A Climate Change Communication Specialist, Dr Martin Segtub, has tasked the media to not always paint a gloomy picture of the effects of climate change phenomenon but to also give hope to the people.
He said in spite of the devastating effects of the phenomenon, there was a need for the media to provide solutions that could help mitigate the effects of climate change, thereby giving hope to the people that all was not lost.
According to him, if the media kept up with the fear theory, without providing alternatives to the people, it could backfire.
He tasked the media to also showcase some of the innovations helping to curb the menace to encourage others to also adopt them.
Dr Segtub made the call at a climate change journalism training workshop organised by Penplusbytes, a not-for-profit organisation, with funding from the DW Akamedie of Germany.
The workshop was to equip the participants with effective writing skills on climate change to help highlight issues on the topic and to also provide the people with information on the solutions that could help reduce the effects of climate change while pursuing sustainable development.
Dr Segtub believed that the media could help the world, particularly Africa and specifically Ghana, to cope with the debilitating effects of climate change on the country and also take precautionary measures to avert compounding the problems.
While admitting that third-world countries’ contribution to the global phenomenon was negligible, he said its effects, however, transcended boundaries and were more devastating on those that contributed least to it.
Consequently, he said there was a need for the media to keep educating the people on acts that could lead to climate change while providing them with alternatives.
For his part, Fred Avornyo, a media practitioner, urged the participants to employ all their effective writing skills when writing stories on climate change to achieve the desired effects.
He said everyone was affected by the phenomenon, irrespective of their status in society, and as such people could not sit aloof.
