Climate Change and the War in Ukraine With Serhii Barbu

Communicating Climate Change

This episode features a conversation with Ukrainian journalist, Serhii Barbu. It was recorded in September, 2024.

With over 10 years of experience as a professional journalist, Serhii specialises in covering energy-related issues. His main place of work is Kyiv-based, Channel 5, where he holds the position of a special correspondent and news anchor, and has previously acted as special correspondent from the UN headquarters in New York.

Serhii also collaborates with two online publications: LB.ua and the Ukrainian Energy Magazine.

I met Serhii at a conference on climate journalism organized by n-ost, a network for journalists reporting on Eastern Europe, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, earlier this year. I was there to hear the experiences of those reporting on climate despite a range of challenges, including censorship, authoritarianism, and full-scale war, and Serhii’s stories really stuck with me. I was very glad that he agreed to chat for the podcast.

Amongst other things, Serhii and I discussed the intersection of climate change and the conflict in Ukraine, how climate-related disinformation is weaponised by the Russian war machine, and how climate doomism fails in the face of more immediate existential threats.

Additional links:

Channel 5’s YouTube channel

Ukraine’s Channel 5 news website

Check out LB.ua

Serhii’s profile on the n-ost website