Climate and Energy Fellowships for Journalists in Europe

There is a significant lack of cross-border reporting on climate and energy issues in the European media landscape. Coverage is mainly concentrated on political issues, exchange of ideas in the climate and energy sector is therefore often limited to experts. Additionally, not enough bilateral and multilateral networks for journalists in the climate and energy sector exist to ensure the exchange of trustful information.

Journalist Fellows at a conference in Berlin. Photo: (c) IJP

The project awarded annual fellowships to journalists from Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia who published on climate and energy topics and had the opportunity to live and work abroad.

Two journalistic organizations - the International Journalists' Programme (IJP) and Clean Energy Wire (CLEW) - joined forces to provide participants with an in-depth and detailed insight into topics related to climate protection. 

The fellowship holders spent six to eight weeks in one of the host countries. During this time, they got to know the country better, established contacts with local journalists, and deepened their knowledge of the topic. As part of the project, they were placed in local media companies where they were integrated into the daily workflow. They also had the opportunity to work on their own journalistic projects and to report on climate and energy topics for media in their respective home countries. 

Following this exchange, the participants remained in contact through the IJP Alumni Network, which supported them in building a network of journalistic experts.

• As part of the project, 74 scholarships were awarded to journalists from Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Poland.
• The journalists have published a total of more than 450 articles, videos and other journalistic contributions in the climate and energy sector. 
• A total of 14 events were held in the project to expand the knowledge, exchange and networking of the fellows, including a Global Fellows Nights with 80 participants, a research trip including media dialogue on climate and energy issues in Poland, as well as 12 events (digital and in person) to promote and strengthen the exchange between journalists in the climate and energy sector.