This is the year of the climate election. Journalists should cover it that way

The author contends that despite 2024 being a record-breaking election year and the hottest year on record, news outlets are sidelining the climate crisis in political reporting. This is particularly evident in the US, where climate issues are often treated as afterthoughts or framed as unsettled science. To address this, Covering Climate Now is launching 'The Climate Elections project,' which includes a newsletter and resources to help reporters integrate climate issues into campaign coverage, moving away from 'horserace' reporting toward substantive policy questions.

• Journalists are failing to connect the fact that 2024 is a record-breaking election year—with approximately 4 billion people voting—with the scientific urgency of phasing out oil, gas, and coal following the hottest year in recorded history.
• In the United States, the political press is neglecting climate change in 2024 campaign coverage despite the country being the largest historical emitter of climate pollution and experiencing 28 climate-related disasters in 2023 that caused at least $92.9bn in damages and 492 deaths.
• Current political reporting is criticized for relying on 'horserace' coverage, polling, and incendiary voices rather than substantive issues, often framing climate change as a question of belief rather than a question of policy and action.
• There is a significant gap between public concern and media coverage; 56% of people in the US are 'concerned' or 'alarmed' by the climate crisis, and approximately 80% of Americans express a desire to learn more about it.
• Covering Climate Now is initiating 'The Climate Elections project' to provide journalists with tools, including a weekly newsletter called 'Climate on the Ballot,' a disinformation debunking tool, and a handbook, to center the climate crisis in election reporting.

APA

Pope, M. H. A. K. (2024). This is the year of the climate election. Journalists should cover it that way. Covering Climate Now. https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/this-is-the-year-of-the-climate-election-journalists-should-cover-it-that-way/

Chicago

Pope, Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle. This is the year of the climate election. Journalists should cover it that way. Covering Climate Now, 2024. https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/this-is-the-year-of-the-climate-election-journalists-should-cover-it-that-way/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Pope |first1=Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle |title=This is the year of the climate election. Journalists should cover it that way |publisher=Covering Climate Now |date=7 February 2024 |url=https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/this-is-the-year-of-the-climate-election-journalists-should-cover-it-that-way/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{pope2024this, author = {Pope, Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle}, title = {{This is the year of the climate election. Journalists should cover it that way}}, publisher = {Covering Climate Now}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://coveringclimatenow.org/from-us-story/this-is-the-year-of-the-climate-election-journalists-should-cover-it-that-way/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }