The recognition marks another international milestone for The Climate Watch, whose Bangladesh investigation formed part of EJN’s cross-border “Dark Side of the Boom” project on the hidden environmental cost of Asia’s digital expansion.
The Climate Watch has been recognised as part of the Earth Journalism Network’s cross-border reporting project “Dark Side of the Boom,” which has won the SOPA 2026 Award for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment in the Regional/Local category.
The award, announced by SOPA, The Society of Publishers in Asia, honours outstanding environmental journalism across Asia. The winning project brought together 14 newsrooms across 11 countries to investigate the hidden environmental and social costs of Asia’s fast-growing digital economy, including data centres, artificial intelligence infrastructure, cloud computing and other resource-intensive technologies.
The Climate Watch was one of the participating newsrooms in the regional collaboration. Its Bangladesh story, “Digital Dreams, Parched Reality: The Hidden Cost of Bangladesh’s Data Industry Gold Rush,” was written by environmental journalist Shamsuddin Illius as part of the Earth Journalism Network project.
The investigation examined how Bangladesh’s growing data-centre sector is placing fresh pressure on electricity, groundwater and climate-vulnerable communities at a time when the country is still struggling with energy security, the clean power transition and environmental governance.
The story reported that Bangladesh’s digital infrastructure ambitions are attracting local and foreign investment but also raising serious questions about power demand, groundwater extraction, environmental disclosure and the absence of a strong regulatory framework for sustainable data-centre development.
The wider “Dark Side of the Boom” project was produced by the Earth Journalism Network in collaboration with regional newsrooms and partners, including SourceMaterial and the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network.
For The Climate Watch, the SOPA recognition comes in the same week that the outlet was also named among Asian newsrooms recognised through a special 2026 Osborn Elliott Prize citation for journalistic innovation. The citation acknowledged the importance of collaborative cross-border reporting in exposing complex environmental issues that extend beyond national borders.
Shamsuddin Illius said “This recognition is a reminder of why cross-border investigative journalism matters, especially when climate, technology, water, energy and accountability are increasingly connected.”
The Climate Watch Executive Editor Md Ibrahim Khalilullah said the recognition reflects the growing importance of independent environmental journalism from Bangladesh and the need to connect local evidence with regional and global debates.
“The acknowledgement also comes at a time when climate and environmental journalists across Asia are increasingly investigating how economic growth, technology, energy demand and ecological risks are becoming deeply interconnected,” he said.
He said the recognition carries particular significance for Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, where development choices are increasingly shaped by energy-intensive industries, rapid urban expansion, digital infrastructure and rising pressure on natural resources.
The Climate Watch said its participation in the award-winning collaboration shows that Bangladesh-based journalism can contribute meaningfully to global conversations on climate justice, sustainable technology and environmental accountability.
The award is also a proud moment for Bangladesh’s environmental journalism community, demonstrating that stories from climate-vulnerable countries can reach major international platforms when they are grounded in evidence, field reporting, collaboration and the public interest.
Through this achievement, The Climate Watch has further strengthened its position as an emerging independent platform committed to climate accountability, environmental transparency and solutions-oriented journalism in Bangladesh and South Asia.
