PARIS – Billed by the fossil fuel industry as a climate solution, dozens of planned blue hydrogen projects in Europe could consume more natural gas than a country like France, and produce emissions on a par with Denmark. These findings raise new questions over blue hydrogen’s climate impact at a pivotal moment for the industry.

ISTANBUL/PARIS/UTRECHT - The European Union has helped Turkey to deport Syrian and Afghan refugees to situations of hardship, danger and even death through a system of arrest, detention and removal that has developed over time, this investigation has found.

SKOPJE - The Macedonian grayling is a unique butterfly species which resides exclusively on the outskirts of a small Macedonian town, with no other known locations worldwide. The specimen of this rare and endangered butterfly can be purchased at low prices across Europe — how did this become possible?

NUUK — This cross-border investigation focuses on how the increasing interest in the Arctic area – especially in Greenland and in the Russian northern shores – is re-shaping the economic and political equilibrium and is impacting the environment on a global level.

BERLIN/ROME- As more and more EU countries are looking into asylum agreements with Rwanda or other third countries, this investigation sheds light into what is already happening in Rwanda after the MoU signed with the UK government.

AMSTERDAM / BONN / HELSINKI / STOCKHOLM — Manure is a valuable part of the agricultural cycle but becomes a huge environmental threat when there's too much of it. The team of journalists in four countries tried to investigate the manure surplus, and discovered that related EU data is not readily available.

LISBON - As cities battle with the dual challenge of maintaining resident populations amidst rising real estate interests and overtourism, the team investigated if there are any evidence-based ways to stop or slow gentrification and other issues through public, cooperative and social housing.

DANUBE - Romania and Ukraine share a very important river — the Danube. As a transport artery, one of the mouths of the Danube started to be used at the beginning of the war for export. 

ROME/MADRID/BUCHAREST - Every year, law enforcement authorities across Europe seize millions of euros worth of properties coming from illicit activities. Land lots, apartment buildings, warehouses, luxury cars or yachts were once belonged to members of mafia groups, arms or drug traffickers and other criminal actors.

PRAGUE - One in three women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 – a total of 62 million women in Europe. The Istanbul Convention, a treaty aimed at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, should help with the situation.

BUCHAREST / PAZARDZHIK —  The green transition is not always a clean one. The European frenzy for green energy projects, and the massive funds assigned for this process generated a chaotic battle for agricultural lands in Romania and Bulgaria, countries particularly vulnerable to corruption risks.  

GITEGA / ROME - Climate change is making it increasingly difficult to grow coffee plants. What is the future holding for the lovers of this drink? How will plant cultivation change, what is the deal with waste management, and can coffee supply chain become sustainable? This investigation takes you to Burundi to find the answers.

EU / AFRICA / MENA – Five European oil and gas majors rank among the top 10 largest polluters in Africa and the Middle East when it comes to gas flaring, reveals this investigative series. These companies include Shell, BP, ENI, TotalEnergies and Perenco, as revealed by the Environmental Investigative Forum (EIF) and the media network European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), Daraj Media, SourceMaterial and Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism.

DAGESTAN / ASTRAKHAN / ATYRAU — Amid the Ukraine conflict, the Caspian Sea has gained importance for energy and trade. As Baku will host COP29 in late 2024, the world's largest inland body of water faces a severe crisis. The water levels have dropped, and the coastlines have been shifting. 

MILAN/ROTTERDAM - Many cities in Europe are experimenting with Citizen’s Assemblies to design stronger and more inclusive climate policies. But are these experiments effective? The team are investigating the value and flaws of the assemblies as a solution for climate policies. 

NAIVASHA - Many of the beautiful bouquets sold across European markets have a devastating environmental and human cost. In Kenya, a supplier of 40% of the European cut flower market, the floriculture industry faces accusations of having a calamitous effect on water sources, of chemical use leading to disease, and of widespread abuses of farm workers, 70% of whom are women. 

MADRID - Heat is killing thousands of people in Southern European cities but what is being done in Barcelona, Milan and Lisbon about it? In 2023, more than 45.000 people died in Europe due to heat-related causes, with the southern countries topping the list.

TIRANA / DURRES / BELGRADE / PRISTINA - Across the Balkans, particularly in Albania, a disturbing trend is emerging among organised crime figures and influencers: the ownership of exotic pets like lion and tiger cubs.

