kicked off on Monday, June 24, 2024, in Lagos.
The media professionals were selected from the 36 states of the country.
The EU funded NCCRP intends to enhance Nigeria’s capacity to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions pledge of 47 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases emissions by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 13.
The workshop, the second in the series, would strengthen the capacity of media professionals in climate change reporting.
In her opening remarks, Dr Iniobong Abiola-Awe, the Director, Department of Climate Change (DCC) of the Federal Ministry of Environment, urged journalists to responsibly and ethically report climate change issues.
“This workshop is organised to enhance the capacity of media professionals in the reportage of climate change.
“As professionals in this space, journalists have a unique opportunity and responsibility to report effectively the realities of climate change.
“We urge you to approach this workshop with willingness to learn and commitment to excellence.
“The knowledge you gain here will not only benefit you but will also help professionally in addressing climate change issues in your reports.
“As media professionals, you can shape the narrative on climate action responsibly, ethically and courageously tell your stories on climate change,” Abiola-Awe said.
Also speaking, Dr Todd Ngara, NCCRP Team Lead, said the training was organised to enhance the dissemination of climate change knowledge among media professionals.
“You are welcome to today’s training session; it shows the importance you as journalists place on climate change.
“You could be covering stories that will earn you money, but you chose to learn about updates on climate change, this shows the importance the media attach to climate change.
“The NCCRP climate change programme has three tasks, which are monitoring, reporting and verification; as well as dissemination of climate change knowledge (where this training falls under).
“One of our goals is the dissemination of knowledge on climate change. Our aim also is to introduce a new curriculum on climate change starting from the primary schools to the secondary schools.
“We hope that apart from the knowledge journalists will get from this training, we hope their reportage will here after bring about more visibility for climate change effects,” Ngara said.
By Mercy Omoike
