Project Summary: Describe your contribution in one sentence
The project aims to empower communities in Asia to tell their own climate stories and promote sustainable solutions through community training and social media campaigns, facilitated by journalists and Climate Tracker mentors.
What are the additional countries or territories of impact?
Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Australia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Challenge Focus: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Website URL(s) or social media handles
Website: Climate Tracker Asia (https://climatetracker.asia) Climate Tracker Global Network (https://climatetracker.org) Instagram: Climate Tracker (https://www.instagram.com/climatetracker) Twitter: Climate Tracker (https://twitter.com/ClimateTracking) Facebook: Climate Tracker (https://www.facebook.com/ClimateTracker)
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve?
The project aims to focus on the lack of widespread understanding and engagement in climate change issues, particularly at the community level. Many individuals feel disconnected from the global climate crisis, struggling to grasp the urgency of the situation or see how it directly affects their lives. This disengagement hinders collective action and the adoption of sustainable practices, crucial components to addressing climate change. Additionally, marginalized communities, disproportionately impacted by climate change, often have their stories and perspectives underrepresented in mainstream media. Solving this problem matters because fostering awareness, empathy, and a sense of responsibility is essential for inspiring people to take action, mobilize resources, and pressure policymakers to implement effective solutions. By bridging the gap between global climate change discourse and local stories, we can build a stronger, more inclusive movement towards climate resilience and sustainable living.
Your connection and commitment: How close are you to the problem and/or the community impacted?
Climate Tracker is intimately connected to the problem and the communities impacted by climate change. As an organization with a global network of climate journalists and communicators, Climate Tracker is dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of climate change issues through storytelling and reporting. Our commitment stems from the belief that amplifying diverse voices and fostering connections can inspire awareness and action, ultimately contributing to climate resilience and sustainable living.
Our idea works in action by supporting local initiatives and providing training, resources, and mentorship to aspiring environmental journalists and storytellers from marginalized communities. Through collaborations with local organizations, Climate Tracker hosts workshops, events, and online campaigns to create a platform for powerful narratives that resonate with people from all walks of life. By doing so, we bridge the gap between global climate change discourse and hyperlocal stories, fostering empathy, and driving collective action.
Climate Tracker's impact is evident in the global community of climate journalists and communicators it has cultivated, who continue to make a difference by engaging readers with compelling content on climate change issues. Our efforts have led to increased public awareness, policy changes, and the mobilization of resources to address the challenges posed by climate change.
The problem matters to Climate Tracker because it aligns with our core mission of empowering individuals to contribute to climate action through storytelling and journalism. We believe that every person has the right to a safe and healthy environment, and that collective effort is essential for addressing the climate crisis.
Your approach: How are you enabling other people to identify as green changemakers? How are you influencing them to get involved in your initiative or care about the issue you are addressing?
Climate Tracker's approach to enabling people to identify as green changemakers is multi-faceted, focusing on capacity building, mentorship, and providing platforms for diverse voices. We believe that nurturing and empowering individuals to tell their stories and advocate for climate action can create a ripple effect, inspiring others to join the movement and contribute to solutions for a sustainable and equitable world.
We provide training and resources to aspiring climate journalists and storytellers from various backgrounds, equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to create compelling content that raises awareness and sparks interest in climate change issues. We foster a sense of belonging and connection among our community of journalists and storytellers, encouraging collaboration and the exchange of ideas.
Through workshops, webinars, and online resources, we empower people to become effective communicators and green changemakers.
We also work closely with communities to understand their needs and identify solutions that work for them. By partnering with journalists and community members, we are able to tell stories that inspire others to take action. Our climate storytelling workshops are designed to provide individuals with the skills they need to tell their own stories and advocate for change. By amplifying their voices, we are building a movement of green changemakers.
Community involvement: How is your approach involving community participation, especially the historically marginalized groups?
Through inclusivity & active engagement, we ensure that historically marginalized groups play a vital role in co-creating solutions for a sustainable & equitable world. We recognize that these communities bear the brunt of climate change & environmental injustices, and their voices must be at the forefront of the conversation.
We work with local organizations to reach out to marginalized groups, ensuring that our initiatives are tailored to their needs & contexts. We provide training, resources, & mentorship to aspiring climate journalists & storytellers from these communities, equipping them with skills to share their unique perspectives.
Through workshops, events, & online campaigns, we create opportunities for community members to engage in dialogue, exchange ideas, & connect with others working towards a common goal. We empower individuals to build solutions, either through storytelling, advocacy, or direct action.
We promote community-led problem-solving by showcasing successes & best practices from marginalized communities around the world, enabling communities to learn from each other & adapt strategies to their local context, activating them to step up as problem solvers and agents of change.
Through these efforts, we aim for a more inclusive & diverse climate movement that values the contributions of all community members in shaping the path towards a sustainable future.
Your Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions already out there? How is your approach original and innovative? We are particularly interested in solutions that use regenerative approaches.
