Supporting climate communication through journalists in Malaysia and Indonesia
Journalists play a pivotal role in translating the science into accessible formats for diverse public audiences. However, they face barriers including linguistic diversity, technical jargon, limited access to reliable data and political sensitivities. Traditional Global North approaches to science communication, which assume linear information transfer and passive audiences, often fail in these contexts, where trust in institutions is variable, Indigenous knowledge coexists with scientific narratives and digital divides impact access.
This study examined how journalists in Indonesia and Malaysia can be supported through co-production and capacity-building. Through focus groups, workshops and interviews our research revealed four primary themes: strategies and tools for communication (personalising, localising, using platforms, partnering); reporting challenges (sensationalising, censoring, trust and data access, translating); resource and training needs (simplifying content, motivating action, changing behaviour, building hope); and opportunities for audience engagement (targeting audiences, overturning deflatedness).
A key outcome is the Climate Communication Resource Bank – a practical, multilingual platform that brings together case studies, tools and evidence to support accurate, locally relevant climate and energy transition-focused journalism.
The Resource Bank is designed to be responsive to regional needs. It also remains a living platform, shaped through ongoing collaboration with media organisations, researchers, and civil society across the Asia-Pacific to ensure it stays relevant, practical and impactful.
Participant quotes:
“When it comes to climate change... journals are all in English… so translating to Malay is a headache.”
“There’s a lack of trust… the data is there, but it’s not accessible.”
Project team
Climate reporting resource bank
Climate Direct aims to equip journalists with the tools and resources to effectively communicate climate science and solutions. In countries like Indonesia and Malaysia where climate impacts such as floods are severe, journalists can play a key role in increasing climate literacy and action through science-informed, accessible reporting.
The Resource Bank offers culturally relevant, accessible materials to enhance the quality of climate storytelling across Malaysia, Indonesia and around the world.
This resource bank was developed as part of the following project: Building capacity through co-production in Indonesia and Malaysia to address the climate change communication gap between scientific and lay audiences through journalists. The project is supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN-GCR). Funder ID: https://doi.org/10.30852/p.25886.