Following the climate money
Dates: 18 June 22 June | Location: Vietnam
Application deadline: 01 May | Programme: Reporting Climate Change
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This is an opportunity provided by the Reporting Climate Change programme: Find out more

Each year, tens of billions of US dollars are sent from developed to developing countries to help them deal with the effects of climate change, protect tropical forests, or reduce carbon emissions. Developing countries themselves are investing increasing amounts of their domestic public budgets in climate action. This is the world of climate finance – a huge flow of money which is set to grow further in the coming years.

If you are a journalist in Asia who would like to dig into these huge sums and produce agenda-setting stories on how they are being spent and how different countries in the region are coping with the impact of global warming, then we would like to hear from you.

In 2016, developed countries provided an estimated $42 billion in climate finance. This figure is projected to grow to $67 billion by 2020, and ultimately to $100 billion. Behind these substantial sums lies a complex web of funds, grants, loans, investments, and much more. We want to help journalists get to grips with this world and produce engaging stories of interest to policy makers and ordinary people alike.

What kind of stories? From the melting glaciers in the Himalayas to deforestation, changing weather patterns and the impact of typhoons, flooding or drought, the possibilities are vast. Does your country have the climate finance it needs? If or when it arrives, does the money go where it is needed? What kind of projects are receiving funding in your country – and could other countries learn from them? As well as country-focused stories, we will also encourage cross-border collaborations looking at how this money is used across the region.

This programme will draw on the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s long track record of covering climate change and climate funding for a global audience. It will feature an intensive 5-day workshop in Vietnam.  The workshop will introduce participants to climate finance, as well as related areas like carbon markets and the cost of disaster management, always using real case studies. It will also demonstrate how data journalism could be applied to this topic. Participants will then receive support from project editors to help them produce original stories. Modest funding will be available to help with reporting costs.

 
If you are new to climate funding, there are plenty of resource to help you familiarise yourself with the subject. We recommend the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s dedicated news on climate change, as well as Climate Funds Update and the ODI’s “10 things to know about climate finance in 2016”.
 

Who Can Apply

  • Journalists working for domestic media in the following countries may apply: Indonesia, China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, or Thailand
  • Journalists in Australia, New Zealand and Japan may also apply, however if successful they will have to cover the costs of their participation
  • Journalists working in any medium may apply – print, radio, TV, online
  • We are looking for journalists who are comfortable with numbers and an interest in climate change. Data journalists are encouraged to apply.
  • Journalists must be fluent in English
  • Journalists must have a minimum of one year's experience. They should either be working full-time for a media organisation, or a freelancer whose main work is journalism

Course Logistics

We will cover all transport and subsistence costs of journalists participating in this programme. However any journalists who attend from Australia, New Zealand or Japan will have to cover their own costs of participation.



 

Meet Our Experts

When applying you will be asked to upload the following documents - please have these ready:

  • 2 work samples (maximum file size 5 MB)
  • A letter from your editor consenting to your participation in the programme and committing to publish/broadcast resulting stories
 
 
 

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Reporting Climate Change
  • This is an opportunity provided by Thomson Reuters Foundation, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

    Find out more

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