COP26 in Glasgow: “We call on governments to guarantee the right to information about the environment”
- COP26 in Glasgow: “We call on governments to guarantee the right to information about the environment”
On the occasion of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, we call on governments to respect the right to information about the environment. We urge them to fully implement the 10th principle of the declaration issued at the UN “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which says: “Each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities.”
Human beings must have unrestricted access to reliable information about the challenges for humankind and for each one of us. The world is currently on a disastrous track for a 2.7 degree Celsius temperature rise. It is therefore intolerable that it is still sometimes hard to obtain information and scientific data about the environment although they are in the public interest.
By signing this petition, we support the Climate emergency, journalism emergency appeal launched by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and more than 60 journalists of 34 different nationalities who specialise in the environment. It is intolerable that journalists investigating environmental issues are obstructed and sometimes even murdered. At least 21 journalists have been killed in the past 10 years for covering these sensitive issues.
Access to state-held information, and protection and freedom for journalists – journalism emergency for the climate emergency.
