Introducing the Newest Cohort of National Geographic Explorers Supported by the National Geographic Society and The Climate Pledge

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 30, 2024) –– Today, the National Geographic Society and The Climate Pledge announced the third cohort of National Geographic Explorers who will document the global climate crisis and its solutions through funding provided by the Society’s Global Storytellers Fund. Together, the two organizations fund a global community of photographers, writers, filmmakers, cartographers and multimedia artists. The Climate Pledge is a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.

The five Explorers to be supported through this collaboration in 2024 include:

• Brent Stirton, a South African photographer, who will examine and photograph the intersections of humans, animals and habitats on a global scale that constantly interact and affect each other in a quest for better planetary health.
• Doel Trivedy, an Indian director and producer, who will use film to document northeastern India’s unique ecosystems, its farmers and the Indigenous communities impacted by climate change.
• M’hammed Kilito, a Moroccan photographer, who will use photography to showcase the diversity of West Asia and North Africa’s oases and their inhabitants by shedding light on the overlooked issues of oasis degradation.
• Nichole Sobecki, an American photographer and filmmaker, who will use photography to document how climate change is transforming women’s reproductive lives and nature of motherhood across a web of women’s stories from the Sahara to the Arctic.
• Paolo Verzone, an Italian photographer and filmmaker, who will explore the potential of nuclear fusion through the use of photography and mapping that documents the potential promise of emissions-free energy becoming a reality.

“We established the Global Storytellers Fund to recruit, support and elevate the very best climate storytellers in the world who are cultivating empathy and understanding of real crises across the globe,” said Kaitlin Yarnall, the Society’s Chief Storytelling Officer. “We’ve accomplished great strides over the past three years with support from The Climate Pledge, which shares our passion in the power of story to address urgent global issues. This cohort of five National Geographic Explorers each bring a unique perspective to this critical work as they bring their stories about the global climate crisis to the forefront.”

The collaboration with The Climate Pledge advances early-career and established storytellers with the funding, training and exposure necessary to bring their stories about the global climate crisis to the forefront.

“National Geographic storytellers help shed light into some of the most important stories of our time – how climate change is affecting different aspects of life in all corners of the planet,” said Sally Fouts, Global Lead for the Climate Pledge at Amazon. “This group of Explorers is bringing a new lens to climate storytelling and we are proud to be kicking off a third year of this exciting program.”

Ten other Explorers have previously received funding from this collaboration — Lynsey Addario, a U.S. photojournalist; Pablo Albarenga, an Uruguayan visual storyteller; Malin Fezehai, an Eritrean, American and Swedish photographer, filmmaker, and visual reporter; Gab Mejia, a Filipino conservation photographer, environmental storyteller, and engineer; Davide Monteleone, an Italian visual artist and researcher; Ciril Jazbec, a Slovenian documentary photographer and filmmaker; Luján Agusti, an Argentinian visual storyteller; Miora Rajaonary, a Malagasy documentary photographer; Kiliii Yüyan, a Nanai/Hèzhé (East Asian Indigenous) and Chinese American photographer; and Asha Stuart, an African American documentary photographer and filmmaker.

About The Climate Pledge

In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reaching net-zero carbon by 2040 through decarbonization and high-quality offsets, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Now, more than 470 organizations have signed The Climate Pledge, sending an important signal that there will be rapid growth in demand for products and services that help reduce carbon emissions. Visit The Climate Pledge site for more information.