Climate Education
Three Big Takeaways from EARTHDAY.ORG’s Climate Education vs. the Climate Crisis
April 9, 2025
In honor of National Education and Sharing Day, observed every April 9th since 1978, we reflect on the profound impact that education has on the future — especially in the fight against the climate crisis.
At EARTHDAY.ORG, we know that climate education is essential to ensuring there is a livable future for generations to come. In recognition of this important day, here are 3 Key Takeaways from our report, “Climate Education vs the Climate Crisis”.
1. Climate Education = A Powerful But Yet To Be Fully Tapped Tool
Climate education should be treated as a core climate solution. It not only eases student anxiety about climate change and builds reflexive sustainability skills (green muscle memory), but also prepares students for the green job market they will one day enter.
There is no career untouched by climate change. Whether you’re a meteorologist predicting and reporting weather patterns, or an architect designing structures that must adapt to changing environmental conditions, or a nurse or doctor treating new diseases triggered by changing weather and the spread of insect borne infectious diseases, or an insurance broker deciding whose homes and businesses to insure – understanding the changing climate is an essential skill in today’s workforce..
Students must be equipped with this climate based knowledge, or risk being left behind.
Despite being a high impact and low-cost, climate education receives a fraction of global climate financing. About 1% of international climate aid is spent on education, even though research shows that a well-informed public can significantly shift societal behaviors and political will toward sustainability. We need our leaders and our educators to speak up and get climate education into every classroom!
2. Hands-On Climate Education
In order for climate education to be successful, it must be a compulsory and core subject. As climate change affects us all, it would be a disservice if students could opt-out. We all must build green muscle memory in order to build a trul sustainable future.
The only way to achieve this is to make it cross-curricular. What does that mean exactly? Well currently, the approach to teaching about climate change happens mostly in science and geography classrooms.
However, it’s essential to integrate climate education across all disciplines – from economics and history to art and literature. This holistic approach allows us to tackle climate change solutions from all perspectives and makes it unavoidable!
We often learn best by doing. Climate literacy should go beyond facts and figures and also foster skills for problem-solving, community engagement, and resilience. Which means it should be grounded in civic engagement through hands-on projects in every student’s own community, this way students can learn while making a real impact. For example many schools have found success in working with students to build solar on their own schools and campuses, whereby students can learn through action.
3. We Have a Plan: Policy, Funding & Teacher Training
To scale climate education globally, we need support from three key angles.
Firstly we need National Mandates for Climate Education. Why? Because integrating climate education into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ensures that climate education is taken seriously in schools. At EARTHDAY.ORG, we work hard to advocate for the inclusion of climate education in these international commitments, lobbying governments and policy makers around the planet!. To track our progress, check out our one of a kind NDC tracker to see the status of climate education in different nations. Saint Lucia, the Maldives and Antigua and Barbuda have all just adopted EARTHDAY.ORG’s climate education language.
We need dedicated funding streams because climate education taught at scale requires consistent and reliable financial support.
Finally we need teacher training programs to empower educators. Training equips educators with the confidence, content knowledge, and pedagogical strategies needed to incorporate climate education into their classrooms effectively. At EARTHDAY.ORG, we provide free resources like The Schools Guide to Climate Education, our very own professional development tool designed to support teachers who are aiming to integrate climate topics into their own classes.
Why All of This Matters
If we want to mobilize the next generation of scientists, engineers, bankers, business people, voters, and community leaders, climate education needs to be treated with the urgency, investment, and strategic thinking it deserves. Learn more about climate education by visiting our Climate Education webpage – to find our reports, free resources for educators, information about policy, and much more!
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