BUCHAREST - EU residents are buying 40% more clothing than a few decades ago, with less than half being collected for reuse and only 1% recycled. The investigation focused on understanding whether the alternatives to fast fashion are sustainable from an economic, social, and environmental perspective.

BRATISLAVA/PRAGUE - This investigation reveals how Ukranian women searching for accomodation are open to exploitation in online spaces.

LONDON – This is a cross-border investigation by five journalists into how the world’s most popular sport is creating a huge carbon footprint and relying on the fossil fuel industry in a never-ending search for more money and more fans.

A RAIA / LA RAYA – Spain and Portugal share their main rivers, a fact that has promoted diplomatic efforts for the joint management of common bodies of water. For the past 25 years, that relationship has been regulated by the Albufeira Convention. But as extreme droughts become more frequent and intense in the Iberian Peninsula, local populations and legislators alike are struggling to cope with the effects of water scarcity.

ATHENS/FARO/AGRIGENTO – Wildfires in Europe have become more frequent and devastating. From lagging prevention and disaster response in Greece, to the mismanagement and legal loopholes that in Italy fuel arson, to the post-wildfire economy in Spain that impedes ecological restoration, to Portugal's paper industry that hinder fire management for its own financial gain, this investigation sheds light on the reasons behind these disasters. 

MATINA - For over two decades, residents near banana plantations in Costa Rica have been exposed to pesticide sprays from planes, affecting their health and environment. Despite being banned in Europe, these chemicals are still exported to Global South for use in agriculture, where they are often used by major companies like Dole Food Company and Chiquita International.

PRAGUE - PFAS, a family of extremely hazardous chemicals linked to severe health issues, have been found in drinking water and vegetables, among others all over Europe. Against all odds, local communities and researchers across Europe are acting to find solutions to PFAS contamination in their food and water.

BAKU/ RAVENNA/ L’AQUILA – Under the pretext of reducing reliance on Russian gas, Italy and the European Union have planned to double gas imports from Azerbaijan since 2022, even as dictator Ilham Aliyev tightens his authoritarian grip and increases investments in fossil fuels.

EDINBURGH - Europe’s marine environment faces a plethora of severe threats. What are the key species in decline, and which interest groups are lobbying against marine protection laws? This investigation looks into Europe’s interconnected marine systems, and how they can be preserved.

LARISSA / JAÉN / VASLUI - Farmers are already under immense pressure due to economic strains compounded by stringent EU regulations. Now, the intensifying impacts of climate change are exacerbating these challenges, leading to insomnia, anxiety, and depression among farmers.

LONDON – With Europe reeling from heat waves and wildfires, the EU is backing projects to capture industrial emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a key pillar in its fight against climate change. But what if these multi-billion-euro schemes make the problem worse?

DELHI / BERLIN - India’s garment industry, valued at around 100 billion USD, employs 51 million people formally and another 68 million informally. As a key producer for Western nations and the second-largest textile exporter globally, the industry relies heavily on women, who make up over 70% of the workforce. However, women in this sector face significant harassment and exploitation in the workplace.

ODEMIRA / MESSINIA - Faced with poor water management, locals in Portugal, Greece and Romania struggle to keep their farmlands and financially survive, and often resort to extreme solutions to find usable water.

MONTEVIDEO - The world is made of paper and bought with paper:  How far can a company modify the present of a nation and influence its future with promises that never come?

KATOWICE / KARVINÁ – This cross-border investigative project compares the energy transition in Silesia and Karviná, the coal regions on the Czech and Polish border, with an emphasis on the implementation of the EU Just Transition Fund.

BONN/BUKAREST/BERN/AMSTERDAM/ATHENS – The future of our food supply is under threat as a high-stakes battle unfolds over seed control in the EU. This cross-border project investigated how companies exploit patent loopholes to demand and sometimes obtain patents from the EPO even on conventionally-bred plants, which are technically protected from patenting by both the EU and EPO laws.

TALLINN - The lack of regulation of the voluntary carbon market, together with the influx of capital, creates conditions for marketing of ineffective solutions, or even outright scams. This cross-border investigation looks at the exploitation of 'green' opportunities for personal gain — in Estonia, Lithuania and Italy. 

