The Carbon Current, billed as the region's only independent climate journalism platform, has launched. Its mandate is to go deeper on environmental storytelling than its founder believes the regional press currently does, adding to the roster of regional outlets accepting sustainability-focused pitches from communications teams.
Founded and edited by Rachel Redfern, The Carbon Current publishes across three verticals: Features, covering interviews and essays; Big Voices, for op-eds and think pieces; and The Climate Whine, focused on how the climate crisis is reshaping food and drink culture. The publication accepts submissions and pays contributors.
Redfern said the launch was driven by a gap she identified in regional environmental coverage. "Climate journalism in the region has a problem: it doesn't go deep enough," said the Editor-in-Chief. "We're not only reporting on what's actually happening here – the science, the innovation, the people pushing back – we're exploring areas that aren't getting the attention they deserve: regenerative farming, light pollution, fast fashion, and more."
Early editorial output includes reporting on the addax breeding programme at Dubai Safari Park, desertification across the Global South, and the "landscape to table" movement emerging in Gulf food systems.
A weekly newsletter, Second Nature, is forthcoming, set to carry climate fiction, job listings, and events.