4 Mediterranean news agencies ink declaration to combat wildfires

By Dilan Pamuk

ISTANBUL (AA) - Leading news agencies in the Mediterranean region, including Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA), Agencia EFE and Anadolu Agency will sign a Joint Declaration on the Mediterranean Wildfires to cooperate in protecting the forests of the Mediterranean as well as raising awareness in public, director-general of Anadolu Agency said on Thursday in metropolis Istanbul.

Chairman of the Board and Director General of Anadolu Agency Serdar Karagoz said, "Today we have evaluated climate and environmental crisis from different dimensions with the journalists, academics, news agencies, and the representatives of international organizations who came to our country," during his closing speech of the Environment Forum held by Anadolu Agency.

He voiced his belief that the discussions made and the opinions that arose during the forum will make significant contributions to the fight against climate change and environmental problems in the media sector.

He went on to say the panelists addressed the issues, including the responsibility of media in the climate crisis, sustainable development, the approach of media to natural disasters, as well as responsibility sharing in the fields of climate and environment in the sessions that lasted for the day.

Addressing Türkiye's first lady Emine Erdogan, Karagoz said thanks to her, what started as a zero-waste campaign in her leadership has turned into a social movement.

"When you started this campaign 2017, you defined it 'not merely a work of environmental awareness but also a responsibility movement on behalf of the future of humanity.' We are greatly proud and pleased to have been a part of this responsibility movement in the field of media," Karagoz said.
He further emphasized that Erdogan's leadership in the combat against climate and environmental crisis encouraged Anadolu Agency to take a step on the issue.

- Forum expected to be one of most impactful platforms on climate

"As Anadolu Agency, we are not only pioneering climate and environmental journalism in our country, but also we want to have a say in the international arena with Greenline that we have launched recently," Karagoz said.

He went on to add that established with an active journalism approach that takes action by saying "The media cannot remain indifferent as the Earth, nature and environment perishes," Greenline contributes to raising public awareness by reframing the media-environment relationship with its expert staff and touching on issues such as pollution, zero-waste, recycling, sustainability and green energy along with global warming.

Karagoz said it is expected that the discussions held during the forum would be published into a book and the forum would be an annual event and become of the most impactful platforms in the fields of environment and climate in the global area.

The one-day forum aims to tackle issues such as the need to create a new media language on environmental and climate issues, international news agencies raising global awareness, the duties of traditional and new media outlets, and the pursuit of environmental awareness in new news areas.

Among the forum's international participants are Portugal's former Minister of Europe, Bruno Macaes; Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Ovais Sarmad; global climate and environment news editor at Associated Press (AP) Peter Prengaman, climate director of Spain's EFE Agency Arturo Larena.

The Environment Forum can be followed live by registering at its website at environment.aa.com.tr.