Addis Ababa, Ethiopia–In a landmark declaration from Ethiopia, journalists from across Africa have committed to a new, comprehensive approach to covering the continent’s interconnected crises of climate change, peace, and security.
The “Addis Ababa Declaration on Media, Climate, Peace, Security, and Justice,” emerging from a pre-Summit Forum as part of the Second Africa Climate Summit, outlines a several-point plan aimed at strengthening the media’s role in driving positive change and ensuring the public is fully informed and empowered.
This new effort is a direct response to the multifaceted challenges facing Africa, particularly in fragile and high-risk environments. The journalists’ commitment calls for a shift in action toward a “Humanitarian, Development and Peace (HDP)” approach that integrates these concerns into national and regional agendas.
The declaration states, “We call upon African governments, the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and the international community to act decisively by adopting policies and actions that integrate the climate, peace and security nexus, ensuring that just transition strategies protect the most vulnerable, scaling up transparent and accountable climate finance and safeguarding media freedom as a cornerstone of resilience.”
A key pillar of the declaration is a demand for greater accountability in climate finance. The journalists pledged to promote investigative reporting that “exposes inequities in climate finance flows and demands accountability from governments, institutions and international partners.” This includes a push for climate finance that prioritizes adaptation in fragile contexts and supports solutions led by women and youth.
Recognizing the dangers and difficulties of their work, the declaration also calls for equipping journalists with better training, resources, and safety protections, particularly for those reporting from conflict zones. Furthermore, it champions information integrity by investing in fact-checking and cross-border journalist networks, and by aligning national measures with global principles on information integrity.
The journalists endorsed the new initiative and invited the African Union (AU), Regional Economic Communities, and Member States to collaborate. They urged these bodies to join calls for partnerships and use the initiative’s new Global Fund to support evidence-based communications and investigative journalism.
“This is more than a declaration; it’s a new roadmap for African journalism,” said one of the participants. “We are committing ourselves to not just reporting on the crises, but to actively contributing to the solutions. Our goal is to ensure the African public has full access and understanding of the issues, empowering citizens to participate in shaping decisions that affect their lives.”
The declaration marks a significant moment for the African media landscape, signaling a united front among journalists to tackle some of the continent’s most pressing challenges with renewed purpose and a commitment to collaboration. The forum, themed “Media as a Catalyst for Africa’s Climate Change, Peace and Security Agenda: Driving Just Transition and Climate Justice,” was intended to help participating journalists break down the complexities of climate finance and tell more powerful stories about the injustices of inadequate and skewed climate finance flows. Participants included journalists, advocates, and policymakers.
“As the Fourth Estate, journalists are critical to fostering informed public discourse, holding decision-makers accountable and amplifying the voices of those most affected by the intersecting challenges of climate change, conflict and fragility,” the forum stated. It was organized by the African Union Commission’s Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), OXFAM, and GIZ.
Omar Faruk Osman, President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), emphasized that journalism is essential to climate security. However, they can only work effectively when they have access to data and can work safely to translate complex science into clear public information, turn early warning into early action, and scrutinize decisions that affect people’s lives.
He believed responsible reporting calms tensions, counters disinformation, gives voice to those most exposed to climate shocks and helps authorities plan before risks become crises.
“Strong journalism strengthens the peace and security agenda.”
Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, Immediate Past President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) and a member of the Steering Committee of FAJ, urged African governments and partners to invest in public interest journalism as a critical tool for advancing climate accountability and justice.
He stressed that without an independent and well-resourced media, Africa cannot achieve climate justice.
“If climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, then public interest journalism is one of the greatest tools we have to ensure climate finance delivers for our people.”
Dr. Philip Attuquayefio, Africa Union Advisor, Climate, Peace and Security noted that the role of journalists in covering climate issues is “indispensable.”
adding that “Afterall it is through the stories journalists tell, the truths they uncover, and the narratives they curate that societies can make sense of crises, mobilise collective will, and chart pathways to peace.”
“But journalists are not mere chroniclers of events. They are also mediators between knowledge and society, between communities and policymakers, between Africa’s lived realities and the global imagination. Without their agency, the climate–peace–security nexus risks remaining an abstract phrase in policy documents rather than a lived concern capable of mobilizing urgency and action.”
