Choosing our Future: Education for Climate Action English Français Español

The event explored how education systems can empower, equip, and skill young people for climate mitigation and adaptation. Education is key for addressing the climate crisis through awareness, behavior change, and skills for green transitions. However, education is massively overlooked in climate financing. Worldwide, education is the single strongest predictor of climate change awareness, and higher levels of education are associated with pro-environmental behaviors, preferences for environmentally friendly policies, and stronger adaptive capacity. Education can generate green skills at scale to propel green transitions – preparing the youth of today for an estimated 100 million new green jobs or for existing jobs that will require green skills. Education can propel climate action. But at the same time, climate change is impeding progress for education. Climate change-induced heat and extreme weather events are significantly disrupting learning. Millions of students worldwide face school closures due to extreme weather events. Low-income countries are disproportionately affected. Even if schools remain open, hotter temperatures have been shown to inhibit learning. As the frequency and severity of extreme weather grows, it’s clear that education systems need to adapt for a changing climate. The event spotlighted how governments could harness education for climate action and adapt schools for climate change, and it launched the report “Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action.” Panelists explored policies, lessons, and financing strategies to achieve this.