Photojournalist's images showing 'beauty of nature' to be shown at UN climate change meeting

Jo-Anne McArthur knows the images she captures through her lens can be tough to look at, but she says they're stories that need to be told.

Two of her photos will be part of an exhibit held at COP26, the United Nations climate change conference that starts this weekend in Glasgow, Scotland. One shows a kangaroo surrounded by the charred remains of her home after the 2020 fires in Australia. The other is of a cow in transport at the Bulgaria-Turkey border. 

"These images are proof of the destruction we're creating, they bring us face-to-face with the problems and also the solutions and the beauty of nature," McArthur said.

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The exhibit, which will include 10 images, comes from The Earth Project's environmental and biodiversity photography competition. The goal of the competition is to promote the importance of taking care of the planet. 

After the summit, the plan is to take the exhibit on the road to local communities around the world — including Toronto.

McArthur hopes the photos being shared through The Earth Project provoke change.

"All of these animals, this planet, it's worth saving. And one of the joys of photography is we get to show that."