From scrollytelling to deep dives on data, the Climate Arena Conference last week was a thought provoking event plus an opportunity for some serious skill sharing.
This gathering of climate journalists and scientists from across Europe was hosted in the beautiful city of Bologna and came with unexpected downpours – more on that below.
The first of the three days was a day for us ‘fellows’ to work together – it’s the start of a year long relationship where each of us work on a project that the Climate Arena organisation supports us with. (Mine involves water companies which will be unsurprising to any of you that have been following my work at The Northern Eco over the past year).
Days two and three were the public conference and an opportunity to hear new ideas, techniques and approaches through workshops and presentations. Unlike many conferences, summits and suchlike I’ve attended in the past, the emphasis here was on practical know-how with experienced journalists happy to share their processes and practices.
So in that spirit of collaboration, I’ll flag here three of the sessions which resonated the most with me:
- The Fada Collection, a collaborative journalism organisation working in Italy and North Africa, looks at innovative ways to give their stories more impact by taking them back to communities. They do this by using events such as art exhibitions or hosting public debates. During their session on addressing the climate crisis at a local level they demonstrated how the publication of stories could be the starting point (rather than the conclusion) of journalism which can have genuine community impact.
- By working with scientists, journalists mapping Wetlands in Sardinia were able to combine data from ‘shoe leather’ approaches (which included citizen science bird monitoring) with satellite technology. The in-depth series of articles is well worth exploring here. Talking to the scientist after the session it was exciting to hear there maybe some new approaches available with this technology to experiment with in my own work on river pollution too.
- Closer to home it was great to hear that mySociety are in the middle of their latest work on Climate Emergency UK. For the past five years its army of volunteers have been compiling this important data to hold the feet of UK councils to the fire of their own climate emergency plans. Expect the results on that next summer acoss the UK and I’ll be looking forward to exploring that data at The Northern Eco too.
The rain in Italy, falls mainly
In a highly pertinent way, the backdrop to this conference saw torrential rainfall and flooding with red weather alerts across the region.
While for delegates this was often an inconvenience, always a conversation starter and a surprising source of soggy comradeship, I can’t even imagine the absolute dread it must have induced for nearby communities.
Just a few weeks on from the flooding on the 19 September, the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna was struck by its third devastating storm in less than 18 months. As The Guardian reported, one hamlet, Traversara, on the banks of the Lamone River about 40 minutes outside Bologna, was all but wiped out in that.
Extreme weather events are increasingly hitting the country, with Emilia Romagna, a region that includes the cities of Modena, Ravena and Parma as well as Bologna, grappling with its fourth such conditions in less than two years. In May 2023, at least 17 people were killed by flooding and landslides in the region.
Due to global warming, more CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere means the likelihood of extreme weather events like this are increased. Put simply, the warmer air can hold more water vapour which then traps infra-red heat energy forming a feedback loop.
If you’re a journalist interested in learning more about the climate and the way CO2 impacts our weather, please check out my page for details of Carbon Literacy training on offer here.
Dim Sum Digital 