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Markus Spiske / Unsplash
Markus Spiske / Unsplash

Climate action and literacy

The world is undeniably facing a climate emergency. As defenders of truth and science, teachers are mobilising for climate justice and literacy.

We are working to ensure climate change education is taught in schools across the world to equip students with the critical knowledge they need in their daily lives and to inform their choices as active citizens. We advocate for climate education to be integrated into curricula, initial teacher training and continuous professional development and for education to be recognised as a key tool in the fight against climate change.

Together with students, with the global trade union movement and civil society partners, we advocate for a just transition in order to secure workers’ rights and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production.

Our work in this area

  1. Worlds of Education 9 November 2021

    In France, the role of Sustainable Development Advisor in schools

    Émeline is a Life and Earth Sciences teacher and Sustainable Development Advisor. After 10 years in a REP+ (Priority Education Network) in the Créteil academy, Émeline arrived at the François Perron secondary school in Cerilly. It is a rural school, north of Montluçon in the Allier department, with 108 pupils....

    In France, the role of Sustainable Development Advisor in schools
  2. News 5 November 2021

    COP26 event | Teaching for climate action: Schools shaping the future

    Event co-organised by the OECD, Education International, and UNESCO

    The education sector has a unique role to play in building a greener twenty-first century. The OECD, Education International, and UNESCO have launched a joint initiative to gather teaching expertise on what makes a difference in empowering students for climate action.

    COP26 event | Teaching for climate action: Schools shaping the future
  3. News 5 November 2021

    COP26 event | Roundtable: Why climate literacy and civic skill building will solve the climate crisis – Answers from civil society, educators, and governments

    The discussion highlights EARTHDAY.ORG’s Climate and Environmental Literacy Campaign and its mission to ensure every school worldwide has integrated, assessed climate and environmental education with a strong education component.

    COP26 event | Roundtable: Why climate literacy and civic skill building will solve the climate crisis – Answers from civil society, educators, and governments
  4. News 5 November 2021

    COP 26 dispatch: Net-zero, carbon markets and quality climate education

    Alanah Torralba

    Activists and the private sector are clashing over ‘net zero’ and carbon markets at COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland. At the crucial climate talks, activists such as Greta Thunberg slammed the recent announcement of UN finance ambassador Mark Carney that more than 450 financial institutions under the banner Glasgow Financial...

    COP 26 dispatch: Net-zero, carbon markets and quality climate education
  5. News 4 November 2021

    COP26 dispatch: Global leaders meet at COP26 as the world demands urgent climate action

    Alanah Torralba

    COP 26, slated as the most important climate summit since the Paris Agreement was forged in 2015, kicked off in Glasgow, Scotland last Monday with a series of statements from high-level actors, ranging from heads of state, business leaders, activists, and prominent media personalities.

    COP26 dispatch: Global leaders meet at COP26 as the world demands urgent climate action
  6. News 3 November 2021

    COP26 | Climate Action Day

    Climate Action Day is a live, online event produced by Take Action Global, that serves as the culminating celebration of the Climate Action Project, a six-week initiative involving 2.7 million people across 145 countries.

    COP26 | Climate Action Day
  7. Worlds of Education 3 November 2021

    Who’s making the grade on climate change education ambition?

    Christina Kwauk

    The release of the 6th IPCC report on the physical science of climate change this year raised the alarm around the urgency to act on the climate crisis. Clearly, global leaders did not heed the previous five alarms nor did they listen to recent calls to increase the ambition of...

    Who’s making the grade on climate change education ambition?
  8. Worlds of Education 2 November 2021

    Aotearoa New Zealand, education unions and climate change

    Liam Rutherford

    Aotearoa New Zealand is in a privileged position, along with a small number of other countries, of being relatively COVID-free. We do face many challenges that the rest of the world often doesn’t hear about – such as serious pollution of our waterways, extreme levels of poverty and inequality, a...

    Aotearoa New Zealand, education unions and climate change
  9. News 29 October 2021

    Educators call on world leaders at COP26 to ensure quality climate education for all

    World leaders are meeting in Glasgow, Scotland from 31 October to 12 November for the UN Climate Conference (COP26). As they decide the way forward in the fight against climate change, the educators of the world call on them to prioritise education in their climate strategies and ensure climate literacy...

    Educators call on world leaders at COP26 to ensure quality climate education for all
  10. Worlds of Education 29 October 2021

    Need tools for climate change education? Try the bicycle model 

    Dr. Essi Aarnio-Linnanvuori, Dr. Sakari Tolppanen

    Climate change is the biggest environmental challenge of our time, which is why it is also a central theme in education. However, in many countries, climate change education is still viewed and implemented from a narrow perspective, the focus being mainly on knowledge development. Though knowledge is important, climate change...

    Need tools for climate change education? Try the bicycle model 
  11. News 25 October 2021

    Seven things to know about COP 26: A quick guide for education unionists

    Alanah Torralba

    After a one-year delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, world leaders, negotiators, civil society representatives and key stakeholders will be convening for the UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland from October 31 to November 12. The two-week conference aims to mobilise urgently needed climate action in order to meet the...

    Seven things to know about COP 26: A quick guide for education unionists
  12. News 13 October 2021

    Educators in Asia-Pacific call for an urgent commitment to quality climate change education

    Participants at the Education International Asia-Pacific (EIAP) Region’s Conference, “Mobilising Educators for Climate Change Education”, urge governments, education unions in the region, and delegates to the 2021 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP 26) to ensure quality climate change education (CCE) for all and to recognise its role in...

    Educators in Asia-Pacific call for an urgent commitment to quality climate change education
  13. News 12 October 2021

    Teach for the Planet: Asia-Pacific educators campaign for climate change education for all

    Educators and their unions from the Asia-Pacific region have urged governments to urgently prioritise the provision of quality climate change education. On 11 October, educators launched the Education International Asia-Pacific (EIAP) Region’s campaign, “Educators for Sustainable Development”, by calling for government support for teachers in their climate action initiatives.

    Teach for the Planet: Asia-Pacific educators campaign for climate change education for all
  14. Publications

    Teach for the Planet | An Education Unionist’s Guide to Climate Education Advocacy

    Alanah Torralba
    30 September 2021

    We can still avoid the worst consequences of climate change if we start making critical changes today. This is where teachers can make a difference: by educating students and their communities about the pathways to a more livable and equitable future.

    Teach for the Planet | An Education Unionist’s Guide to Climate Education Advocacy
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  15. News 28 September 2021

    New research: World fails in climate education despite urgent need to act

    New research from Education International shows that despite the urgency of the climate crisis, countries around the world are not prioritising climate education, a fundamental component for a sustainable future. The research examined the level of ambition on climate education and the extent to which countries prioritise education as a...

    New research: World fails in climate education despite urgent need to act