Washington Post hires Grist’s Osaka to cover climate

Washington Post climate and environment editor Zachary Goldfarb, climate and environment deputy editor Juliet Eilperin and climate solutions editor Dayana Sarkisova sent out the following on Wednesday:

We’re excited to announce that Shannon Osaka will join us as a climate reporter.

In this new role, which is part of a significant expansion of climate coverage at The Post, Shannon will author quick-turn analysis and explanatory features about the most interesting and compelling topics in climate and environmental news – from debates over fast fashion and ethical eating to the latest scientific findings and policy proposals in the U.S. and around the world. Shannon will seek to engage a broad and diverse audience with accessible, sharply-framed pieces that embrace a wide variety of storytelling formats.

Shannon comes to The Post after two and a half years at the nonprofit environment journalism outlet Grist, where she analyzed federal climate policy, the energy transition, and ideas about climate change. She covered everything from the concept of “degrowing” the economy to France’s attempt to give 150 randomly selected citizens power over climate policy. She has also explored the tricky politics around federal climate legislation in the U.S. and the accessibility of electric cars for low-income households.

Shannon is a two-time winner of the SEAL Award for Environmental Journalism and recently received the Covering Climate Now Award for Emerging Journalist. Last year, a piece that she co-authored on the planet’s seven possible climate “tipping points” received an Online Journalism Award for topical reporting on climate change.

Shannon was born and raised in San Jose, Calif. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, where she studied environmental science and environmental studies. After graduating, she was named Princeton’s Sachs Scholar at the University of Oxford, where she received a master’s degree in human geography and published academic papers on climate change perception and modeling.

Shannon lives in Washington, D.C. In her spare time she loves to rock climb, play board games, and follow the U.S. women’s elite gymnastics team.