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Climate Education Efforts in the EU

By Yasmine Hoogendijk

Education plays a pivotal role in shaping the attitudes and perspectives of young individuals in the face of contemporary societal challenges. Within the realm of environmental issues, climate education emerges as a critical component in our collective journey toward a sustainable future. Over the past few years, numerous initiatives at both national and regional levels, notably within the European context, have surfaced with the explicit goal of advancing this cause. However, the efficacy of these measures in empowering the younger generation on environmental issues remains an open question.

United Rising initiative’s “Youth & Environmental Challenges” seeks to address this gap – aiming to empower young people by providing a space and necessary tools to actively contribute to societal changes with a stronger sense of empowerment.

Recognizing climate education as a potent instrument for comprehending current ecological challenges, fostering collaboration, and promoting advocacy, the United Rising initiative endeavours, through this article, to illuminate the diverse efforts made in implementing and designing climate education in the European Union EU.

In addition to shedding light on existing initiatives, United Rising aims to scrutinize the effectiveness of educational measures and propose enhancements to maximize their impact. This article delves into crucial questions, including the EU’s initiatives to support climate education implementation in its Member States and the comprehensiveness of domestic policies, curricula, and guidelines pertaining to this vital subject. Furthermore, the article explores generic steps and focal points states should consider when designing comprehensive climate education frameworks.

Best Practices and Limitations throughout Europe

Throughout the EU, numerous countries have made an effort to implement to some extent climate education into their national systems. Certain Member States have implemented more successful tools, by providing guidelines, materials, and resources for training and evaluation through policies or laws. On the other side, many countries have not succeeded in achieving the same results – presenting some limitations to their commitment. 

Best Practices

Austria

Austria stands out as a trailblazer in advancing robust climate education initiatives. The nation has taken significant strides in integrating environmental and climate-related subjects into its educational curriculum, notably in biology studies.

In 2014, the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science, and Research introduced a comprehensive decree specifically dedicated to environmental education for sustainable development. This decree meticulously outlines its objectives, delineating the challenges, guiding principles, competencies, essential components of the teaching process, and more.

According to the Austrian model, teaching should be done through theory and practical activities, including nature discovery or active participation in local communities. Emphasis is placed on introducing an interdisciplinary approach to environmental education and ensuring that the content of climate education relates to all aspects of the relationship between humans, their choices, and the environment. This interdisciplinary approach is crucial to raising awareness, promoting cooperation and creativity, and changing students’ behaviour towards sustainability. 

Latvia

Another country that has set an example in the promotion of climate education is Latvia – via the implementation of its Environmental Protection Law. The latter calls for climate education to be included in the mandatory curriculum, tailored to fit the specific character of each course. Rather than using the term “environmental” or “climate education,” Latvia uses the broader concept of “education for sustainable development (ESD),” which explicitly discusses the links to social, economic, and political challenges.  Within the principles of education, there is a common thread of raising responsibility and awareness for our environment and society by using projects and discussions based on current-day events.  Besides being established in the Environmental Protection Law, these principles and ideas are also stated in the Latvian Sustainable Development Strategy and its national development plan.

These resources are based on a fusion of the Environmental Protection Law and Education Law. Their aim is to empower schools to craft their national curricula, strategically incorporating the essential subject matter of climate education.

Limitations

Despite the positive examples set by certain Member States, which implemented policies and laws towards the integration of climate education in their national systems, other countries have encountered challenges in developing their education systems in this regard.

France

For instance, in France, the government has demonstrated an insufficient commitment towards enforcing its national curriculum by focusing on other national issues, such as the functioning of its economy. Schools are not supported in the development of students’ civil, social, and environmental awareness, as they are currently not receiving any help or training from the institutions. As a result, the French education system presents strong discrepancies in the offered curricula, and therefore in the students’ level of preparation.

