Search results

This chapter discusses how society can be more involved in climate research and policy as a more socially equitable and just way of tackling future climate impacts through the lens of education. The first section discusses previous and contemporary social and political conditions in relation to increased and more equitable and just citizen engagement in climate action in the science–policy domain. The second section then explores how collaborative education approaches through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can be ramped up to catalyse increased citizen engagement in climate action. The chapter concludes by critically discussing future directions for research in ESD and climate change as a more inclusive and just form of climate governance.

The chapter highlights the necessity to develop interventions for the mitigation of climate change (CC) and to provide CC education as one of the cornerstones of climate action. Although a mandatory environmental protection course has been included in all study programmes of higher education institutions in Latvia, they have considerable autonomy in implementing CC education content across the curriculum. It is important that training programmes on CC are designed considering the target groups’ background knowledge and labour market needs due to the highly interdisciplinary content, rapidly changing concepts and emerging new terminology.

According to the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007), 11 out of the last 12 years have been the hottest on record since 1850. It is also estimated that the average global surface temperature from 1850–1899 to 2001–2005 has increased by 0.76°C. Global sea level increased at an average rate of 1.8mm per year over the period 1961–2003 and, over the 20th century, sea levels rose by 0.17m. Since the middle of 20th century, human activities have contributed to global warming, a phenomenon that is expected to continue at an increasingly faster rate in the 21st century if there is no effort to address it.

Climate change is recognised as a severe threat to human and planetary wellbeing. Many children and young people around the world have chosen resistance as their form of resilience in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises that threaten their current and future wellbeing. Their activism has widened the discourse pertaining to the climate emergency from a narrow focus on technical and scientific sources, bringing the discussion into broader public consciousness. In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the context for youth climate activism also reflects commitments to Māori, the Indigenous people, and to Pacific Peoples, given the ongoing impacts of histories of colonisation. This chapter draws from a range of focus group interviews with young Aotearoa (New Zealand) high school climate activists, and Māori and Pacific children and young people ranging in age from 10 into their 20s. Data were gathered during a recent small-scale project to develop a wellbeing guide which accompanies a climate change education programme for schools. It identifies the collective, collaborative leadership exhibited by these young people of diverse backgrounds, as well as their sophisticated analysis and advocacy for urgent remedies to address the climate crisis. It is argued that, instead of focussing on the blinkered continuation of restrictive assessment-driven pedagogies, teachers need to meet the moment of the current convergence of inter-related crises which include, along with the climate emergency, biodiversity loss, pandemic related exacerbation of socio-economic inequities, global conflict, and the unsustainable agenda of current global neoliberal economics. This can be done by supporting children and young people with knowledge and skills for climate action as they seek hope through active participation in endeavours to reshape their potential futures.

Chapter 5 opens with a fictional scenario of a Professor of Digital Marketing on the US East Coast, who is making a cup of coffee in the morning and reflecting on the climate impact of the coffee journey at the same time as considering how she could incorporate this knowledge into her lectures in an impactful way. The Professor is considering designing an authentic piece of assessment which leads to behaviour change and has positive impact on society. The mentoring conversation she engages in is with a former colleague who has extensive experience of education-focused initiatives in universities and is an active mentor in great demand in the scholarly community. The conversation builds on Molthan-Hill and Blaj-Ward (2022), a point-of-departure paper about assessing climate solutions in a personally and societally meaningful way.

The synthesis of scholarly literature which follows the scenario and conversation has two points of focus. One is assessment. Relevant literature is referenced to further contextualize themes such as alignment, authenticity, well-being, sustainability, inclusivity and meaningful use of digital tools in assessment to develop identities and spark action. The other is the overlap between mentoring and coaching; a combination of the two is likely to support richer professional development for academics and, consequently, for their students. Climate-focused approaches in coaching have more recently been developed and are being used to facilitate resourceful responses to climate change. Two volumes on climate coaching are reviewed, to offer insights into the process of linking professional knowledge and life experience.

A review of the global policy environment for climate change and sustainable development education is contextualised with a case study from the Pacific region. The case study details how Pacific Island nations have opted for a regional education response to improve their prospects of adapting to climate change – their most pressing contemporary issue. The case study then details what this means in practice using bottom-up examples of successful disaster risk reduction in Tuvalu and Fasi village, Tonga, led by Anglican youth.

Climate change is one of the major challenges confronting human society in the 21st century (Ericksen & O’Brein, 2007; Adger, Lorenzoni, & O’Brien, 2009). Mounting evidence attests that climate change is now happening in many parts of the world as evidenced by increasing mean temperature, changing precipitation patterns, rising sea level, and increasing frequency and growing intensity of extreme weather events (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007). In many parts of Asia, these climatic changes have led to massive flooding, landslides, and droughts, resulting in extensive damage to properties, assets, and human life (Cruz et al., 2007). Climate change is also exacerbating water shortages in many areas, constraining agricultural production, and threatening food security and energy supply from hydroelectric source. It is likewise causing forest fires and degradation, damaging coastal and marine resources, and increasing the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases. Regional climate studies indicate that the worse is yet to come as far as weather-related disaster risks are concerned. If not addressed effectively, climate change could seriously frustrate the region's sustainable development and poverty-reduction efforts (ADB, 2009).