Broadcasters from around the world have joined forces to combat climate change, acknowledging their essential role as opinion influencers and urging the industry to set quantifiable targets for a reduced carbon footprint.

Participants representing around 1000 broadcasters agreed upon the "The Paris Declaration on Broadcast Media and Climate Change," which will strengthen regional and international collaboration, and encourage production and dissemination of audiovisual content to give a voice to marginalized populations affected by climate change.

Delegates at the first ever UNESCO Broadcast Media and Climate Change conference in Paris came together to consider a global consensus on climate change, and to facilitate the use of materials between developing and developed country broadcasters.

"This is a watershed moment for the broadcasting industry," said Satinder Bindra, United Nation Environment Programme Director of Communications, who participated in the conference.

"The more allies, talent and creativity that we can garner in the fight against climate change and its dire consequences, the greater the chance of succeeding in tackling the greatest challenge of our generation," he added.

The declaration detailed that an increased public understanding of the urgency of climate change is essential to reduce its negative impacts and to avert human suffering. It also underlined that access to relevant information on climate change is vital for human survival, and that there are significant social, economic and environmental benefits in taking action to combat the effects of climate change.

The conference brought together national broadcasters from developing and developed countries with representatives of international broadcasting associations, regional broadcasting unions, scientific organizations and climate-related agencies to discuss the role of the broadcaster in relation to climate change.