The IWPR office in Tajikistan hosted a master class on reporting on climate change and climate policy for Central Asian journalists in Tajikistan.
Natalia Idrisova, Climate Consultant Trainer on Energy Efficiency, Clean Transportation, Eco-Activism, Board Member of the International Climate Network CAN EECCA spoke about the main problems in the field of global climate change and shared her expertise in covering these problems by journalists.
“It has been proved that climate change is already an irreversible process, and today it is not even a question of stopping it, but of humanity adapting to its consequences. And here, of course, the role of journalists reporting on climate change is huge. Therefore, you should understand scientific facts, documents and concepts, and the terminology, and be able to present them clearly,” said Natalia Idrisova.
She familiarized the journalists with the key documents adopted by the United Nations and ratified by Central Asian countries, and particularly Tajikistan, in the area of climate change, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the terms that need to be understood in reporting on climate change.
Idrissova talked about the latest findings of scientists, in particular about the increase in global temperature due to human activities. Anthropogenic climate change affects every region. There is growing evidence of links to extreme heat waves, heavy precipitation, droughts and tropical cyclones. Between 3.3 billion and 3.6 billion people live in conditions highly vulnerable to climate change. If global warming exceeds 1.5°C in the coming decades, many human and natural systems will face additional serious risks compared to keeping global average temperatures below 1.5°C.
She also highlighted the implications for local conditions and said that Tajikistan is among the countries with the least greenhouse gas emissions, but which are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This vulnerability can be seen in the reduction of glaciers and other natural disasters.
She urged journalists to pay more attention to covering these consequences in order to bring them to the attention of the world community.
At the end of the master class, the journalists received answers to all their questions and suggested several topics on the effects of climate change in Tajikistan.