Climate change through a solutions and data lens

Solution Journalism Network's Matthew Kauffman sees new patterns of climate coverage emerging. He described three approaches on how data interacts with solutions journalism with links to climate stories that break the mould of doomsday reporting. Here are the three approaches:

• Data as empirical evidence. “Community Ownership Might Be the Best Way to Fight Deforestation,” published by Reasons to be Cheerful, an outlet started by David Byrne of Talking Heads family. The reporter used data to show that turning the management of forests over to residents could result in better management and lower rates of deforestation.
• Data as a tip to a possible solutions story. “How Bangladesh is beating the odds on climate disaster deaths,“ published by The New Humanitarian. Reporters set out to identify which vulnerable countries had made significant progress in protecting residents from natural disasters. Starting with data from the Risk INFORM Index and the Global Climate Risk Index, they found Bangladesh was an outlier. A writer explored the policies and practices that were saving lives.
• Data as a resource for community solutions. “Tribes Use Western and Indigenous Science to Prepare for Climate Change,” spotlighting a report on a data tool developed at the University of Washington that projects how climate events will affect agriculture and fishing, enabling indigenous communities to anticipate and adapt to changes.

Kauffman, an award-winning investigative journalist, advises reporters to “rely on rigorous evidence to identify policies and practices with a proven track record [on climate]. There are cases where the data essentially are the solution, cases where various data points serve as resources that communities can use to make smart decisions about climate solutions.”

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