What Is Climate Education?

What is climate change education? Why is it necessary? As we all know, climate change is one of the most consequential phenomena of the 21^st century, with implications far into the future. Yet if well-handled it is manageable and even beneficial to mankind when problems are turned into opportunities.

Climate change education is necessary because any kind of problem cannot be tackled without a clear understanding of the roots, concepts, workings and the entire framework of the issue. Climate education is important because a global effort towards solutions is needed, and we cannot progress without the larger majority of the earth’s population being in agreement and working as one.

Climate education or CCE is basically education about the causes of climate change, the consequences on the global climate system and the socioeconomic impacts thereof. It also covers personal and collective roles and responsibilities as well as attitudes and behaviors needed to address the issue.

Young African students in class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It helps clear up suspicions and win public support by laying bare the very scientific truths and the visible consequences of climate change. Climate change and climate action should be explained in explicit terms but in a positive manner in order to avoid creating scenarios of hopeless gloom and doom which results in inertia.

As research shows, the approach of only sharing the valid but scary outcomes of human driven climate change does not work. It scares people instead of galvanizing them to action. So, what should we do? Climate educators should strive to teach on the issue while neither downplaying the real effects of climate change nor painting doomsday scenarios around it.

Create climate hope.

Why is climate change education important?

The answer simply lies in the basic principles of communication. Communication should be easy, precise and clear, in language that is easily understood and the information given should be relatable and actionable. It should be plain and properly explained.

Communication is key.

A perfect illustration would be the difference between global warming and climate change. These two terms, even though connected are not similar. Global warming is the shooting up of atmospheric temperatures due to the absorption of heat by increased levels of greenhouse gases. Climate change is the resultant effects on the entire planetary climate system. It includes heat waves, increased precipitation and floods, cyclones, droughts etc.

Climate change education is recognized as a precursor to creating a movement that results into actual change and encourages a low carbon footprint and sustainable lifestyle. It is a part of both the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) charter as article 6, the Paris Agreement (Article 12) and Kyoto Protocol (Article 10 e)

 Article 6 is known as Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) and consists of education, training, creating awareness, public participation and public access to information. Education is particularly important for young people because the global youth movement has power to change the trajectory and direction of climate action for better.

But this is not possible if young people do not fully understand what climate change is and how it affects their present and future lives. Climate change is already here, and because of emissions already in the atmosphere, it will continue to be felt many years into the future.

So what next? What is the next course of action?

A good place to begin would be to explain what climate action is. What is the difference between mitigation and adaptation? They are both essential and build on one another Mitigation is the cutting of emissions which by far is the goal of addressing climate change and the reason for all the agreements that exist: the Kyoto Protocol as well as the Paris Agreement.

Adaptation in the simplest of terms is simply learning how to live in an already changing climate, how to deal with and make the best of the unavoidable impacts and how to protect from the dangerous effects of climate change.

This ushers in the issue of creating resilience, which is the ability to rebound from a formerly difficult and negative situation arising from the consequences of climate change. Resilience applies across the board: it is for communities, ecosystems, households, economic sectors and businesses.

Education also covers opportunities for green jobs that can be created as a result of climate action. For example in climate smart agriculture or renewable energy. Use of such methods of farming such as hydroponics, urban farming as well as waste reduction in the agricultural processing chain can create opportunities for employment for young people.

Solar and wind power can be used to power small businesses in far flung areas unconnected to the main grid. Renewable energy powers rapid economic growth, creates jobs and uplifts lives. The energy transformation has the potential to better the fortunes of a country by supporting quicker, faster and green industrialization.

Climate education would go a long way to allay fears about job losses in the fossil fuel sector. It offers a way out by showing the alternatives that are being created by the rapidly growing renewable energy sector and the benefits for human and ecosystem health.

Climate education teaches on the individual roles and responsibilities a person has in regards to climate action. Education helps in equipping one to make informed choices on how they spend their resources. Consumerism is the major force driving environmental destruction, of which climate change is an example.

Climate education also touches on sustainability. Do you live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle? What is your carbon footprint as an entity?

It is holistic, explaining the interconnections between climate change and other sectors of the environment and its relationship with the rest of the sustainable development goals. Sustainable development is socially equitable, environmentally responsible and economically viable. A good way to look at it is its relationship with some of the  SDGs.

I look at some examples below.

Gender equality is goal 5 of the SDGs while climate action is goal 13. For climate action to be effective, it has to incorporate gender equality. Men and women are affected differently and blanket implementation of strategies will not have the desired effect without the consideration and involvement of both genders from top to bottom.

Poverty reduction is goal 1 of the SDGs. Climate change affects the poor disproportionately more than the rich. Countries that are the worst hit from climate change are growing economies and do not have the capacity to insulate themselves or rebound as fast from the impacts. Therefore climate change increases poverty and worsens inequality. So climate action should be framed in a way that corrects these problems.

Climate education serves to clearly separate lies from the truth. Given that climate change is primarily caused by fossil fuels, it is unavoidably also a political issue, because fossil fuels are the backbone of the industrial age and the support the economy of many a country.

There are a lot of vested interests either in climate action or lack of it. It therefore follows that there is also a lot of misinformation, deliberate or arising from confusion. This needs to be met with clear, precise and trustworthy facts about climate change.

Speaking of climate communication, it would be wise to pick a different approach to it. Inasmuch as the effects of climate change are dangerous, there is plenty of hope and a good fighting chance if the world unites behind concrete action to a low carbon pathway. This is the reasoning behind net zero campaign, which aims for net zero emissions at the halfway mark this century.

Although this is doable, there needs to be real action on the ground not just pledges on paper.

Education about climate change is also a pillar of climate justice, because it enables those put at a disadvantage by climate change, that is, island and coastal nations, women and girls, African countries, people of color and others to better be able to agitate for their rights, and from an informed position.

Education goes hand in hand with training, whereby businesses and organizations are taught of their role in contributing to climate warming and practical ways how they can reduce emissions by making their businesses sustainable and green. This needs to be a continual process, not just a one off affair.

Education can be undertaken in a variety of ways. In schools and learning institutions, climate change can be formally taught as an examinable subject. Peer to peer education and training is a highly influential method as people are likely to trust those whom they know.  It can also be taught in informal settings where as an example farmers can be guided on better performing varieties of crops or water harvesting.

It can be undertaken in community forums on the ground for more efficient and close interaction or it can be through modern mediums of communication such as social media or traditional media like television and radio. Both cater to different audiences and complement each other. Their combined reach would go a long way in bringing about the desired change.

Information about climate change needs to be timely and recent, reporting on new developments, new technologies and new research as released by scientists. This is to remove remaining uncertainties thereby creating more trust, and building consensus and unity on climate action.

In closing, climate education is an important part of climate action, and cannot be overlooked if we are to attain the goals of the Paris Agreement and build a safer, more sustainable and healthier world not only for us, but for future generations as well.

Climate action based on the right information leads to more jobs, a flourishing global economy which is supported by an equally ecologically healthy planet.

This is the role of climate education.