Climate Education
The NDC Playbook: How Climate Education Can Power the Paris Agreement
December 6, 2024
On December 12, 2015, 194 parties (193 countries plus the EU) officially committed to the Paris Agreement, which outlines the United Nations’ (UN) substantial goals to circumvent the worst effects of climate change. The Agreement primarily holds world nations accountable for limiting the global average temperature to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon emissions would need to decline by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 to limit global warming to just above 1.5ºC.
Research conducted by leading scientists with the IPCC and NASA highlight the dire implications of passing the 2ºC threshold and the urgent need to stay within the 1.5ºC limit.
The bad news: Barring significant policy changes among world nations, we are currently on track to hit a 2ºC increase by 2040. The ramifications of exceeding EVEN the 1.5ºC limit include sea level rise and continued warmer temperatures that would likely last millennia. These large-scale effects would devastate ecosystems around the globe, exacerbating existing problems such as droughts, floods, agricultural issues, and the destruction of human and animal habitats.
Under the Paris Agreement, nations are held accountable for preventing these devastating outcomes. The Agreement, which officially entered into force on November 4, 2016, outlines how the UN will “periodically assess” nations’ progress toward individual goals and finance climate change mitigation and resilience efforts in developing countries. This is where National Determined Contributions, also known as “NDCs,” come into play.
Decoding Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
Nationally Determined Contributions refer to each country’s individual contributions to the Paris Agreement; it essentially lists out the commitments that each nation is making to mitigate climate change, and these promises are updated every five years.
NDCs take a broad approach by involving key sectors like energy, industry, agriculture, and transport. This ensures that climate action efforts are comprehensive and reflect the unique needs and energy capabilities of each country. The main aim is to outline how each nation can reduce emissions, which often includes shifting to renewable energy sources.
The third round of NDCs IS due to be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by early 2025 and for many nations, educating the public about the human impact on climate has become a priority. It’s also a key priority for EARTHDAY.ORG and an issue we’ve been championing for two decades.
Why Climate Education?
Widespread climate education is crucial to winning public support for climate friendly government policies worldwide, whether by backing the transition toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels or limiting the production of plastics, which are derived from oil, and are a significant contributor to the production of greenhouse gases.
Plus, teaching climate education is important in green skilling both the present and future work- forces, which are desperately needed to grow the emerging clean energy industries of solar, wind, hydro, tidal and geothermal. As well as a whole range of other new green economy jobs.
We also know that if students are taught the facts about the climate crisis and not force-fed opinions, they are much more likely to make planet-friendly choices in their own lives and spot misinformation as they encounter it.
Climate education is already making a huge impact on our management of the climate crisis and it is vital that it is included in every single nation’s NDCs. While many developed nations like the U.S. have yet to include climate education goals in their NDCs, economically developing countries such as Cambodia, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic have included it in their NDCs already.
For example, Cambodia’s NDCs includes building centers of excellence for climate change research at universities and requiring education officials to be trained on climate change. Colombia stipulates that climate education must be included in all formal and non-formal education and Costa Rica has specified that it must be taught in all elementary and secondary schools.
You can learn more about which countries are backing climate education and which need to do much more by using our Climate Education NDCs Tracker.
It is a comprehensive tool to monitor the inclusion of climate education in NDCs worldwide, highlighting national priorities and gaps. If you want to take a deep dive into the world of climate education and its inclusion in NDCs, it is a great place to start and a useful resource for research and articles.
