Pulitzer Center Update October 14, 2026
Pulitzer Center-Supported Reporting Honored at 2026 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards
Two Pulitzer Center-supported projects, three stories, and a short film won 2026 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards, which honor excellent climate reporting from around the world. This year, CCNow received more than 1,200 entries from journalists in dozens of countries.
The short film Chocolates Melting Away, by grantee Breech Asher Harani, won in the Food and Agriculture category. Produced in collaboration with the Financial Times and One World Media, the film visits the Philippines’ chocolate capital, Davao, where cacao farmers are finding innovative ways to protect their crops and livelihood from the effects of climate change.
“Inside the Indonesian Boomtowns Powering the World’s Electric Vehicles,” by grantee Wufei Yu for Grist, won in the Justice category. Yu follows Chinese migrant workers who run Indonesia’s nickel-processing plants, which supply a key component of electric vehicle batteries. Yu documented dangerous working conditions over seven months of reporting, including a deadly 2023 furnace explosion, and pollution and illness affecting surrounding villages.
The Scientific American story “Inside the Bold Geoengineering Work To Refreeze the Arctic’s Disappearing Ice,” by 2024 Ocean Reporting Fellow Alec Luhn, won in the Solutions category. The story is part of Luhn’s project Blue Carbon Boom, which examines the risks and potential of ocean-based climate interventions. In Canada’s Arctic, Luhn examined whether techniques such as carbon removal and geoengineering can help slow warming without harming ecosystems and communities in the process.
The Toxic Side of Climate Change, a project by grantee Nina Dietz for Inside Climate News, won in the Health category. Dietz investigated the toxic hazards left behind after the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Her project amplifies the stories of residents and pairs them with the work of scientists measuring the long-term health risks of exposure to ash and smoke.
From Scarcity to Abundance: The Sea as a Source of Prosperity, by grantee Iván Carrillo and his colleagues at El Universal, won in the Forests, Oceans, and the Natural World category. Interviewing fishing communities across Mexico’s Gulf of California, the series explores Marine Prosperity Areas, locally driven zones that aim to restore marine life while strengthening the economic and social well-being of people whose lives depend on the sea.
In the Large Projects and Collaborations category, a Pulitzer Center-supported story by 2023 Rainforest Investigations Fellow Vo Kieu Bao Uyen was recognized as part of Dark Side of the Boom, a cross-border collaboration led by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. Her story for Mekong Eye, “The Lights Dim on Laos’ Brief Bitcoin Dream,” shows how cryptocurrency mining consumed roughly a third of Laos' electricity, contributing to blackouts in rural communities and forcing the government to reconsider the industry. The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network supported the project.
The Covering Climate Now awards have honored exemplary reporting on the climate crisis for the past six years, celebrating large and small outlets around the world. Winners were selected by a panel of 120 journalists across 30 countries. Visit our Awards page to see more of our grantees’ award-winning stories over the past 20 years.
