COP28 emphasises climate education

The ongoing conference on climate change hosted by the United Nations, COP28, aims to explore the role of education in promoting awareness on climate change and ways to mitigate its results. This could not be more timely.

Now that 2023 has been recorded as the hottest year in history and the next year threatening to be worse, educating society about climate change and its effects has become absolutely imperative. However, it is not as easy as writing a chapter on it, to be memorized and tested on. The practical implications are more important for youngsters to appreciate and anticipate the dangers of a new world.

The United Nations suggests the way forward to climate change education: “From greening and curriculums to climate change education, the essential role of learning in providing long-term solutions for the climate crisis is taking centre stage at this year's conference”.

Recommendations to train educators in climate change include creating awareness, implementing day-to-day and practical changes to counter the effects of extreme weather, working towards sustainable classrooms and schools, and even becoming aware of the consequences of climate change on education itself.

This is an urgent realisation. Climate change will change, not only the nature of education, but it could impact access to quality education itself. In extreme conditions such as flooding or drought, schools and learning material could be destroyed. Schools may be used as relief sites, making it impossible for children to attend schools.

Extreme weather conditions are also known to result in seasonal or permanent migration. This will deny education to children who are on the move. Displacement necessarily leads to educational barriers and it will take a long while for those affected to pick up their lives again.

Before going to such dystopian futures, all of which are already occurring in some parts of the world, pressing the break and making a course correction is important.

The answers are not too far to see and understand.

The Asian Development Blog, for example, makes four relevant suggestions: First, align policies with education by ensuring that climate change laws and guidelines are covered across all stages of education. Secondly, build teams of skilled workers who can work with sustainable technology and provide green solutions.

Using digital technology at every level will ensure knowledge and capacity building. This could range from gig work to smart cities. It is also important to establish interdisciplinary research. This is because climate change encompasses various areas like agriculture, engineering, public policy and arts – bringing them together will create dynamic solutions that involve different people who can provide guidance and holistic solutions.

Climate change has now been accepted as the reality of our current and future world. To the extent that it is being created by humans, the solutions lie with us as well. Educating the younger generations and equipping them with skills to tackle these challenges will be better than denying or downplaying its effects in the future.

Sandhya Rao Mehta is Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, Sultan Qaboos University.