Now you can participate in KLIMAPRESS 2026 – an annual conference on climate journalism with a particular focus on the Nordic countries.
Read in Swedish: KLIMAPRESS 2026: Klimatjournalistik i Norden
Read in Danish: KLIMAPRESS 2026: Klimajournalistik i Norden
Read in Norwegian: KLIMAPRESS 2026: Klimajournalistikk i Norden
Climate is, and will remain, important for journalists to cover. Yet media coverage of climate has been pushed into the background in favor of war, armament and other global conflicts. How can we get climate back on the agenda? How do we cover the crisis in a more powerful, inspiring, and engaging way? What works, according to media research? And what role do actors such as companies and activists play in climate issues, and how do the media cover these aspects?
These are the key questions at KLIMAPRESS 2026 – a new Nordic conference on climate journalism.
Among the speakers are former EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and George Marshall, founder of the British NGO Climate Outreach.
The conference took place for the first time in Oslo last year. Now it is Copenhagen’s turn, where the conference will be held on 22 and 23 October at DMJX’s campus and will feature joint sessions with keynote speakers, panel debates, and workshops.
Aarhus University, the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX), and Nordic Journalist Centre (NJC) are organizing and co-funding the conference and inviting journalists, editors, and media researchers to come together to develop climate journalism in the Nordic region.
At the conference, journalists and media researchers from across the Nordic region and beyond will share their experiences and discuss how climate issues can be covered at a time when international cooperation is under pressure – while the climate continues to break records.
As last year, a professional jury at the conference will award prizes for the best climate journalism in the Nordic region – nominate by 1 September at the latest.
Read more: Nominations for the KLIMAPRESS 2026 Award – Nordic climate journalism
Organizers: The Department of Media Studies and Journalism at Aarhus University, the Danish School of Media and Journalism, and the Nordic Journalist Centre
Program (in English)
Please note: Unless otherwise stated, all presentations in the programme are in English
Thursday, October 22:
9:00 Arrival, coffee and small-talk
9:30 Welcome
9:40 Plenary talk 1: What are major companies actually doing about climate change – and how do the media cover it? By Connie Hedegaard (board member of Danfoss, BBVA, the Villum Foundation, and several other organizations)
As the former European Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard has insight into the climate initiatives and strategies of major international companies. She will discuss how companies approach climate action and the considerations behind their efforts, as well as offer her perspective on how the media cover climate issues.
10:30-11.30 Parallel Sessions:
Session 1: Covering Energy Transitions in a European Context — by Boris Schneider (Clean Energy Wire, Berlin)
Session 2: Hidden success stories? Why some companies choose not to talk to the media about their climate efforts – by Line Schmeltz (DMJX)
Line Schmeltz is an Senior Associate Professor at the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX). Drawing on her research, she will explore “greenhushing” – when companies deliberately avoid communicating their climate efforts in the media for fear of public backlash and accusations of greenwashing.
Anette Maria Christensen is an Executive ESG Advisor at Give Steel A/S, a Danish manufacturer of structural steel, operating on the European. The company considers itself a first mover on several ESG initiatives within their industry in Europe, and is continuously working on ESG initiatives across several areas. However, the company is cautious about communicating its efforts within sustainability in the media, as the complexity of the field can lead to errors and misunderstandings when the issues are reported and communicated in the medias. With new EU requirements on sustainability communication, this issue is more relevant than ever.
Session 3: Short inspirational local stories from the 3-5 climate journalist (former NJC participants) — led by Professor Andreas Ytterstad (Oslo Met University)
12:00 Lunch
13:00-14:00 Plenary Panel: Meet New Researchers — led by Associate Professor Henrik Bødker (Aarhus University)
Sophie Ysholt Hansen (University of Southern, Denmark)
Ingerid Salvesen (Oslo Met University, Norway)
Mikaela Wikström Ruona (Umeå University, Sweden)
Nelli Jäntti-Tuominen (Tampere University, Finland)
14:15-15:00 Parallel Sessions:
Session 1: Challenges and potentials of long-form journalism — by journalist Michaela Cavanagh
Session 2: Working with constructive journalism — by Gerd Maria May, head and founder of Room of Solutions
Session 3: How to cover COP31 in Turkey in November – by journalist Otto Lerche (Dagbladet Information)
15:00 Coffee
15:30 Plenary talk 2: Climate change journalism as and beyond science communication – by Sabrina Vitting-Seerup (Assistant Professor Copenhagen University):
16:30 Reception and price ceremony
18:30 See you tomorrow
Friday, October 23:
9:00 Coffee and small-talk
9:30 Plenary talk 3: Activists and NGOs: The battle for a place in the media and political decision-making – by George Marshall (strategic communications consultant, founder of Climate Outreach)
For decades, British climate campaigner George Marshall has been an active participant and prominent voice in the climate debate, with a background in grassroots movements and NGO networks. He will analyse how the role of activists and NGOs in climate action has evolved, and how media coverage of these actors has developed over time.
10:30-11:30 Parallel Sessions:
Session 1: Covering Green Conflicts — by Associate Professor Mikkel Fugl Eskjær (Aalborg University)
Session 2: Climate activists – voices of citizens and political actors? — by Associate Professor Julie Uldam (Copenhagen Business School)
Julie Uldam is an Associate Professor and researcher at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). She will present findings from her research into the relationship – or lack of it – between companies and climate activists, and discuss what this means for media coverage.
Amanda Büchert has been involved in activist and NGO networks in Denmark for many years. She has also founded a grassroots media outlet focusing on stories about climate action. She will share her experiences of how the media cover climate activism and discuss how activists position themselves in the wider climate debate.
Session 3: Journalism education & and the environment — by Associate Professor Mette Stentoft (DMJX)
12:00 Closing Event: Summary and presentation of next year’s event.
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Farewell
Støtte og samarbejde
NJC har modtaget støtte til dette kursus fra Demos-programmet, der administreres af Nordisk kulturkontakt i Helsinki på vegne af Nordisk Ministerråd.
