Martin Vrba

Martin Vrba is an independent Czech journalist and essayist. Based in Prague, he writes about systemic emergencies such as the climate and ecological crises, and their political, cultural and socio-economic implications.

Martin is a former climate activist with a background in art and philosophy. He is a member of the Arena Climate Network and has participated in several fellowships, including the European Excellence Exchange Journalism Programme in Amsterdam, the International Journalists Programme in Berlin, and most recently, the Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists at the Institute of Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna.

Throughout his investigative work, Martin's primary focus has been on exposing the malpractices of the European fossil fuel industry within the EU and beyond.

He has also previously worked as an art editor for the Czech publications A2 and FlashArt, and as a climate editor for the Czech online daily newspaper Deník Alarm.

His work has been published in various media outlets, including the Green European Journal, Eurozine, El Salto, Die Tageszeitung, and the following Czech publications: A2, Deník Alarm, Deník Referendum, ČT Art, Artalk and Art&Antiques, among others.

Basic information

Name

Martin Vrba

Title

Journalist and essayist

Expertise

climate change, environment, environmental justice, war ecology, ecocide, political ecology, speculative fiction

Country

Czechia

City

Prague

Martin Vrba

Supported projects

Nowhere to Go – Europe’s Struggle to Rehouse its Exotic Animals

Cities
Environment

BRUSSELS - This investigation examines how stricter European regulations on wild animals in circuses have led to an unintended crisis, leaving hundreds of big cats are trapped in overcrowded shelters with limited resources and no coordinated solutions.

Ukranian lions Marek and Miron, saved from the conflict zone, found temporary refuge in the Natuurhulpcentrum in Belgium.

Blaming the Wolf: Politics, Fear, And Lost Protection

Environment

BRUSSELS – This investigation examines how false narratives, political discourse and lobbying efforts in six European countries have shaped perceptions of wolves, leading to the weakening of their legal protection.

Europe’s Not-So Just Energy Transition

Energy
Environment

BRUSSELS – This investigation analyses which projects under the European Commission’s €17.5 billion Just Transition Fund might not be effective, revealing a number of cases of malpractice in this regard.

Biomass: The Green Mirage

Environment

CROTONE - STRONGOLI - LYNEMOUTH - This extensive, months-long investigation by a cross-border team of journalists from five countries and in collaboration with Follow The Money, scrutinizes EPH – one of the largest biomass operators in Europe – to unveil the loopholes in EU regulation and verify the company’s sustainability claims.

(Un)just Green Shifts in Czech-Polish Coal Regions

Energy
Environment
Politics

KATOWICE / KARVINÁ - This cross-border research project compares the energy transition in Silesia and Karviná, the coal regions on the Czech-Polish border, with a focus on the implementation of the EU's Just Transition Fund.

Vapes: Environmental Pollution, Health and Safeguarding Concerns

Environment
Healthcare

LONDON – What is the connection between widespread sales of nicotine vapes in Nigeria, the use of vapes by teenagers in the UK, and the pollution caused by vape pods and cartridges in Burkina Faso? And what does it all have to do with the regulations on vapes by the European Commission? Read more in this investigation.

Life after Lead Poisoning

Corruption
Environment
Healthcare

KABWE – More than four decades after the news broke about the illness caused by lead poisoning in Kabwe, Zambia, journalists dig deep to learn how victims' lives have changed since the World Bank provided $65 million in assistance to the Zambian government.