Education and Equity

A critical but somewhat overlooked aspect of addressing climate change is education. One of the primary delays in establishing robust climate change action has been the prevalence of misinformation and a lack of general understanding of the earth system^1-4.

The dynamics and interactions between the different components of the earth system are intricate and multi-faceted. Adding in the effects of human activity and feedbacks on different spatial and temporal scales—not to mention local, national, international, and global hurdles in policy and coordination—creates much complexity^5,6.

Education for all ages about the climate and our interactions with it fosters a better understanding of climate change and encourages behavior and attitude shifts leading to more effective adaptation and mitigation responses^7-9. This is as true for adults long finished with school as it is for children and teens that will inherit these problems^10,11.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change states, “education, especially when focused on children and young people, is a key factor in helping to curb climate change”¹². All 193 United Nations members adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 to be achieved by 2030 for “peace and prosperity of people and the planet, now and into the future”¹³. While individual countries are responsible for meeting these 17 goals, the effort is global. Alongside poverty, food security, education, and gender equality, addressing climate change is one of the main aims. These goals are a way for developing and developed nations alike to come together and engage with our shared problems extending beyond arbitrary lines drawn on a map^14,15.

An important aspect to remember in climate education and sustainable development is equity. Most developed nations became so through the use of natural resources, which significantly contributed to the current climate situation^16,17. A topic of contention is that some believe that currently developing nations need to be given the same opportunities to gain equal footing, while others state that developing nations have the advantage of learning from other’s mistakes and should therefore take more sustainable, but potentially less economically robust, paths^18-23.

This subject flows into the idea of justice and deciding which nations hold more responsibility towards global greenhouse gas emissions and should be required to take more substantial steps in curbing them^24-26. Much of the current climate situation was brought about by exploiting vulnerable and disenfranchised groups^17,27,28. Marginalized groups are disproportionally at risk to suffer the brunt of the negative physical and socioeconomic consequences of climate change^29-32. This is especially true as changing climate niches worldwide are projected to cause massive migrations leaving areas with more at-risk populations the most vulnerable to more frequent and severe extreme weather events^33-36. Studies agree that addressing equity and climate change go hand-in-hand^8,28,37.

Learn more about climate education, sustainability, justice, and equity through the studies and books referenced above and the resources included below.