The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has launched the national climate and environmental communication initiative (NCECI), a training programme that seeks to build the capacity of journalists and other actors in the environmental space to accurately communicate climate change issues.
The initiative is a partnership between the EPA and Knutsford University to equip journalists with the knowledge of climate change concepts to enhance their reportage on the global crisis.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, launched the initiative in Accra yesterday, with a call on all actors in the environment space, particularly journalists, to prioritise acquiring more knowledge on climate change to be in a better position to convey relevant information to all persons.
Present at the launch of the initiative were the Chairperson of the National Media Commission (NMC), Prof. Akua Opokua Britwum; the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Knutsford University, Bishop John Kwamena Essel, and other personalities within the media and environment spaces.
Transformative initiative
Delivering the keynote address on the topic: "Bridging the Gap: Turning Climate and Environmental Knowledge into Public Understanding and Action", Prof. Klutse stressed that the initiative was an intervention in response to the gaps in knowledge in climate change communication.
She explained that the NCECI had been designed as a comprehensive national platform to build a community of skilled communicators, journalists, corporate actors, and educators who could deliver clear, relatable, and impactful environmental messages.
She said the initiative was an effort to bridge the gap between knowledge and action, especially so when climate change was threatening lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems across the world.
"In Ghana, we are already witnessing the impacts: rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, coastal erosion, and loss of biodiversity.
Yet, despite increasing scientific evidence and policy actions, public understanding and engagement remain limited," she said.
"Science provides the evidence; policy provides the direction, but communication provides the connection.
When communication fails, even the best climate strategies lose momentum. But when communication succeeds, it inspires action from the community level to the boardroom, from the classroom to Parliament," Prof. Klutse said.
Transformational initiative
Prof. Biritwum described the NCECI as a transformational initiative that would boost environmental and climate change reporting in the country.
She said that since climate change was a scientific and technical field, it required a deeper understanding of the concept for effective communication.
"This initiative is worth supporting, and as Chairperson of the NMC, I understand the need to put out accurate and credible information," she said.