Climate Tracker's solutions stand out from others by combining the power of storytelling, journalism, and community engagement to drive climate action and sustainable living. Our approach is original and innovative in its focus on empowering and amplifying diverse voices, particularly those of historically marginalized groups, to foster empathy, understanding, and collective action.
Our regenerative approach is based on the concept of creating positive feedback loops and nurturing resilience within communities. By investing in capacity building and mentorship, we equip individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to become effective environmental communicators and changemakers. This leads to the creation of more compelling content, increased public awareness, and stronger engagement in climate action, further nurturing the cycle of empowerment and positive change.
In contrast to other solutions that focus solely on policy change or technological advancements, Climate Tracker's initiative addresses the critical need for inclusive and accessible communication around climate issues. By humanizing the climate crisis through storytelling and journalism, we make the issue more relatable and tangible for people from all walks of life, ultimately inspiring them to get involved and contribute to sustainable solutions.
We also emphasize fostering a global network of journalists, storytellers, and advocates. This interconnected community serves as a catalyst for exchanging ideas, sharing best practices, and collaborating on projects, enabling continuous learning and adaptation.
Our community-centered approach ensures that our solutions are tailored to the specific contexts of communities , effective, & sustainable, ultimately contributing to a more equitable & resilient world.
Founding Story: Share a story about the "Aha!" moment that led the founder(s) to get started or the story of how you saw the potential for this to succeed.
Climate Tracker was founded in 2015, and has delivered cutting edge training, innovative media campaigns, and supported incredibly talented teams of young reporters around the world ever since. The organization was founded in the lead-up to the Paris Climate talks, but the idea was born years before. In 2009, a global coalition of climate-focused NGOs called the GCCA, believed that innovative young climate bloggers might be able to influence their national negotiators at the UN climate talks. This idea was known as Adopt a Negotiator.
The Adopt a Negotiator became an infamous element of the annual UN climate talks, pushing the boundaries of climate reporting at the time. Its reporters influenced front-page stories around the world, and supported dozens of powerful young reporters between 2009 and 2015.
After co-managing the Adopt a Negotiator project for 2 years alongside Joshua Wiese, Chris Wright wanted to build on this success, and create a global platform to support young climate journalists around the world. That is how Climate Tracker was born.
Since then, Climate Tracker has engaged more than 15,000 young journalists with fellowships, opportunities, and training around the world. Our network of journalists have published articles across more than 114 countries and in 24 different languages.
Impact: How has your project made a difference so far? How is it contributing to a zero-carbon world- where every person thrives, and nobody gets left behind?
Climate Tracker has made a significant impact since its inception, empowering thousands of climate storytellers from over 100 countries to share their unique perspectives on climate change, fostering empathy and driving action. Our project has reached millions of readers through various media platforms, raising awareness on the urgency of transitioning to a zero-carbon world and promoting sustainable living.
Our initiative has influenced policy changes at local and national levels by amplifying the voices of those directly affected by climate change. By showcasing the real-life consequences and humanizing the climate crisis, we have encouraged governments and businesses to adopt more ambitious climate targets and implement greener policies.
We have also nurtured a global network of climate journalists, storytellers, and advocates who collaborate and exchange ideas, thereby accelerating the spread of innovative solutions and best practices for sustainable living. This interconnected community ensures that nobody gets left behind and that every person can thrive in a zero-carbon world.
Moreover, the capacity-building programs we offer equip individuals with the skills and knowledge required to become effective agents of change within their own communities, further contributing to a zero-carbon world.
What’s Next: What are your ideas for taking your project to the next level?
To take Climate Tracker to the next level, we have several strategies in mind:
- Expand our reach: We plan to extend our programs to countries and regions most vulnerable to climate change, to ensure that a broader range of voices and perspectives are represented in the global climate conversation.
- Strengthen our capacity-building programs: We aim to provide even more value to our network of climate journalists and storytellers by refining our training and mentorship offerings and leveraging new technologies. This includes more specialized courses targeting specific skills, such as multimedia storytelling or climate policy analysis.
- Foster cross-sector collaborations: By partnering with organizations from various sectors, we seek to create innovative, multidisciplinary approaches to environmental storytelling and communication. These can lead to the development of new tools, platforms, and campaigns that further amplify our impact.
- Develop a robust online platform: We envision creating a comprehensive online platform that serves as a hub for climate storytellers, journalists, and advocates to share their work, access resources, and connect with like-minded individuals.
- Encourage youth involvement: We aim to engage more youth in our programs and initiatives. By nurturing the next generation of climate leaders, we can ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of our project.
Your team: What is the current composition of your team (types of roles, qualifications, full-time vs. part-time, board members, etc.), and how do you plan to evolve the team’s composition as the project grows?
The main members of our team are:
Chris Wright, Managing Director: Veteran climate activist, Climate Tracker founder
Biena Magbitang, Asia Director: Multi-awarded journalist & Digital Head of ABS-CBN News Channel. Also a member of several international organizations for journalists.
