ISLAMABAD: Reporting on transition to renewable energy and climate justice requires journalists to perform their duties ethically, impartially and in accordance with the demands of public interest.

This was stated by speakers at a seminar held here on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, former senator and senior PPP leader Farhatullah Babar said media technologies had changed significantly, but basic media techniques remained the same.

`While our country`s peculiar circumstances have created a lot of restrictions for journalists, new technologies such as artificial technology and social media have opened many new opportunities for them. They should combine these opportunities with professional journalism skills to cover complex issues involving energy transition and climate justice,` he said.

He, however, warned journalists that they should be aware of corporate and other powerful interests associated with these two subjects to protect themselves from potentialsafety hazards.

Arbab Sher Ali, a PTI Member ofNational Assembly, said journalists covering energy transition and climate justice must always keep public interest in mind.

`By promoting sensationalism and focusing on trivia, journalists often undermine even parliamentary debates on issues of extreme national importance. They need to avoid these tendencies in order to ensure that energy transition and climate justice are given the seriousness these deserve in news coverage,` he said.

Zafarullah Khan, human rights activist, said climate change and energy transition had become as salient issue in Pakistan as any other human rights subject. `The sphere of human rights continues to expand. The access to clean and green energy and resolution of the climate change related problems, as a part of the right to life, therefore, must be treated by journalists under the ambit of constitutional framework of fundamental rights, he said.

The seminar, `Telling stories as if people matter` was organised by Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development (PRIED).

It was held at the end of a sevenday training that PRIED had organised for journalists from all over Pakistan.