Gelles to write “Climate Forward” newsletter for NY Times

New York Times climate editor Hannah Fairfield sent out the following on Tuesday:

I am delighted to announce that after a year of excellent climate reporting on the nexus between government policy and the private sector, David Gelles is bringing his energy and enthusiasm to a new challenge: leading the Climate Forward newsletter.

David will be the managing correspondent for Climate Forward, writing twice a week for the newsletter, an indispensable source of news and analysis about our rapidly warming world. David will take the baton from Somini Sengupta, whose fast analysis and thought-provoking essays have made it a must-read since it became a subscriber-only product in March 2022. Somini will move to an expanded role as global climate correspondent. Manuela Andreoni, based in Brazil, will continue her strong run as senior writer on the newsletter.

David will also take a lead role in programming and hosting the successful Climate Forward live events, building on the New York Times Climate Hub in Glasgow in 2021 and similar New York Times live journalism events in London, San Francisco, New York and Sharm el Sheikh last year. In addition, David will continue to write impactful narratives and analysis for the main report.

“I’m excited that David will be bringing his expertise, energy and insightful reporting to Climate Forward,” said Adam Pasick, editorial director of newsletters, who will be editing the newsletter. “It will evolve to take advantage of his skills and to address the challenges and opportunities of this uniquely important story.”

David joined the Climate desk in March 2022 after nine years writing for Business, and quickly proved to be a versatile reporter who delivered beautifully written scoops and stories, while also appearing on “The Daily” and participating in many Climate Forward live events. He wrote deeply reported stories about the organized efforts to stymie climate action, and his unique position straddling both the corporate world and the climate universe paid off in a huge scoop about Yvon Chouinard’s decision to give away his company, Patagonia, and ensure its future profits support environmental causes.

When it comes to New York Times live events, David’s work during Climate Week in September 2022 was one for the history books, when he repeatedly pressed David Malpass, World Bank president, about whether he accepted climate science. When Mr. Malpass obfuscated, David refused to let him off easily. Ultimately, Mr. Malpass stepped down from his job a year early.

Please welcome David to the new job; he will take the helm of Climate Forward on June 19.