“Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. These changes have a broad range of observed effects that are synonymous with the term.” (NASA)
Since the beginning of the industrial era, climate change has been accelerated by human activities. Global gas house emissions are too high and increase heat-trapping in the atmosphere, which raises the average surface temperature of the Earth.
These temperature rises lead to more consequences: loss of biodiversity, disparition of natural resources such as water and food, increased frequency of natural disasters… which all compromise humanity’s resilience and survival.
There is a need for immediate action to address these issues. Economic and political leaders have failed to effectively respond to the climate crisis, leading to a sense of despair and inaction. Civil society has turned to alternative approaches to drive change: legal actions, civil disobedience, protests… Whistleblowing can be a crucial tool.
Whistleblowing is a term and a concept that carries different meanings around the world. At its basic level, it is when a citizen or employee exposes secretive acts of corruption, injustice, abuse of power or public health threats. The action or omission exposed by the whistleblower can be illegal, but it can also be immoral or against the general interest.
What distinguishes whistleblowing from other kinds of reporting is that whistleblowers are in the position to suffer retaliation and reprisals, and that the inside information they have is critical in halting or preventing crimes, scandals and other threats to the public well-being.
A climate whistleblower can be…
…a bank employee who learns of fossil fuel financing and reports the operation to their hierarchy or the public.
… an engineer who unveils massive deforestation and wants to help stop it.
…a public employee who discovers that a company has been greenwashing its activities in order to make more profit.
Anyone who has access to these kinds of information can blow the whistle.
We believe that the price of doing the right thing should not include sacrificing one’s life, freedom, family, income, job, career or health. In this capacity, CW plays the intermediary role by providing a community of in-house and external experts to ensure the process of ‘blowing the whistle’ is removed of the perils and threats usually associated with the same.
We are ready to help whistleblowers who wish to report information on wrongdoings that worsen the climate crisis.
Because climate whistleblowing enhances:
- Justice, by bringing to court authors of illegal activities against public interest as they worsen the climate crisis.
- Transparency, by disclosing information that is purposely hidden by wrongdoers.
- Inspiration for others to act. A single whistleblower can be the starting point for collective and massive actions against climate change.
Climate Whistleblowers protects individuals who expose wrongdoings that worsen the climate crisis and helps them have a greater impact.
In that regard, CW:
- helps individuals to safely blow the whistle by providing secure communication.
- helps climate whistleblowers to assess the risks they would take and how to mitigate them. CW investigates the information they are willing to disclose and ensures their whistleblowing is impactful.
- CW directs the information and documents to investigative journalists at a trusted publication. CW has partnerships with media outlets that will produce impactful articles based on the information and protect the whistleblower’s identity.
- CW forms a network of lawyers who can help safely report wrongdoings regarding climate change, strategically litigate and protect whistleblowers from retaliation. CW defends them against legal actions even if they do not have financial resources.
We recommend that you seek advice from our in-house team prior to contacting or sending information to the media or an NGO. We can advise whether this is the best route to take. In some cases, our team’s legal counsel can liaise on your behalf with a particular media outlet or advocacy organisation.
Though the media or an NGO can be the best vehicle to report wrongdoing in the public interest, care must be taken in how to approach them and deciding which information to send. Our in-house editorial and advocacy teams can help you find the right journalist or NGO to contact.
The information you want to disclose might not be enough to characterise the wrongdoing you want to expose. We can help you to assess that by deepening investigations.