In a bold stride toward environmental accountability and informed climate action, Transparency International Pakistan (TI Pakistan) has launched a six-month Journalist Fellowship on Climate Finance and Transparency in Karachi, bringing together 15 journalists from Sindh’s most climate-vulnerable districts.
This visionary initiative marks a first-of-its-kind effort to build the capacity of local reporters to navigate and expose the complex world of climate finance, environmental governance, and policy implementation. Selected fellows hail from frontline regions such as Badin, Thatta, Dadu, Tharparkar, Sujawal, and Shikarpur —districts where the effects of rising temperatures, recurring floods, droughts, and sea intrusion are a daily reality.
The inaugural session was held in Karachi on June 22, featuring an impressive lineup of climate, governance, and media experts. Justice (R) Zia Perwez, Chairman of TI Pakistan, set the tone by underscoring the urgent need for transparency in climate-related spending. He was joined by prominent voices including Dr. Uzma Shujaat, Ms. Lubna Jerar Naqvi, Mr. Hamza Butt, and Mr. Mirza Mujtaba Baig, who each explored key dimensions of environmental policy, journalistic ethics, and citizen engagement.
Mr. Kashif Ali, Executive Director of TI Pakistan, described the fellowship as a “transformational platform” to enable journalists to follow the money, track public commitments, and ask hard questions about climate financing at both national and international levels.
“Communities across Sindh are paying the price for poor environmental governance,” Mr. Ali noted. “This fellowship is about empowering journalists to spotlight these gaps, and to ensure that climate funds actually reach the people they are meant to serve.”
Fellows will receive training in climate finance structures, transparency tools, and data-driven reporting, along with editorial mentorship and financial support to produce impactful stories. Over the coming months, they will work on ground-breaking investigations that shed light on how climate funds are managed—and in some cases, mismanaged—across Sindh.
With climate change threatening livelihoods across the province, TI Pakistan’s fellowship signals a new era for accountable environmental reporting. As these 15 journalists return to their districts with sharpened tools and a deeper understanding of climate justice, the hope is clear: to build a more informed, engaged, and resilient Sindh—story by story.