UN Secretary General António Guterres gave a speech on the occasion calling on journalists and media workers to play their key role in the face of an unprecedented environmental emergency on the planet.

“Through your work, people come to understand the difficult situation in the world and are mobilized and empowered to act for change”, said Guterres, who also warned about the risks in this line of work, saying that press freedom is under siege and environmental journalism is an increasingly dangerous profession.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) documented 750 attacks on journalists and media outlets reporting on environmental issues in the last fifteen years, nevertheless, in the majority of cases, no one was held accountable, which, according to Guterres, is a global phenomenon that affects all journalists.

The Secretary-General lamented the loss of the lives of reporters killed in the Israeli military operations in Gaza, an unprecedented number based on the organization’s data.

“Without freedom of the press, we will not have freedom. A free press is not a choice, but a necessity,” he added.

This year, World Press Freedom Day is dedicated to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current environmental crisis around the world.

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