NAIROBI - For decades Kenya has been a purveyor of Olympic medals in distance running, and it will continue to be so at the Paris Games, but for the past decade or so it has also been clear that there is a strong smell of doping attached to the medals. Athletics is one of the most important economic sectors in Kenya and where there is money, there is cheating.

PARIS - An in-depth investigation of the We Report network looked in the cockpit of the privatised airplane industry. Behind the scenes, the polluting footprint of a few rich is infinite.

COVILHÃ /LES LANDES / HARZ - Forests are essential in the global fight against climate change, through their role as carbon sinks. But what happens when management choices are not made in the forest’s best interest?

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS/SOFIA - Adoption is often linked to poor countries in the global South. Yet Flanders and the Netherlands adopt children from other European countries, such as Bulgaria and Hungary. This cross-border research shows that Roma children in these countries face discrimination and fall into the adoption system due to stigma, poverty and lack of support for families. 

PARIS / BRUSSELS / MADRID – Groundwater is the ecosystem Europe has always been able to rely on, and grew to consider an infinite resource. This cross-border investigation reveals that the current state of matters is dire: our water is disappearing and what remains is facing near-irreversible pollution.

LADNUN / PADUA — This investigation documents that at least 100 Indians paid up to €20,000 to reach northern Italy, living in overcrowded old houses, and being exploited as warehouse workers by cooperatives serving large retailers.

KALIMANTAN – This investigation reveals how EU-banned pesticides are dumped in Indonesia, disrupting Borneo ecosystem, and communities’ livelihood.

KATOWICE – This investigation looks at challenges and solutions of methane emissions reduction in Europe. Is it feasible, for example, to replace coking coal, a critical yet hard-to-replace resource for the steel industry? 

# Financial support
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# Projects supported
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# Grantees
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Grants 

Environmental Investigative Journalism

This grant programme supports cross-border teams of professional journalists and/or news outlets to conduct investigations into environmental affairs related to Europe (all the countries, not only EU members).

The next application deadline is (CET):

European Cross-border Grants

With the award-winning European Cross-Border Grant programme, Journalismfund Europe supports (since 2009) professional journalists and independent media outlets who have good ideas for cross-border investigations and for research on European topics.

The next application deadline is (CET):

Pascal Decroos Fund

The Pascal Decroos Fund is Journalismfund Europe's oldest grant programme. Since 1999 it strives to advance investigative journalism in Dutch-language media in Belgium.

The next application deadline is (CET):

News

Scholarships for grantees

To enable investigative journalists to share their experience and knowledge with colleagues at conferences, trainings, webinars and other available journalistic events, Journalismfund Europe provides scholarships for its grantees.

Grant opportunity for European media - Introductory webinar

Apply Now for Microgrants for Small Newsrooms!

2024-10-08

BRUSSELS - The new grant programme Microgrants for Small Newsrooms is launched today; a media funding scheme that will distribute a sub-grant of up to €5,000 and expert mentoring to two cohorts of newsrooms which will allow small and medium-sized news outlets to implement new tactics and skills to build resilience and viability.

Arlind Veshti

CBLocal Grantee Received the EU Investigative Journalism Awards Prize

2024-10-08

ALBANIA - An investigation supported by Journalismfund Europe — via the Local Cross-border grant programme — has received the EU Investigative Journalism Awards prize.

Juror Members' Names Revealed

2024-10-07

BRUSSELS – Journalismfund Europe unveils the names of four esteemed jurors. Two of them, Susanne Fengler (Germany) and Ingemārs Vekteris (Latvia), evaluated applications for the Local Media for Democracy grant programme and two others, Helen Darbishire (Spain) and Anton Harber (South Africa), were members of the jury for the Professional Development for Environmental Investigative Journalism grant programme. 

Agenda

23Oct
26Oct
Conference

COLPIN, the most important journalistic meeting in Latin America, turns 15 years old, and IPYS celebrates it by announcing a greater internationalization of the conference, which for the first time leaves the region, to be held in Europe.

Madrid (Spain)
25Oct
26Oct
Workshop

Do you work for an independent European media outlet? Are you looking for new ways to monetize your content and services? Join us in this 2-day in-person training on design learning.

Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
20Nov
22Nov
Conference

AI, the media, Europe and me: European journalism and the challenge of Artificial Intelligence : This is the theme of the 2nd edition of the European Agora for Journalism to be held from November 20 to 22 in Brussels.

Brussels (Belgium)