'...and Action!' How Media Can Address Climate Change in Countries Most Affected: Panel Discussion at COP26

"Saving our planet is now a communications challenge. We know what to do, we just need the will." - Sir David Attenborough

This panel discussion, which took place during the 26th annual Conference of the Parties (COP 26) United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, explores the untapped potential of media and communication to strengthen climate action. Hosted by BBC Media Action, the discussion centres around the launch of a new policy document (see Related Summaries, below), which seeks to optimise the role of media and communication in tackling climate change. In support of the strategies and recommendations outlined in the policy document, guest speakers highlight the different ways communication and media are contributing to actions around climate change.

The discussions also showcase some of BBC Media Action's work with communities using media and communication to address the impacts of climate change. To launch the discussion, a video is shared of a media project in Bangladesh called "Amrai Pari" (Together We Can Do It). This television reality show challenges communities to find solutions to address climate- and environment-related problems by sharing stories of some of the solutions communities have developed.

The discussion, led by BBC journalist Sam Poling, includes the following guest contributions:

Priyanka Dutt, Country Director BBC Media Action, India Country Director - Dutt introduces the new policy document launched by BBC Media Action, which has been informed by BBC Media Action's experiences in over 20 least developed countries, as well as input from key experts. She highlights the importance of media and communication, as it ensures that people most affected by climate change have access to trusted information. In particular, it enables them to discuss and weigh up their options, raise issues with decision makers, develop appropriate skills, and ultimately take action.

Dutt explains that the policy document makes the case for media and communication and offers recommendations for donors, policymakers, and climate experts on how to incorporate media and communication in their disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies. She stresses the importance of integration with other climate change response strategies, as well as the importance of funding in order to ensure high-quality media and communication that is backed by research and allows for the use of creative approaches to reach audiences.

Anil Pokhrel, Chief Executive National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Government of Nepal - Pokhrel talks about how the Nepal government's DRR strategy has integrated media and communication. This includes building skills and collaborating with media, all the way from the national down to the local level. The strategies also ensure that projects reach the most vulnerable, such as women, children, and the elderly.

Pokhrel explains how the Nepal government has been working with BBC Media Action to inform the public across Nepal about their new climate adaptation strategies using various forms of communication. He highlights the importance of research, which has enabled them to reach communities that would otherwise have been missed due to language issues and remote locations. He makes the point that reaching people with information is important in response to disasters such as floods and landslides, but it is also important to focus on risk reduction to prevent the severe impacts of disasters related to climate change. In this regard, he notes that funding is a challenge and that one needs to change mindsets within government to focus on risk reduction, not just to deal with the aftermath of climate disasters. In relation to risk reduction strategies, he also mentions the importance of forecast-based action, which involves working with weather agencies to be able to warn people about future weather conditions so that communities can take action and prevent the impacts of climate change.

Martin van Aalst, Director, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre - Van Aalst continues with the theme of driving forecast-based action - in particular, community-based anticipatory action. To introduce this concept, a video of a BBC Media Action project in Cambodia is shared. The project shows how a community has developed an early warning system to improve flood response and risk reduction, involving the installation of low-tech measuring poles to warn when water levels are rising to dangerous levels.

Van Aalst makes the point that even though it is important to be really local, sometimes you need to communicate to people on a larger scale to warn them about potential climate disasters. One needs trusted sources and intermediaries to prepare for disasters when they happen, but also to help communities adapt their environment in order to mitigate the effects of the disasters. He mentions that working to prevent the effects of disasters can be challenging, as it is difficult to talk about things that might happen in the future, especially in contexts where there are many other day-to-day challenges. It is therefore important to work with communities so that communication initiatives speak to local concerns. As a final note, he stresses the importance of investigating why a disaster happened and how it can be prevented in the future, with media playing an important role in providing follow-up analysis.

Professor Penny Endersby, Chief Executive UK Met Office - Endersby talks about the Met Office's work with BBC Media Action - in particular, their project called Weather Wise, which involves building relationships between scientists and remote local radio journalists to better communicate weather and climate information to farmers. She explains that the purpose of the Met Office is to help people make better decisions to stay safe and thrive in the context of climate change. No matter how good the predictions are, they are no good if they cannot be used by people who need to make the decisions and take action. The project, therefore, works to bridge the communication gap and involves training radio journalists to be able to interpret the science. She also stressed the importance of trusted news sources and the need for information to be communicated in a way that is relevant to the audience. For this to happen, communities need to be at the centre of any communication initiative. She also makes the point that impact-based forecasting is important - not what the weather will be, but what it will do - so people know how to prepare.

In conclusion, Stig Traavik, Director of Climate, Environment & Renewable Energy at Norad, makes a few remarks about why they as a donor support BBC Media Action and the work that they do. He talks about the importance of science and facts in order to make decisions and take action and the role that BBC Media Action plays in reaching communities with this information in creative and impactful ways. He mentions, in particular, a project in Indonesia called "Kembali Ke Hutan" (Return to the Forest), which uses a soap opera to reach out to people with lifesaving information.