Communication and the environment have more in common than it may seem. In fact, the former is essential when it comes to raising awareness and facing the challenges raised by the latter, both locally and globally. In 2019, the Environmental Communication School was set up in response and to tackle them together. This year, it will be held for the third time under the title “Communicating the Climate and Energy Transition”.

Under the aegis of the Association of Environmental Journalists-APIA and of the Basque Government’s Environmental Management Agency, Ihobe, the School will be held on 8 and 9 September and can be attended both in person, at the Miramar Palace in Donostia/San Sebastián, and remotely. The Environmental Communication School is one of the activities on the programme of the University of the Basque Country-UPV/EHU summer school and registration is now open.

It is part of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) Summer School programme and this year’s theme is the climate and energy transition after a year marked by the pandemic

After a 2020 chequered by the coronavirus pandemic, Europe’s recovery involves converting the environmental challenges into innovation opportunities. The Green Deal unveiled by the European Commission is a new growth strategy aimed at transforming the EU into a prosperous and equitable society, with a modern economy that is resource efficient and competitive. The target is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and for economic growth to be decoupled from the use of resources.
The theme for the third School is therefore the climate and energy transition. During the Environmental Communication School, the climate-energy binomial will be addressed from an informative and communicative perspective, and pointers put forward. Another of the main goals will be to use the field of communication to drive the involvement of companies, organisations and the public in the changing of habits and behaviour to live and produce in a more sustainable way.

A programme headed by top-tier professionals

Tackling the climate and energy transition requires information to be disseminated. The school will therefore aim to generate a space for reflection and offer pointers for communicating the great environmental challenges. Top-tier professionals and journalists in the dissemination of those issues locally and nationally will be at the forefront of the programme on both days.

Top-tier professionals and journalists in the dissemination of environmental issues will run the sessions, which can be attended in person and remotely

Headed by the APIA Chair, María García de la Fuente, the course will feature experienced journalists including Clemente Álvarez (El País), Antonio Cerrillo Jódar (La Vanguardia), José Luis Gallego (El Confidencial, Onda Cero), Teresa Guerrero (El Mundo), Luis Guijarro (Agencia Nodos), José María Montero (Canal Sur Televisión) and Miguel Ángel Ruiz (La Verdad).

Top-tier professionals, of the ilk of the renowned analyst Cristina Monge; the Executive Director of the EKI Foundation, Nuria López de Guereñu; the disseminators Andreu Escrivá, Julen Rekondo and Guillermo Roa, along with Arantza Zugasti, Communication Director of the Basque Energy Board-EVE; Rakel Reyes, Aclima Communication Manager; and Ainhize Butrón and Yolanda D. Rodríguez, technicians of Ihobe’s Climate Action and Communication areas, respectively, will also be taking part.

The programme will address issues such as the relationship between climate change, biodiversity and health, how the environment is treated in the local news or the new communication formats. Two practical workshops will be held every evening. The one on 8 September will be dedicated to be constructive journalism, guided by the Director of the Constructive Journalism Institute, Alfredo Casares, and when the Impact Hub Donostia Project Manager, Aitor Moreno, will also be participating. The afternoon of the 9th will end with the workshop on how to detect the news source in the social media and which the scientific sources are, run by Eva Rodríguez Nierto, the SINC agency editor.