Investigate Climate – Training the Next Generation of Climate Journalists

This event served as a vital platform for investigative journalists, researchers, and media professionals to
exchange insights on pressing global issues.
With the support of Journalismfund, NR24 successfully curated and hosted a series of climate journalism-focused events. These sessions addressed the role of journalism in exposing climate-related injustices, countering misinformation, and fosteringengagement with broader audiences.

Around 450 people –over 200 speakers and around 200 guests– participated in the annual conference of Netzwerk Recherche, an independent German organization that seeks to improve the quality of media coverage using investigative methods of journalism. 

Over 180 applications were filed for the German Prize for Climate Journalism 2024, which will be awarded for the first time this year, with support of Journalismfund Europe.

List of Award Winners
The German Climate Journalism Award 2024 recognized outstanding contributions to climate reporting. The following projects and individuals were honored:

• Main prize: Podcast “Heat – Last Generation Close-up“, produced by TRZ Media/rbb.Team: Jasmin Bauomy, Robin Drömer, Daphne Ivana Sagner, Anton Stanislawski and Céline Weimar-Dittmar.
• Investigative: The investigation „Climate Protection Projects in China: A Billion-Dollar Fraud in the Oil Industry?“, produced by ZDF frontal. Team: Hans Koberstein, Nathan Niedermeier, Marta Orosz and Miriam Steimer
• Local: Recherche „Water Extraction in Lower Franconia“, produced by Main-Post/Bayerischer Rundfunk. Team: Pirmin Breninek, Carolin Hasenauer, Jonas Keck, Angelika Kleinhenz, Claudia Kohler and Henrik Rampe
• Award of Honors: Harald Lesch, astrophysicist, science journalist and TV presenter.
• Special Mention: Documentation „Every Person for Themselves: How Disaster Response Fails People with Disabilities“ by the Austrian media andererseits.

The following events at the conference were part of the climate journalism track:

• Grüne Märchen: Wie wir das Greenwashing von Unternehmen entlarven (Green Fairy Tales: How we expose corporate greenwashing)
• Die Superreichen und das Klima – Geschichten der Ungleichheit stream (The super-rich and the climate - stories of inequality) Watch here. 
• Mehr Herz im Klimajournalismus?  (More heart in climate journalism?) 
• Rechtsruck und Fatigue – Backlash im Klimajournalismus  (Shift to the right and fatigue - backlash in climate journalism) Watch here.
• Verleihung des Deutschen Preises für Klimajournalismus 2024 stream (Presentation of the German Prize for Climate Journalism 2024) Watch here.
• Against all odds: Klimajournalismus auf Instagram und TikTok (Against all odds: Climate journalism on Instagram and TikTok)
• Konstruktiver Klimajournalismus kontrovers: Gamechanger oder gefährlicher Trend? (Constructive climate journalism controversial: game changer or dangerous trend?)
• Klimawandel für Desinteressierte: Wie wir mit Personalisierung und Interaktivität neue Zielgruppen erreichen möchten (Climate change for the disinterested: How we want to reach new target groups with personalization and interactivity)

Below are some quotes from the conference speakers:

Gesa Steeger, Correctiv: "I think we need to do more to meet people where they are in their everyday lives. [...] It's also crucial that we depict the crisis accurately, including visually. [...] For instance, when reporting on heatwaves, we shouldnʼt use images of swimming pools but instead show wildfires."
Jürgen Döschner, Netzwerk Klimajournalismus: "Journalism needs to be more confrontational. It should name the causes and the culprits—the fossil fuel industry—and report on the climate crisis as it impacts all aspects of life. This should be done as a comprehensive approach, not just as a topic relegated to the science
section."
Yasemin Said (freelance journalist): "I think itʼs incredibly important that climate journalism considers the impacts of colonialism. We need to examine how colonialism has affected certain countries and contributed to climate change."