The desk is the first major project under AFP’s Philanthropic Partnerships Initiative, which began last year to expand the agency’s capacity for in-depth journalism with philanthropic support.
The desk’s operations have begun with the support of Australia’s Minderoo Foundation and The Climate Change Collaboration in the United Kingdom.
AFP is one of the world's three major news agencies, with bureaus in 210 locations around the world. Its mission is to provide rapid, comprehensive, impartial and verified coverage of the news and issues that shape our daily lives.
The legal desk complements AFP’s existing environment reporting by adding specialist expertise and investigative capacity to cover litigation, legislation, corporate accountability, disinformation and other issues that shape the planet’s future.
The desk will have dedicated journalists in key regions around the world - including Latin America, Asia and Africa – creating the first global media desk providing sustained, specialist reporting on environmental and climate law.
The team will also build journalists’ capacities inside and outside the agency to report on environmental law, laying the foundations for enduring coverage.
Powerful multimedia reporting - which simplifies complex legal battles, amplifies underreported voices, scrutinises environmental law and examines solutions – will bring sustained global visibility to environmental and climate law.
“Environmental and climate law is becoming an increasingly important and complex area of coverage, but many significant developments remain under-reported or poorly understood,” said AFP Editor-in-Chief Mehdi Lebouachera.
“This desk will give AFP the specialist expertise and capacity to follow these issues over time, explain them clearly and work with our staff around the world to produce compelling journalism from the ground.”
Minderoo said its support would help amplify under-reported voices, particularly from the Global South, showcase legal solutions that inspire hope and action, and strengthen the capacity of journalists to report on critical issues.
“It is in Minderoo’s DNA to shine a light on injustice,” Minderoo Foundation CEO John Hartman said.
“At a time when the consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly severe, the law has a key role to play in keeping the world on track to reduce emissions, protect communities and avert the worst impacts of climate change.
“Independent journalism is essential to bringing these legal challenges to light, scrutinising corporate accountability and helping the public understand the cases and decisions shaping our collective future.”
The Climate Change Collaboration groups together The Aurora Trust, JJ Charitable Trust and Mark Leonard Trust.
The founding editor of the desk is Ivan Couronne, who in his previous role as AFP’s Future of the Planet Editor-in-Chief oversaw the Agency’s strategy of making climate and environment top priorities for all reporters and bureaus around the world.
“I have been covering climate change for years and this was the missing piece. This is where a lot of the climate action is moving, and I'm now proud to be able to tell sources, communities, litigators and everyone involved in these issues that there's a desk at AFP to tell those stories,” Couronne said.
The desk will be embedded in AFP’s existing editorial structures and workflows, with its journalism distributed to the agency’s 4,000+ clients and across its social media platforms.
AFP has published a Code of Ethics for foundation-supported journalism that sets out how its philanthropic partnership projects operate in accordance with the Agency’s editorial standards and guidelines.
For more details on AFP’s Philanthropic Partnerships, or to get in touch with our partnerships team, please visit AFP’s partnerships page.
