The recent webinar ‘Safety Protocols for Environmental Journalists: Physical, Mental and Ethical Considerations‘, hosted under the Climate Frontline Project led by the European Journalism Centre and REVOLVE, made one point impossible to ignore: environmental journalism is rapidly becoming a high-risk field, yet the professional safeguards meant to protect reporters have not evolved accordingly. What was once treated as a niche beat is now intertwined with political accountability, public safety and climate-driven emergencies, and journalists are navigating this terrain with inadequate support.
A Growing Web of Risks with Few Protections
During the session, participants heard a sobering overview of the threats facing environmental reporters. Research referenced in the webinar shows that over 70% reported being subject to attacks, threats or pressure while covering environmental issues, and 45% admit to censoring themselves to avoid backlash from authorities, corporations or advertisers, as highlighted in the UNESCO report ‘Press and Planet in danger’.
The risks are not only political or criminal. As extreme weather events intensify across Southern Europe, the focus region of the Climate Frontline Project, local reporters are often among the first on the scene during floods or wildfires, yet some have little more than a phone and a notebook. The assumption that environmental reporting is inherently “safe” remains deeply rooted, even as journalists increasingly enter disaster zones without protective gear, coordination with emergency units or proper risk assessment. Freelancers, who produce a significant share of climate-related coverage, face these pressures with even fewer institutional protections.
The webinar highlighted that this widening gap between rising risks and insufficient safeguards is not a regional problem; it is now a global pattern.
Why Safety Protocols Matter More Than Ever
As Marta Castillo, Communication Officer at REVOLVE, emphasised, local journalists serve a crucial frontline role during climate events such as floods and wildfires, with communities relying heavily on them for timely and trustworthy information. Despite this importance, these journalists are often under-resourced, understaffed and exposed to numerous threats, making robust safety protocols more essential than ever.
Attacks on environmental reporters have risen significantly in Europe, particularly during coverage of extreme weather events. State actors and private interests are frequently implicated in harassment, legal intimidation and censorship, underscoring the urgent need for protective measures that enable journalists to carry out their reporting safely and effectively. The data from the UNESCO report ‘Press and Planet in danger’ does not indicate a high frequency of physical attacks tied to any specific type of perpetrator, although state actors are seemingly more involved in attacks on journalists covering extreme weather, and private actors are more involved in attacks related to land conflicts.
The Overlooked Mental Toll and Ethical Tightrope
One of the most striking points in the discussion was the psychological impact of environmental reporting. The research paper presented in the session titled ‘The Stressors, Distress, and Rewards Associated With Climate Change Journalism’ reveal high rates of anxiety, depression and even PTSD among climate journalists, figures usually associated with war reporting. Some striking numbers from that research highlighted during the webinar were that 62.7% felt their mental health was not taken seriously by their newsroom when it comes to climate change or that 48% of the sample had moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety.
This should not be surprising: covering repeated disasters, absorbing community trauma and confronting bleak projections are part of the job. Yet mental-health support remains one of the least developed aspects of newsroom safety.
This emotional dimension intersects with another: ethics. As misinformation spreads and climate impacts intensify, reporters walk a tightrope between urgency and accuracy. The IFJ’s Global Charter of Ethics, referenced in the webinar, was presented as an essential guide for resisting both sensationalism and downplaying. Ethical environmental reporting requires verification, context and the inclusion of the voices most affected, not a dramatisation of crisis, but a responsible representation of it.
The conversation underscored that the psychological well-being of journalists and the ethical quality of their work are deeply connected. A burnt-out reporter cannot continue producing balanced, accurate stories about the climate crisis.
Moving Towards Safer Reporting: Practical Guidelines
Anthony Bellanger, General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), proposed a set of foundational safety measures for journalists covering high-risk environmental issues. Preparation and training are essential, beginning with thorough risk assessments before each assignment. Reporters should develop skills in first aid, field safety and digital security, while carrying appropriate equipment such as protective gear, GPS devices, satellite phones and medical kits.
Digital protection is equally critical; safeguarding data and communications is necessary, especially as digital surveillance emerges as a growing threat to environmental reporters. Mental-health support must also be normalised, with access to psychological care and newsroom spaces that allow journalists to share stress and trauma without stigma.
Trade union and peer solidarity provide another layer of protection. Journalists should report threats to unions and associations capable of mobilising legal, medical and advocacy support, while building regional networks, particularly in high-risk areas. Editorial responsibility plays a central role as well. Newsrooms are encouraged to adopt internal safety protocols, resist pressure from advertisers and invest in ongoing training. Freelancers, who produce much of the environmental reporting, require stronger contractual protections to ensure their safety and professional support.
A Call for Newsrooms to Meet Their Responsibility
What the session ultimately made clear is that the responsibility for adapting to this new reality cannot fall solely on individual journalists. Safety must become a structural priority. This includes training, protective equipment, risk-assessment protocols, digital-security tools and clear coordination with emergency agencies during climate events. It also means integrating psychological support into newsroom culture and extending protections to freelancers, who are currently the most exposed.
The Climate Frontline Project itself, working closely with regional newsrooms in Portugal and Spain to enhance their environmental reporting and to better inform and engage communities on climate risks, illustrates both the scale of the challenge and the willingness of journalists to address it. But without stronger institutional commitments, the gap will persist. The ability of the public to understand the environmental crises reshaping their lives depends on the safety of those who report on them.
Environmental journalism is no longer peripheral. It is frontline work. The profession must be treated and protected accordingly.