Event Report – A panel discussion on the role of media in the climate change debate

On November 16, the GreenCollar Think Tank hosted a panel of experts from academia, business, the media and legal profession in the area of climate, carbon trading and CFI/REDD methodology to discuss the media’s impact and whether the Australian media has an agenda to influence the public discussion on climate change.

On the panel were Dr Rod Lamberts, deputy director of Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University; Giles Parkinson, founder and editor of Australia’s online news journal the Climate Spectator; James Schultz, CEO of the GreenCollar Group; Martijn Wilder, head of Baker & McKenzie’s Global Environmental Markets and Climate Change practice; and Lewis Tyndall, CEO and founder of Climate Roundtable. See more detailed bios of the participants at the bottom of this text.

A consensus among the speaker emerged early on around criticism of the media for lazy reporting and a willingness to present spin and anti-climate change rhetoric as fact.

Barrister Lewis Tyndall said the debate had moved from science to politics where conservatives tend to take the skeptic views and the media don’t spend enough time going through the complicated nature of climate change regulation. Instead, he said, they are “dumbing it down.”

GreenCollar Group CEO James Schulz added: “The modern media lends itself very well to easy stories and is not interested in analysis.” The complicated nature of the story results in “sensational sound bites,” a number of the participants agreed.

Martijn Wilder followed up by saying that it “fundamentally matters” that we care about what the media says and that the media has a “social responsibility to get it right.”

Giles Parkinson from the Climate Spectator defended some of his media colleagues by saying that there is some good analysis going on, though he acknowledged that there is also “a lot of rubbish.”

All speakers agreed that the persistence in calling it the “carbon tax” is misleading and damaging.  Tyndall emphasized it was instead a levy on 500 companies and Australia is by no means leading the world. He said in fact Australia is “coming last” in reacting to climate change and the “headlines are distorting the argument.”

Schultz noted that we have been “sucked in” to calling it a carbon tax and the media carelessly follows conventional wisdom.

Refocusing the perspective, Dr Rod Lamberts said that “banging on about facts will not change public opinion” and that “science is in trouble” because it’s not getting the message across using the right delivery methods. He advocated for a more grassroots approach to informing the debate via mother groups and other social vehicles. We need to use “non-traditional influences,” he said.

Wilder added that “fearful facts make people switch off,” to which Parkinson suggested that the tone of the debate has to change and there has to be a message of opportunity.

Schultz said the solution is to narrow the focus and look for ways to influence the debate with forums and think tank discussions, which as the one where this debate took place.

The press now sees itself as part of the political apparatus so people working in the field need to improve the quality of the debate, he said.

Dr Lamberts concluded that we have to take control of the framing of the debate and dismiss incorrect arguments by ignoring them. “Don’t fight, just take control of positive stories,” he said.

Wilder urged people to take part in their own grassroots activism by writing to editors, the Press Council, Media Watch and other such bodies and pointing out factual inaccuracies and always being prepared to raise a voice when something is obviously wrong. He said media bosses are listening and will react. He also suggested being prepared to put pressure on companies that are taking part in disseminating misinformation, such as writing to the ASX when falsehoods are seen.

He also pointed out that companies have stopped putting out statements saying carbon tax will harm them because they are not allowed to make false statements to the ASX.

Tyndall said that ultimately the discussion around climate is “the journey of our times” and “we all have to have a crack at” getting it right.

To listen the panel discussion, please link here.

Biographies of the participants:

Dr Rod Lamberts is the deputy director of Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University. He has been a presence in national and international science communication research and consultancy for nearly 15 years. Rod is also a science communication consultant for UNESCO in the Pacific, and regular public commentator on science and the media, and science and public policy.

Giles Parkinson is the founder and editor of Australia’s online news journal, the Climate Spectator, which was launched in July 2010 and with a readership of more than 13,000 people. Giles is a career journalist and a former business editor and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review, and has written weekly columns on green business for The Bulletin magazine and for The Australian.

 James Schultz is the CEO of the GreenCollar Group. He has extensive experience advising governments, international development and financing organizations, and the private sector in the development and implementation of climate change adaptation/mitigation strategies and natural resource management investment programs. Prior to GreenCollar, James worked for the World Bank, the African Union and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

 Martijn Wilder is the Head of Baker & McKenzie’s Global Environmental Markets and Climate Change practice. He is on the board of the International Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership, Low Carbon Australia and chairs the NSW Climate Change Council. Martijn is also Adjunct Professor of Climate Change Law at the Australian National University.

 Lewis Tyndall is the CEO and founder of Climate Roundtable, which brings together law, international finance and technical environmental services to solve complex problems in the climate and carbon sectors. Lewis advises in policy, legislative and legal solutions for projects utilizing the carbon markets internationally. He advises on funding for on the ground conservation of forests and the development of carbon emission reduction projects in the Asia region. Lewis is a Barrister of the Supreme Court of NSW.

The panel discussion was moderated by Tracey Cain, Managing Director of Australian Public Affairs. Tracey has worked as a radio journalist in the NSW and Federal Parliamentary Press Galleries, as a Ministerial media adviser in Australia and in the White House during the 1996 Presidential Elections. Tracey is a Director of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and Crime Stoppers, and the Founding CEO of The HammondCare Foundation. She is an International Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Public Affairs and a regular public commentator on public affairs matters including with SKY News.