Dizzane Billy, Caribbean Director: Experienced communications and digital marketing specialist working on environmental and civil society issue
Franciso Parra Galaz, Latin America Director: Veteran environmental and climate journalist
More information on our team’s qualifications are in the attachments.
As the project grows, we will take stock of areas that need improvement, and plan how to evolve the team from there, either by building existing capacity or hiring.
Operational Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure operational sustainability.
Climate Tracker's Operational Sustainability Plan comprises several key components to ensure the long-term viability and effectiveness of our initiative:
- Diversify funding sources: To maintain financial stability, we will actively pursue funding opportunities from various sources, including grants, sponsorships, donations, and crowd-funding campaigns. We will also explore the potential for revenue-generating activities, such as offering premium content, training workshops, or consulting services.
- Optimize resource allocation: We will continually assess and improve our resource allocation to maximize the impact of our programs while minimizing costs. This includes leveraging technology for remote training and mentorship, streamlining administrative processes, and focusing on high-impact initiatives.
- Build strategic partnerships: By collaborating with like-minded organizations, we can pool resources, share knowledge, and co-create solutions, reducing operational costs and enhancing our collective impact. These partnerships can also lead to joint funding opportunities and increased visibility for Climate Tracker.
- Invest in capacity development: By continually enhancing the skills and knowledge of our team members, we can ensure that our organization remains at the forefront of climate storytelling and journalism, enabling us to deliver high-quality programs and initiatives.
VIDEO: Please share the link to a 1-minute YouTube video that answers the following “I identify as a Green Changemaker because...”. Ensure that your video does not exceed 60 seconds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRmfhyzdLYQ
Impact Model: While reviewing applications, we identified a need to better understand the impact models for the innovations that applied. How would you describe the activities you engage in and what outcomes and long-term impact do they lead to?
We aim to support, train, and incentivize journalists from under-resourced geographies to shape national & international climate debate.
We conduct medi analysis to understand the gaps in climate journalism, to identify how to support journalists to tell better climate stories. We have investigated the issues related to media coverage of plastics pollution, green growth, and coal and clean energy in Southeast Asia, as well as the energy transition in Latin America.
We also facilitate collaborative projects with print and multimedia journalists, including individual training, links to experts/mentors, and help in publishing climate stories in national and regional media. We have worked with Southeast Asian journalists to report on local communities’ efforts in protecting their rainforests, as well as the expansion of the LNG industry in the region. In Latin America, our journalism fellows highlighted climate justice and improved the visibility of women environmental defenders in the public debate, as a key aspect for climate action in the region.
We also provide opportunities for young journalists to cover major events such as COP and the G20, equipping them with the skills & knowledge to interpret decisions during these events, so that they can enhance their overall reportage of climate issues from the national to the global level.
These activities engage journalists, editors and media outlets, local communities and civil society organizations, and the general public to achieve these two main outcomes:
- To raise awareness on the human impacts of the climate crisis and highlight the urgency of addressing climate change;
- To expand the pool of journalists in developing countries who have the skills to report on the climate crisis using a rights-based, community level perspective.
Audience: Who are you most directly impacting through your work? Who is the target beneficiary? Please specify if the population you are reaching is underserved due to any of the following characteristics?
If you chose the "Other" option, please specify
How are you activating green changemakers?
If you chose the "Other" option, please specify
Organization Type: Which organization type best describes how your work or initiative has been organized or registered?
Nonprofit/NGO
Tell us briefly about how you have and/ or would like to engage partners or other changemakers to enhance your approach:
We would like to engage more journalists, media outlets, and civil society organizations in other parts of Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the MENA region, so that we can expand the coverage of climate issues in developing countries and be able to tell more stories about the human impacts of the climate crisis.
We would also like to engage with more non-government organizations and philanthropies who are open to supporting climate storytellers in under-resourced geographies, so that we can access more resources to expand the coverage of our work.
Annual budget: Hint: What is the cost for your current operations every year (or most recent year)? This is expenditure for your project or organization. The reference currency is the U.S. dollar.
$250k - $500k
Winning Impact Potential: How would winning the Green Changemakers Challenge impact and leverage your work?
The prize money would of course help to continue the work we are doing with young career journalists and other storytellers. But the increased visibility provided by winning the Challenge, or even just making it as a finalist, would help to bolster our reputation and make it easier to establish partnerships with other organizations to advance our mission. It would also be a validation of the work we have already done and the impact we have already generated across the audiences and stakeholder groups we engage with, which will hopefully lead to more opportunities to expand the coverage of our work and broaden its impact.
We also welcome the chance to meet and connect with other changemakers, to learn and exchange ideas with them, and we look forward to opportunities for mentorship from Ashoka and HSBC. We believe that these would provide inputs to help grow our organization and ensure its sustainability, as well as that of our mission.
Skills Matching: If you win, you may have the opportunity to be matched with HSBC employees for skill-based mentorship. If matched, which of the following skills would you be most interested in receiving?
Planning & Strategy