Greening the future
Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution threaten the very survival of human beings. UNESCO's ambitious Greening project aims to transform every learner into an agent of real change by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to tackle climate change. The project will work to green schools, policies, curricula and teacher training all with Sustainable Development Goal Target 4.7 in sight.
Despite the gravity of the situation, UNESCO findings show that around half of 100 countries reviewed had no climate change element in their national curriculum frameworks. And while 95% of surveyed teachers felt teaching about climate change was important, less than 30% felt capable of such teaching in relation to their local context. At the same time, 75% of youth say they fear for the future and are at the forefront in calling upon governments to urgently transform education systems.
Through this project, and as UN lead agency on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), UNESCO aims to ensure all 193 of its Member States have climate change education in their education sector policies and as core curriculum components by 2030 along with greening teacher training institutions and schools.
Green teacher training
The project will support teachers across the world to address climate change and other planetary issues regardless of their subject areas. UNESCO will develop guidance for greening quality assurance criteria for teacher education institutions along with training for leaders of those institutions while encouraging Member States to put into practice whole-institution transformation. It will support the creation a network of green teacher trainers across the world and encourage Member States to green their teacher training programmes by making use of the UNESCO Global Education Coalition’s Global Teacher Campus and green teacher trainers provided.
Green schools
The project will develop a encourage the whole-school approach to climate education to transform education content, pedagogy as well as school culture and community engagement. It will develop green school quality standards tailored for school accreditation schemes, school leadership, teachers and support staff and support Member States to adopt green school schemes.
Green monitoring and research
The project will regularly monitor progress on the number of countries with green education policies, curricula, teacher education institution leaders; teachers trained on greening and global coverage of green schools. Research will take place on climate education practice, the carbon-neutral green economic transition and education; a gendered approach to education for sustainable development; the role of education in sustainable technological advances; and climate change education in the context of poverty.