The Pacific Warriors were highly visible in the media, gaining local and international coverage in outlets including the BBC; the Financial Times, the Voice of America, Al-Jazeera; and Radio New Zealand.

The Guardian rated the Warriors’ blockade one of ‘the ‘Top 10 sustainability campaigns of 2014’, describing it as the ‘David versus Goliath campaign of the year’.

Media reports featured the striking imagery generated by the Warriors, beneath headlines such as ‘South Pacific flotilla to protest climate change inaction at Australia coal port’ (Reuters) and ‘Australians divided over coal policy’ (Financial Times). 

Coverage of the blockade in the Financial Times led with the news of the relocation of almost 300 Fijians due to rising sea levels and erosion, and reported on the falling global prices for coal. The BBC’s account highlighted Australia’s position as the worst polluter per head of population in the developed world, as well its status as the world’s largest coal exporter. In the Huffington Post, 350 Pacific’s Fenton Lutunatabua described how the Warriors represented a movement of thousands of Pacific Islanders who were ‘rising to protect ourselves in the face of climate change’. 

Media coverage continued following the blockade. To illustrate:

• in 2015, Vogue profiled Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, the Marshallese Warrior whose poetry was quoted earlier in this chapter in an article on women climate change campaigners from around the world, entitled ‘Climate Warriors’. 
• During the COP 21 climate talks in Paris, the Warriors developed a strong international media presence.
• In 2017, Deutsche Welle reported on their participation in anti-coal protests in Germany ahead of the 2017 Bonn climate talks.
• The Ecologist reported in 2018 on how the Pacific Warriors are applying traditional knowledge to protect Pacific Islanders from the threat of climate change.
• Radio New Zealand reported how the Pacific Climate Warriors led the September 2019 school strike march, and in 2020, Global Citizen rated the 2014 blockade as one of ‘12 Important Moments in the History of Climate Action‘.