Climate change education can change the world as much as wind turbines
With the world hoping genuine change in policy will emerge from the upcoming COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Education International has revealed that climate education is “dismal” across the world.
And experts claim climate education is potentially as important as technology in combatting the dire effects of man-made climate change.
EI’s research examined the extent to which countries prioritise education as a tool for climate action, finding countries failing “across the board”.
The Education International Climate Change Education Ambition Report Card analysed the 73 national climate action plans according to six criteria, and only three countries scored 50% or more. (Come on down, Cambodia, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic!)
Only 17 climate plans specifically referenced the education of children and youth.
"Amid the global climate catastrophe, climate education is not optional. It is absolutely vital. Students need the knowledge and skills to navigate this crisis and effect positive change. Their lives depend on it. Governments need to step up urgently and ensure quality climate change education for all. Teachers are ready to do their part," said David Edwards, Education International General Secretary.
“Alarmingly, countries where Fridays for Future strikes were most active were not any more likely to mention climate change education, intergenerational equity, or the wellbeing of future generations… than countries with fewer youth climate strikes,” EI reported.
In Australia the School Strikes for Climate are the equivalent of Fridays for Future strikes. Our climate plan does not mention children and youth. Like 66 of 73 countries surveyed, Australia does not mention teachers or engaging teachers and teacher unions as a “climate stakeholder group”.
Make it mandatory
On Wednesday 27 October, the British parliament debated climate change education for the first time. Nadia Whittome and Scarlett Westbrook, writing for The Independent, said this was the “first step towards making the teaching of sustainability and the climate crisis mandatory”.
They say the education system is failing the young people who will face the full effect of climate inaction later this century.
“Whilst we’re told to list the benefits of climate change in geography lessons, we’re not once taught about the historical events and political systems that catalysed the climate crisis, the social and economic repercussions that this catastrophe will induce, or what constitutes the possible solutions.
“Consequently, we’re not equipped with the skills we need to live and work in a world increasingly impacted by the climate crisis…”
Whittome and Westbrook say 70 per cent of UK teachers reported no mention of the climate in their training, and only 4 per cent of students said that they knew much about the climate crisis.
“It’s clear that students aren’t adequately prepared for the workforce they’ll inherit, and teachers aren’t equipped to deliver this vital education.”
They call for climate education “centred in all subjects”, saying the climate crisis will affect everyone, “whether they are a builder or a banker, a carer or a pharmacist”.
Victorian students rally for climate action, May 2021.
“Climate education needs to be extended to include knowledge about how to stop and abate the climate emergency and ecological crisis, deliver climate justice and provide support for students to deal with eco and climate anxiety …”
They call for reforms to teacher training qualifications to prepare teachers to educate their students on the climate crisis; climate apprenticeships in the renewable energy sector; and expanding vocational courses so that they cover sustainability.
More powerful than wind turbines
In the US, a Brookings Institute paper states there is now an opportunity for a “new green learning agenda”.
“Recent research shows that if only 16 percent of high school students in high- and middle-income countries were to receive climate change education, we could see a nearly 19 gigaton reduction of carbon dioxide by 2050.
“When education helps students develop a strong personal connection to climate solutions, as well as a sense of personal agency and empowerment, it can have consequential impact on students’ daily behaviours and decision-making that reduces their overall lifetime carbon footprint.”
Authors Christina Kwauk and Rebecca Winthrop say leveraging the power of education is “potentially more powerful than solely increasing investments in onshore wind turbines (47 gigaton reduction) or concentrated solar power (19 gigaton reduction) alone”.
“When we say that all climate solutions are needed to draw down greenhouse gases, we must also mean education solutions, too.”
Education can also save lives by reducing climate risk vulnerability, thereby lessening the incidence and severity of floods, droughts, wildfires, extreme temperature events, and extreme weather events.
“The death toll from such events could be 60 percent lower by 2050 if 70 percent of women were able to achieve a lower-secondary-school education.”
And building green skills improves problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, coping with uncertainty, empathy, and negotiation.
“In the U.S., 80 percent of parents (2 out of 3 Republicans and 9 out of 10 Democrats) and in the U.K. 77 percent of adults support teaching climate change in school. Teachers and school administrators are eager to take up the challenge but feel they need more training and relevant learning materials to do so.
“In the U.S., 86 percent of teachers believe climate change should be taught in school, but nearly 60 percent of teachers report they do not teach climate change because they believe it is outside of their subject area.
“In the U.K., 69 percent of teachers agree that there should be more teaching on climate change, yet nearly 75 percent feel that doing so would push them beyond their knowledge and training.
“In Europe, 71 percent of teachers believe that in two years’ time the public will view climate change as a serious issue to discuss and learn about in school, but again the majority of teachers feel they needed more training and materials to do so.”
The Brookings Institute has set an “audacious yet achievable goal” of climate action projects in every school by 2025.
Rich and clueless
Top 20 emitters and 20 richest countries do not mention climate change education
Only 3 of the top carbon emitting countries refer to the wellbeing of future generations
Countries scoring above 90% (when scores are adjusted upwards) are all countries with greater climate vulnerability.
(* Figures from Education International.)
Solutions
Fund, resource, and strengthen education systems as a climate-relevant sector
Prioritise as a climate strategy quality climate change education that is based on science, oriented to climate action, and takes an intersectional approach to climate justice
Involve teachers and educators as key stakeholders in climate policy and decision-making.
ACTU’s climate call
ACTU President Michele O’Neil has called on Australians to email their MP to demand more action on climate change.
She says while Australia has finally joined much of the world in setting an official date to reach net zero carbon emissions, the new net zero target won't be enshrined in legislation.
“Additionally, as part of the deal to bring Nationals politicians on board with the net zero commitment, Scott Morrison ruled out joining more than 100 other nations in raising ambitions for 2030 emissions reduction ahead of next week's climate conference.”
Victorian students rally for climate action, May 2021.