Media to collaborate on climate change coverage

More than two dozen media organizations, including China Daily, have created a global media association to collaborate on climate-related coverage ahead of the UN's Climate Change Summit in Paris in December.

Members of the Climate Publishers Network intend to freely share their climate reports with one another in an effort to enhance readers' awareness of the issues.

China Daily, the only Chinese news organization in the group, vowed to help the country learn more about global climate-related negotiations.

Qu Yingpu, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Media Group, praised the participating publishers for their plans to publicize efforts to reach a balanced global climate deal in Paris at the end of the year.

"That deal, if such is the case, will prove that the world can be united to find solutions to our life-or-death challenge of global warming," Qu said. "In achieving this, the media should shoulder its share of the responsibility, and I believe our joint global effort in setting up this network is a very important step to fulfilling that."

China Daily has been channeling ample journalistic and editorial resources into gathering stories about the environment and climate for years, Qu said. As part of its long-term, innovative coverage, China Daily launched Climate Watch in December, a weekly special for its European edition to mark the one-year countdown to the Paris Summit.

"In running up to the UN's climate summit, China Daily is ready to maximize its strength to achieve journalistic excellence in climate coverage and expand exchanges within our network. I believe our joint efforts will help pave the way for an all-accepted deal in Paris," Qu said.

Bertrand Pecquerie, CEO of Global Editors Network, the initiative's coordinator, highlighted the importance of China Daily's participation, saying it was critical for the network to have a Chinese partner, as the country will be a major player at the Paris conference.

"What is important is to get in-depth reporting and analysis from a major Chinese media house," Pecquerie said, citing the popularity of China Daily within China and abroad, and the paper's unique East Asian perspective on climate change.

"We expect our Chinese partner to publish articles from Europe, Latin America and Africa and to introduce to its readership a variety of opinions on climate change and global warming," he said.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/23/2015 page11)