Portfolio: Pacific Islands and Climate Journalism

Dr. Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson is an Indigenous climate journalist, scholar, and Chieftess from Savai‘i, Samoa.

She currently reports for The Guardian on climate mobility and Pacific islands , elevating underrepresented voices in global climate discourse.

She was the inaugural Global Climate Collaborations Editor at The Associated Press, where she led the revision of the AP Stylebook on climate change and designed the AP’s first Global South climate journalism training.

With over 20 years of reporting experience, Lagipoiva has contributed to local and global outlets including Samoa Observer, Newsline Samoa, AFP, Al Jazeera English, ABC Radio Australia, New Zealand Herald, and CNN. She is also Co-Chair of Covering Climate Now and a Gender Council Member of the International Federation of Journalists.

Lagipoiva established The New Atoll, a digital magazine focused on international issues affecting Pacific islands. She completed her Doctorate in 2022 which=examines the sovereignty implications of the climate crisis on atoll nations of the Pacific and the legal pathways available under international law. She is the incoming inaugural Professor of Pacific Island Studies at Portland State University where she will teach climate journalism and indigenous Pacific island studies.