Finland

The Finnish government has embraced a Sustainable Development policy encompassing climate education, emphasizing the integration of ecological sustainability into classroom learning. This policy emphasizes the imperative of enhancing young people’s competencies in sustainable development, beginning from their early education years. Regrettably, the practical implementation of this policy, especially concerning climate education, faces significant challenges.

The decentralized nature of school governance, primarily regulated at the municipal level, presents a hurdle to the effective execution of the government’s initiative. The absence of incentivization from the national government has resulted in many schools not actively embracing or prioritizing this imperative. Moreover, another limitation lies in the fact that teachers often lack the training, guidelines, and time to teach their students climate education, leading to limited or no climate education. 

A model for developing climate education

Across various states, a spectrum of approaches to climate education exists, with some being more comprehensive than others. In many countries, learning materials have not been updated in a decade or longer, and some subjects might be limited in scope due to the country’s culture or history.

Climate education aims to address challenges at local, national, and global levels, necessitating the revision and expansion of outdated educational materials to encompass these pressing issues within school curricula. Within academic circles, discussions persist regarding the optimal model for climate education, particularly concerning sustainability management. Indeed, an influential study conducted in Poland has put forward a set of potential generic steps to enhance climate education throughout Europe. While the study has certain limitations, it emphasizes its intent to inspire institutions and scientists to adapt its principles to local contexts and serve as a foundational resource for education. 

Within the framework of the proposed generic model, the primary aim of climate education is to heighten awareness and cultivate behavioural changes among students, with an eye toward the future. This objective is achieved by adopting an interdisciplinary approach wherein students will learn about the interlinkages between the climate and environment and our human choices.  Other educational objectives include learning about prevention, mitigation, and adaptation strategies for different environmental challenges.  On a socio-emotional level, it is about encouraging others to protect, promoting collaboration for climate strategies, and understanding everyone’s impact on the environment from a local and global perspective. Behavioural learning objectives involve empowering students to advocate for vulnerable populations, critically assess their actions in an environmental context, and endorse climate-friendly policies and actions.  To realise these objectives, teaching methodologies include cognitive and practical exercises.

While the school curriculum plays a pivotal role in climate education, its transformation into a catalyst for change requires more than just curriculum adjustments. Schools necessitate improved management and communication systems, alongside increased macro-level investments.

This comprehensive model extends its reach across all levels of education, spanning from primary schools to professional education. It champions a “whole institution approach,” advocating for the integration of sustainability and climate education across all facets of an institution’s operations. This approach demands not only the inclusion of sustainability and climate education in the curriculum but also active engagement with the community, long-term planning, consistent monitoring, and evaluation.

Additionally, this model includes a holistic approach that considers the complexity of our society and how our political, social, economic, and ecological systems are interdependent. Due to this interdependency, elements of our society and its challenges cannot be tackled in isolation but require an interdisciplinary approach.  When implementing these approaches, it is essential to remember that climate change is dynamic; thus, as new research and findings emerge, climate education should evolve. Ultimately, a well-implemented whole institutional approach is necessary to achieve all long-term and short-term benefits of climate education. 

Final remarks…

United Rising believes that climate education stands as a cornerstone in shaping the leadership and empowerment of today’s youth. However, across educational landscapes, implementation varies markedly due to the limited scope of harmonization within the EU. This article sheds light on exemplary practices observed in Latvia and Austria, emphasizing the pivotal role of interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability approaches in their educational frameworks.

In contrast, the challenges faced by France and Finland underscore the critical need for robust governmental commitment and support concerning both the design and allocation of resources for effective climate education initiatives.

The proposed model for climate education presents a compelling blueprint, highlighting the potential for harmonizing our educational systems. This model emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach, offering a framework that could serve as a basis for unifying diverse educational practices towards a shared goal of comprehensive climate education. Through such harmonization, educational systems could collectively leverage best practices and resources to better equip future generations with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate and address the complexities of environmental challenges.

Sources

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