NY Times biz reporter Gelles joining climate desk

Hannah Fairfield, the climate editor at the New York Times, sent out the following on Thursday:

As the climate crisis continues to grow, affecting all aspects of society and our natural world,  New York Times climate coverage is expanding in parallel. We are building on our already strong foundation to help readers understand not just the scale and urgency of the problem, but how powerful institutions are responding.

We are delighted to announce that David Gelles is joining the Climate desk to help cover an important part of our mission: the nexus between government and the private sector. At the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow last fall, a record number of corporate leaders promised to reduce their carbon footprint while financial institutions and investors pledged to spend heavily on green energy. David will examine the corporate influence on government action on all levels — federal, state and local — to reveal which corporate players are serious about mitigating climate change and which are just posing, or worse. He will report deeply to uncover actions and conflicts on the government side while also closely scrutinizing the role of companies, business interests and the financial sector.

David has written for the Business section since joining the paper in 2013. He was part of the team that covered the Boeing 737 Max crashes with a mix of investigations and breaking news, work that won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2020. For the past five years, he has chronicled corporate leaders and the culture wars, writing about C.E.O.s as they tangled with President Trump and navigated fraught issues like gun rights, climate change and restrictive voting laws.

In 2017 he relaunched the Corner Office column, interviewing more than 100 business and cultural leaders and expanding the franchise with live events. David has also moderated at many Times events, including the Climate Hub in Glasgow and DealBook conferences.

“David has had a splendid run in Biz, building on the success of Corner Office and extending its reach,” said Ellen Pollock, who leads the Business desk. “His work on the Boeing crash stories and his coverage of C.E.O.s, especially how they grappled with issues like voting rights, was stellar and will be long remembered.”

David is a fluid writer and clear thinker who has contributed broadly across the paper, writing for Arts, Books, Sports, Obituaries and others. He has helped with coverage of the Covid-19 vaccines, investigated corporate maneuvers that allowed a chemical manufacturer to evade responsibility for pollution in North Carolina, and created meditation guides for Well. Before The Times, David was a reporter for the Financial Times, where he interviewed Bernie Madoff in prison.

Please join us in congratulating David. He starts his new beat on February 28.