COP29 Cross-Border Energy Transition Reporting Fellowship
Clean energy employment exceeded fossil fuel employment for the first time in 2021. Job openings requiring green skills are growing almost twice as fast as the number of workers with the skills required to fill them, according to a 2023 LinkedIn report analysing data in 48 countries. This shows that there is more to the story than the frequent reporting on jobs lost due to the phasing out of fossil fuels.
With pledges to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, how are governments trying to close the skilled labour gap? What training already exists for green skills and how much of this training is available for people working in fossil fuels? How are countries and companies attracting green workers and how does this affect migration patterns? How does the need for skilled labour interact with the pace of the transition and trends like rising protectionism and nationalism in some countries? Are there efforts underway to ensure that clean energy job growth and skill development advance gender balance and equity in the workforce when only 15 percent of current energy jobs are held by women?
To answer these questions and more, Clean Energy Wire and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security are collaborating to organise the COP29 Cross-Border Energy Transition Reporting Fellowship to create a cross-border newsroom around the topic of green workers, focusing on the implementation of the energy transition to combat climate change.
COP29
Each year at the UN climate summits, countries make commitments to realise the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Over 140 countries have set net-zero targets, covering about 88 percent of global emissions. Governments and businesses continue to make many green promises. One of the key questions for journalists to examine now is implementation. The energy transition – and the workers who carry out this transformation – is a crucial story that intersects with labour rights, migration, economics, technology, gender, and geopolitics.
COP29 will be a pivotal moment for journalists to research and report on the global transition to a climate neutral economy. Representatives from governments, business, science, finance, civil society, and media will attend the two-week event – making it an advantageous venue for journalists to gather information, conduct interviews with key stakeholders, and develop stories related to the energy transition.
The fellowship
Journalists selected to participate in the COP29 Cross-Border Energy Transition Reporting Fellowship will have an opportunity to focus their attention on energy transition issues and the green workforce, while collaborating, reporting, and learning with other journalists in a multi-national cohort.
The cohort will participate in virtual meetings and trainings in the six weeks prior to COP29 and then travel to Baku to report from November 14-24. Additional reporting will be completed in each fellows’ home countries after the COP. While in Baku, the fellowship organisers will facilitate collaboration and connection across the newsroom and create opportunities for source development, high level interviews, information-gathering, and networking with other journalists and COP delegates. Stories will be published in each journalists’ outlet, with possible republication by Clean Energy Wire.
Eligibility: This fellowship is open to journalists globally with a track record of reporting on climate and energy issues. This opportunity is open to both freelance and staff journalists.
You can apply until 12 August, 23.59 CET.
Please note: Journalists need to include a letter of intent from a media outlet that agrees to publish their stories.
Selected fellows get...
- A chance to attend COP29 with travel and accommodation covered for 10 days (from 14 until 24 November) and to report on an important agenda-setting topic
- Logistical support ahead of and during COP29
- Guidance from CLEW staff and collaboration with colleagues before, during and after COP
- Opportunities to attend networking mixers with other journalists covering COP
- A chance to get their work published in their own media, as well as Clean Energy Wire (if their own media agrees to it and the quality of work meets CLEW standards)
- A stipend of €1,000 to cover expenses while reporting at COP and in their home countries
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We are still looking for additional funding for this project, so if you are funder and want to get involved please get in touch with Milou Dirkx via event@cleanenergywire.org
Frequently Asked Questions
Journalists worldwide with a minimum of three years of professional experience in journalism and with a track record of reporting on climate and energy issues. Both freelancers and staff reporters are eligible. Journalists working in all formats may apply as long as there is a willingness to collaborate with others in the cohort who may be working in other formats.
Applicants should hold a current passport with validity through May 15, 2025.
In order to apply journalists need to provide:
- Three recent work examples published in independent media on climate or economic topics, ideally with some connection to the topic of clean energy, energy transition, workers in the energy industry, or related issues.
- A letter of intent from an editor from an established media outlet committing to publication of stories resulting from this fellowship, specifically on the topic of energy transition and green workers. Freelancers also need to include a letter from an outlet that has agreed to publish their reporting.
Please note that we may hold interviews with promising applicants between 19 August and 4 September in order to make a final decision.
Communication about and within the fellowship will be in English, so we expect journalists to be comfortable in this language. Publications resulting from the fellowship can be in any language.
Round trip, economy-class airfare to Baku, Azerbaijan; up to ten nights’ accommodation (14–24 November); travel medical insurance; and visa application costs will be organised and covered for selected journalists.
Journalists will receive a stipend of 1,000 Euros to cover expenses while reporting at the COP and in their home countries following the COP. 400 Euros is paid in advance and the remaining 600 Euros after publication of at least one article.
The organisers (CLEW and the Stanley Center) will pay for two networking dinners for the cohort. Other meals are not included, although stipends may be used for this expense.
Other expenses are the responsibility of the journalist/their news outlet.
We expect the cohort to be communicative via e-mail and responsive to possible Zoom calls from the start of the fellowship in September until mid-December. Before COP, we expect a time commitment of up to 5 hours per week for coordination, collaboration, and preparation. While in Baku for 10 days (from Thursday, 14 November through Sunday, 24 November), fellows will spend most of their days reporting, researching, or collaborating with the cohort at the COP or related venues. Fellows are expected to participate in all fellowship activities each day.
Please be aware that we expect fellows to focus mainly on coverage of the fellowship topic of energy transition and green workers. Daily coverage of COP news will be possible only to a very limited extent while participating in the fellowship.
Note that some flight itineraries may require fellows to travel before or after 14-24 November, depending on distance and available flight schedules.
The cohort will meet online three times before COP on:
- 25 September
- 08 October
- 22 October
We expect you to attend these virtual meetings. During COP itself, we will schedule daily check-ins with the cohort. We will have a final meeting on 23 November to discuss next steps.
The expected outcome of the fellowship is that every journalist publishes 1-3 articles (with at least one article published at a minimum). CLEW and the Stanley Center will ask participating journalists to include a strapline that mentions the fellowship and the organising partners.
If you are not able to participate in fellowship meetings or activities, we expect you to communicate this.
If journalists are not responsive, we reserve the right to remove you from the fellowship.
Journalists can apply for the fellowship until 12 August, 23:59 Central and Eastern European Time. You will hear latest by 16 September whether or not you are selected - please make sure to check your spam folder.
Please note that we may hold interviews with promising applicants between 19 August and 2 September in order to make a final decision.