African Climate Change and Environmental Reporting (ACCER) Awards deadline extended to May 17

10 May 2022: Nairobi, Kenya: Environmental journalists across Africa yet to submit their articles for the 7^th edition of the African Climate Change and Environmental Reporting (ACCER) Awards have six more days to stand a chance of earning a possibility of participating at the 27^th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) set for Egypt in November.

Additionally, award winners will go home with other tools that facilitate the work of journalism such as laptops, tablets, phones besides cash awards.

“A climate justice narrative led by the African media players is needed as the continent prepares to host the 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change summit slated for November 7 to 18 in Egypt,” Mithika Mwenda, the executive director of Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) said.

He added that despite climate change being a ubiquitous news story of the media, for African media however, climate justice is the ‘real big story.”

Mithika said as Africa prepares to host COP27, some very contentious yet very critical issues are still pending.

He said Africa clamours for recognition as a ‘special needs and circumstances region’ based on the compelling evidence from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports and demands for enhanced ambition by the countries in the north to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and their commitment to loss and damage in addition to honouring the pledge of USD100 billion per year in form of climate finance.

“Our future as a continent will literally be in our hands at COP 27 and the African media has to play its part to push for these narratives with the hope of influencing the COP 27 outcome texts,” he said.

The ACCER Awards, an initiative of the PACJA is a biennial initiative that recognises excellence in climate change and environmental journalism in Africa. It was first launched in 2013 with the aim of shaping the climate change narratives in Africa.

It has since grown to be the largest and major award that recognizes excellence in the reporting of environmental and climate change in Africa, witnessing a rising interest among local, regional stakeholders who have included media industry players, media personnel, the UN, Foreign Embassies among others.

According to Duncan Mboya, the chairman of the Kenya Environment and Science Journalists Association, and a former member of the panel of judges in the Awards, the ACCER Awards has become instrumental in equipping the African reporters with needed skills and motivation and has thus expanded their understanding of the concept of what climate justice.

This year’s ACCER Awarding ceremony will hold in June in Kigali Rwanda in the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM).