The Guardian has today announced it is doubling down on its climate commitments and launching further editorial and business initiatives as part of its promise to prioritise environmental journalism.
The news brand has set a goal of eliminating at least two thirds of emissions from its operations and full supply chain by 2030, following its pledge to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade.
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, told readers in a letter today:
“By 2030, we will have completely eliminated two-thirds of our emissions. For the remaining third, we will remove carbon from the atmosphere by supporting the highest-quality offsetting schemes.
“We don’t expect these changes to be easy, and we may make mistakes along the way, but we will be transparent about our progress and share everything we learn.”
Describing the global climate crisis as the “emergency of our times”, Viner added “we promise to keep reporting on it, raising the alarm and investigating the crisis and possible solutions, until we begin to see genuine systemic change”.
As part of the pledge, the Guardian has launched a new climate data dashboard – Environment Now – that shows the latest metrics on a range of climate indicators including carbon levels in the atmosphere and global temperature change, which the paper says will be an ongoing resource for readers around the world.
It has also created an environment special “Edition Earth” on its app permitting digital subscribers to explore the best of the paper’s environmental reporting from the past year.
The news comes after a number of editorial moves last year including the change in language to describe the scale of the climate crisis including the use of “global heating” instead of “global warming”.
Annette Thomas, chief executive, Guardian Media Group said:
“As a global media business we want the Guardian to lead the way not only on environmental reporting, but also in our own commitment to environmental sustainability. Today’s announcement of a target to eliminate two thirds of our carbon emission by 2030 is a bold first step to ensure we live up to the values of our readers and Guardian journalism. We remain committed to improving, learning and working with partners for the greatest impact.”