Building on that aim, the forum is an official pre-event to the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa from 8 to 10 September 2025. Under the theme “Media as a Catalyst for Africa’s Climate Change, Peace and Security Agenda: Driving Just Transition and Climate Justice”, it brings together more than 60 journalists, policymakers and civil society actors from across the continent in partnership with German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and Oxfam.

In practical terms, the program mirrors ACS2's priorities on just transition, climate mobility, adaptation and resilience, early warning systems and transparent climate finance. PAPS and FAJ underline that trusted information and countering disinformation are essential to public safety and social cohesion, especially where climate pressures intersect with fragility and conflict. Sessions equip participants to track climate finance from pledge to impact, report on climate-related mobility with accuracy and dignity and cover conflict-sensitive adaptation in communities already facing multiple risks.

This agenda responds to realities on the ground. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, desertification and flooding are causing food insecurity, displacement and instability across Africa. These shocks intensify existing crises. The African Union Assembly has acknowledged the link between climate, peace and security and called for a Common African Position on this nexus, a direction reaffirmed by the AU Peace and Security Council.

Delivering a keynote address at the opening of the forum, Dr Richard Muyungi, Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) on climate change, said: “Journalists are central to this effort. When information is trusted and timely, it can reduce tensions, guide early action and support fair policies. This forum rightly focuses on equipping the media to report the climate, peace and security nexus with accuracy, context and public service in mind, building the knowledge, networks and tools that help journalism strengthen peacebuilding and climate justice.” He added that the AGN is committed to working with FAJ to mobilise the journalists’ movement across the continent with clearly coordinated climate efforts.

Opening the forum, Dr Philip Attuquayefio, Adviser on Climate, Peace and Security at the African Union Commission, speaking on behalf of the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, declared: “This event has a very specific and transformative purpose: to place the media, the Fourth Estate, at the heart of Africa’s response to the climate, peace and security nexus. The media is not a bystander. It shapes narratives, raises awareness, amplifies the voices of the most vulnerable and demands accountability from those in power. Where disinformation and silence prevail, insecurity grows. Societies can mobilise for justice, resilience and peace when the media becomes empowered, equipped and independent. This dialogue helps us strengthen a principle that must guide our work: climate action must put people first.”

Bringing the solidarity of the global journalists' movement, IFJ General Secretary Comrade Anthony Bellanger declares: "Media freedom and public-interest reporting help hard-hit communities understand risk, set priorities and hold leaders accountable for climate decisions." Journalists help ensure that adaptation plans, efforts to tackle climate insecurity and just transition policies do not leave workers or vulnerable groups behind.” He added that the IFJ fully supports the African Union Commission’s priority on climate security and that African journalists and their unions have an inextricable role to play in securing the just transitions the continent needs, affirming the IFJ’s full backing for FAJ to take this agenda to new heights.

The FAJ President Omar Faruk Osman, stressing the indispensable role of journalists in pursuing climate justice, said: “Journalists are on the frontline of climate-related crises, documenting shocks in real time, often at personal risk. This forum invests in their safety and skills so they can tell accurate stories, challenge harmful narratives and support solutions that build peace, security and resilience in the context of the African Climate Summit. FAJ has a clear action plan to advance climate justice and specifically just transition, where climate-induced insecurity is addressed, because peace and security are a precondition for development and journalists must step up to help tackle climate security challenges effectively.”

As the European Union (EU) is a leading partner for Africa across many areas, including climate action, Pascal Delisle, Head of the Political, Press and Information Section at the EU Delegation to the African Union, said: “This forum explores how the media can strengthen Africa’s response to climate, peace and security while supporting a just green and digital transition. I salute the difficult and sometimes dangerous work journalists do. Climate, peace and security are EU priorities and central to our partnership with Africa at national and continental levels. Facts are at the heart of journalism and needed more than ever as disinformation grows. The EU stands as a reliable partner to Africa as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the AU-EU partnership.”

Cooperating partners echoed this focus. Rebecca Minkus, German Development Cooperation (GIZ), said: “German Development Cooperation continues to support African voices in this field, from our cooperation with the AU Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, to our work with African journalists, because amplifying trusted voices is essential for resilience.”

“The media are not merely observers, you are essential architects of public understanding and political will. You have the power to move the climate debate from scientific reports into the hearts and minds of the public, to spotlight disproportionate impacts, hold leaders accountable and illuminate solutions. By driving this narrative, you become the catalyst for the just transition and climate justice we so desperately need,” said Elise Nalbandian, Head of Oxfam’s African Union Liaison Office.

Looking ahead, IFJ and FAJ commended the AU’s Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security for placing climate security high on the continental agenda and for mobilising a broad coalition of stakeholders, including the media. The forum provides a timely platform to advance a people-first approach that protects livelihoods, rights and social cohesion, as both the AU Assembly and the Peace and Security Council are engaged in discussions about the climate, peace and security nexus.

This work builds on firm foundations. The initiative follows FAJ’s Abidjan Declaration and Action Plan on climate justice and just transition, which set a continental roadmap for journalism, shaped African narratives on climate change and deepened partnerships with organised labour and civil society. It also advances collaboration across the AU system, multilateral institutions, regional economic communities and media partners to embed climate security, crisis prevention and just transition in policy and practice.