Climate crisis meets a crisis in media freedom at COP29

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) accreditation policies for journalists fail to account for the challenges faced by reporters in repressive regimes, Free Voices Collective said.

The UNFCCC secretariat did not consider the accreditation for COP29 of journalists from Meydan TV. According to accreditation policies, journalists who wish to cover COPs must provide three articles published under their bylines on the media outlet’s website within the past four months.

The journalists from Meydan TV responded that, “due to the security risks arising from repression by the authorities, Meydan TV implements a policy of not disclosing the names of journalists who produce content for the channel.” This response did not seem to satisfy the UNFCCC secretariat, and Meydan TV journalists’ applications were not considered.

The UNFCCC website states that the secretariat “reserves the right to deny or withdraw accreditation of journalists from media organisations whose activities run counter to the principles of the Charter of the UN, or who abuse the privileges so extended” or use the accreditation improperly or act in a way not consistent with the organisation’s principles. Ironically, this year, World Press Freedom Day — proclaimed by the UN General Assembly, was dedicated to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis.

WPFD 2024 stressed the critical role of journalism in raising awareness about global environmental issues and pointed out the challenges journalists face in covering topics such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The lack of accurate environmental information is a serious threat to informed debate and public understanding. This year, WPFD called for comprehensive strategies to ensure journalists’ rights to freedom of expression, freedom of scientific research, and access to critical sources of information, as well as measures to counter disinformation.

At a time when addressing the world’s triple planetary crisis — climate change, biodiversity loss, and air pollution — heavily depends on accurate and timely information, restrictions on independent media, such as those affecting Meydan TV journalists, thwart efforts to build public awareness for effective climate action.

Ahead of COP29, numerous statements and reports by international rights watchdogs and news articles highlighted the extent of censorship and rights violations in Azerbaijan. And yet, the host country agreement lacked rights protections. The agreement between the government of Azerbaijan and the UNFCCC for hosting COP29 is replete with significant shortcomings and ambiguities regarding protections for participants’ rights, raising serious concerns among observers about the safety and freedom of those attending the conference.

Not only did UNFCCC fail to call on the Azerbaijani government to respect its human rights obligations, but it also has prevented those who, despite all the pressure, continue to try to hold the government of Azerbaijan accountable.

At a time when at least 11 independent journalists and media workers are remanded to pretrial detention on various bogus criminal charges, the decision not to approve the accreditation of local independent journalists speaks volumes of how much freedom of the media really matters.