Climate change: what should the media do?

“If there is one aspect where African media is failing communities, that aspect is none other than climate change,” DRC-born exiled author and media analyst Denis Kayenge Kinkufi told Bizcommunity.com earlier this week.

“While the rest of the world is worried sick and scrambling to find solutions about climate change and its repercussions, Africa is lagging far behind, partly because of media's lack of interest in talking tough about these issues, which is very worrying.”

Seldom and superficial reporting

Research shows that African media (print, broadcasting and online) seldom reports on the issue, and where it is done the reporting is only superficial, without any editorial influence that could shake up polluting companies and governments.

Some observers say that many Africans believe that climate change is not their primary concern, as the continent has much more serious problems to solve such as hunger, armed conflicts, HIV/Aids, state corruption, dictatorial regimes, malaria, poverty, crime and socio-economic underdevelopment.

Kinkufi rejects this stance, saying climate change is a major threat that must be feared in the same way as other social ills.

“African media needs to aggressively tell communities that the world is facing a real and present danger in the name of climate change, which should be treated just like a pandemic,” he said.

“As things stand, very few people in Africa – mostly the elite and the well-educated – are worried about this phenomenon, while the majority goes on with their lives as if nothing is happening.

“Less important topics dominate”

“Political bickering, ruling parties' antics, crime and in some places less important topics such as witchcraft dominate the newspapers' pages, fill TV and radio spaces around the continent,” he said regretfully.

“But climate change rarely figures in the headlines, except for some filler reporting on a summit taking place somewhere in the world.

“As society's watchdog, media should aggressively seek the truth on what polluting companies and governments are doing to contribute to the fight against climate change,” Kinkufi said.

“Journalists should investigate thoroughly the level of pollution in some areas, start the debate that will get the nation talking and also expose polluters and government officials who renege on their promises to curb climate change.

“African leaders who are campaigning to be elected in the political office should speak out on their plans on how they will tackle climate change, not just crime, women abuse and poverty – something that is seldom done in Africa because of media's ignorance and lack of interest.

“At the end of the day, it is poor people in Africa who pay the high price and we have already begun to see the consequences of climate change all over the continent,” Kinkufi said.

African should host own summit

He suggested that instead of complaining about the US, Australia and China, for instance, being the worst polluters in the world, and ask these countries to do more, Africa should host its own summit on climate change to assess its levels of pollution and damages of climate change, and see how they can put in place preventive measures and, if needs be, ask for help to the international community.

“When African leaders participate in global summits, in most of the cases, they do not speak with one voice, and as a result the continent's problems do not get the attention they deserve and end up in the impasse, which is sad,” Kinkufi lamented.

Delegates from more than 190 countries are currently attending a 12-day summit on climate change in Bali, Indonesia, where South Africa is officially represented by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the minister of environmental affairs and tourism.

“We are already seeing many of the impacts of climate change, and we are on a very dangerous path,” Yvo de Boer, head of UN Climate Change Secretariat, was quoted by Reuters as telling a news conference in Bali.

The summit ends on Friday, 14 December 2007.