A message from Michael E Mann, presidential distinguished professor, University of Pennsylvania and one of the world’s most influential climate scientists, on behalf of the Guardian.

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Fellow Guardian reader,

News reporting will play a major role in driving the political change we need to keep global warming below catastrophic levels.

In my view, the Guardian does some of the best reporting around on the climate. It doesn’t hold back from describing the devastating consequences of the climate crisis or from calling out those who engage in denial and delay.

By contrast, media organisations like Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp bear as much culpability for the predicament we’re in than anyone else on Earth. Of course, they haven’t acted alone. Rightwing politicians, plutocrats and bad actors like Vladimir Putin and the Saudi royal family have joined them in promoting denial, deflection, and delay.

It is well past the time for fence-sitting: media outlets must call out bad actors so there is a public penalty for their misdeeds.

If, like me, you appreciate the Guardian’s reporting on the climate crisis, you can help fund their independent journalism today by clicking here.

While we certainly must drive home the urgency of climate action, we also need the kind of coverage often seen in the Guardian that emphasises the agency that we have. Messages of despair can potentially lead people down the path of inaction rather than action.

It’s in that spirit of hope that I ask you today to support journalism that acknowledges the scale of the challenge ahead but also challenges political leaders to do more and share ideas for major systemic change.