The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has today broadcast the eleventh edition of the series of #Biodirectos, a series of online meetings, broadcast live and simultaneously on its different social media channels that has today dealt with the “New ways of communicating environmental challenges”.

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, today inaugurated the eleventh edition of the series of #Biodirectos, a series of online meetings, broadcast live and simultaneously on its different social media channels. On this occasion, it has dealt with the “New ways of communicating environmental challenges” organized by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO).

The meeting addressed the role of new technologies, and specifically social networks, as channels that have changed the way of communicating and have become key tools for informing about the climate crisis, as well as the involvement of the youngest sector of the population in terms of environmental dissemination and awareness.

Hugo Morán recalled the important role played by information and communication in times of uncertainty in a context such as this one of global change. Thus, he stressed the importance of translating global messages to the local level to “join forces and achieve, among all, an involvement through these messages launched by the  fluencers spread throughout the territory”.

The physicist, meteorologist and communicator Isabel Moreno, the physicist and science communicator, José Luis Crespo, and the environmentalist Diego Ferraz also participated in today’s event. During their speeches, all the participants agreed that in order to communicate the new environmental challenges, cooperation between the different content creators is necessary and the generation of information with a certain scientific basis to promote the involvement of all actors in society.

During this meeting, it was highlighted that 85% of internet users between the ages of 16 and 70 use social networks, which represents almost 27 million people in Spain, a percentage that rises to 92% in the age group between 16 and 24 years old.  Similarly, 55% of users consider social networks a source of information that also allows them to interact and participate with other profiles in an immediate and accessible way. In line with this, platforms such as YouTube are presented as the second most visited website in the world, followed by the social network Instagram, and Twitter. In this way , the digital environment is configured as the natural channel for the new generations when it comes to generating information and opinion.  

According to a study by the SM Foundation that collects the opinions of young Spaniards between the ages of 15 and 29, 80% of them consider climate change to be the main problem in Spain. Almost 90% believe that the environment is very or quite important. In this context, during the meeting it was highlighted that the young population has a fundamental transformative role as it is one of the most environmentally aware segments, which is an opportunity to highlight trained and aware profiles that disseminate truthful and useful content aimed at raising awareness in society in general.