Campaign Urges Governments at Next Year's UN Climate Conference to Back Compulsory Climate Education and Literacy

Urgent Action Needed to Equip All Youth with the Knowledge and Skills Needed to Join Green Economy

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2020 /CNW/ -- EARTHDAY.ORG today launched a global campaign aimed at ensuring that all students receive quality, wide-ranging, climate education in schools across all grade levels and disciplines.

The campaign encourages governments attending the crucial United Nations climate summit in 2021 to make climate change and climate literacy a core feature of school curriculum across the globe. In addition to EARTHDAY.ORG, early backers range from trade unions and teachers' unions to environmental organizations, NGOs, and Mayors from around the globe such as the International Trades Union Confederation, National Wildlife Federation, and Labor Network for Sustainability.

"At COP26, we need stepped up action and ambition right across the Paris Agreement, and that includes ambition in respect to climate education. We need to better educate our children and youth on the science and the risks, but also the excitement of building a better world; generating more good jobs in sustainable businesses and the benefits of being greener consumers and more active citizens. I welcome this global initiative and look forward to it stimulating excitement and enthusiasm among all governments and all sectors of society," said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Backers believe the campaign is a critical step to bridge a cavernous gap in society's response to humanity's greatest existential challenge.

"Climate and environmental literacy is a key component to protect the planet," Fr. Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, Coordinator of the Sector of Ecology and Creation at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

David Edwards, the General Secretary of Education International, the largest federation of teachers' trades unions, said, "Climate change is the most important issue humanity faces today. Our 32 million members all over the planet have repeatedly raised the alarm, together with youth and students. Our World Congress last year passed a resolution calling for education systems to ensure comprehensive climate change education—that is not happening, and we need to change it."

Climate education can also help foster a new generation of citizens with the interest and the skills needed for jobs in a growing green economy, to make better, sustainable consumer choices and to hold governments -- both national and local -- accountable for their decisions.

Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG which is one of the key organizations behind the campaign, said, "An educated and civically active citizenry is the best bet the world has for overcoming the climate and environmental emergency. It is the key to building strong communities, an engaged workforce, and the sustainable economies needed for the 21st Century. It has to start in schools, and it has to start now. Together, we can change this."

Rogers praised the governments of Italy and Mexico for stepping up their ambition in advance of COP26 with measures that underline some of the bold, far-reaching changes needed.

"The goal for all governments at COP26 in the UK next year is clear. Compulsory and assessed climate education is required linked with real-life civic engagement -- so what is taught in the classroom is reinforced by real world experience whether it be learning how to install solar panels on a school roof or restoring a degraded forest and will flow out into our companies and higher education institutions," said Kathleen Rogers.

In a letter to the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Patricia Espinosa and governments, the campaigners concede that every country must be free to choose their roadmap for implementing climate literacy.

"We also urge governments to find ways and means to advance climate literacy at home and support poorer countries' efforts to meet their climate education goals," says the letter.

"Introducing civics and climate literacy tools in the classroom can help those most affected by climate change, the vulnerable and marginalized communities, by building knowledge and skills for the growing green economy," said Kathleen Rogers. 

Increased Climate Education Backed by Scientists

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences earlier in 2020, researchers argue that education is one of the key social tipping points to realize the aim of stabilizing the Earth's climate by 2050.

The researchers, drawn from centers in Africa, Europe and the United States, state, "These social tipping interventions comprise removing fossil-fuel subsidies and incentivizing decentralized energy generation, building carbon-neutral cities, divesting from assets linked to fossil fuels, revealing the moral implications of fossil fuels, strengthening climate education and engagement, and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions information."

Wide-Spread Public Support

There are strong indications of wide-spread public support for a dramatic step up in climate education and literacy, including in schools, worldwide.

A survey by World Wide Views, conducted in close to 80 countries before the 2015 Summit that adopted the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement, found that close to 80 percent of those questioned thought climate education was the strongest policy for reducing emissions followed by action to protect tropical forests.

Earlier this month the views of the UK citizens climate assembly, with people drawn from all walks of life, were announced on how they thought the country could achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

The citizens proposed many direct measures such as taxing frequent flyers and reducing red meat consumption, but the overarching recommendation was information and education.

Nations meet in the Scottish city of Glasgow in November 2021 to raise ambition across the areas of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Climate education falls under Article 12 of the Agreement known as Action for Climate Empowerment.

Notes to Editors

EARTHDAY.ORG is driving the campaign for increased climate education and literacy. Learn more here: https://www.earthday.org/campaign/climate-environmental-literacy/ 

The sign-up letter that will be presented to Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC and the more than 190 governments or 'Parties' attending COP26, can be signed here: https://action.earthday.org/cop26_literacy_letter_orgs 

For more information on Action for Climate Empowerment, which includes education, please visit: https://unfccc.int/topics/education-youth/the-big-picture/what-is-action-for-climate-empowerment

List of Campaign Supporters
Organization	Signatory	Title
1 Million Women	Natalie Isaacs	Founder/CEO
Accelerating Climate Action	Renard Siew	Co-Founder
Africa Environmental and Health Advancement Network	Cordelia Adamu	Founder/President
African Climate Reality Project	Nicole Rodel	Communications Officer
African Climate Reality Project	Amy Giliam	Branch Manager
AGEREF/CL	Mamadou Karama	Secrétaire Exécutif
Alberta Council for Environmental Education (ACEE)	Gareth Thomson	Executive Director
Alliance for Climate Education, ACE	Reb Anderson	Director of Education
Alliance for Climate Education, ACE	Maayan Cohen	Director of Partnerships and Campaigns
Animals Are Sentient Beings, Inc.	Sarah Stewart	President
APNEK TUNISIA	Youssef kKhelif	Président
Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem	Jad Isaac	Doctor
Aquaworld	Paul Ayomide	Founder/Team Lead
Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED)	Najib Saab	Secretary General
Arab Network Popular Education (EPEP)	Elsy Wakil	Coordinator
Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar	Neeshad Shafi	Executive Director
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies	Cathie Granit	Program Director
Asociacion Peru Sembrando Vida	Mrs. Mafalda Leguia	President
Association of Science and Technology Center	Cristin Dorgelo	President and CEO
Association of Zoos & Aquariums	Dan Ashe	President and CEO
Association of Zoos & Aquariums	Amy Rutherford	Director, Professional Development & Education
Australian Parents for Climate Action	Suzie Brown	National Director
Bibi Productions	Bibi Russell	Founder
Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Program	Linda Cabot	Founder and President
Bulacan State University	Dr. Richard Clemente	Dean
Bureau for Rights Based Development (BRD)	Khan Agha Dawoodzai	Executive Director
Campaign for Environmental Literacy	Jim Elder	Director
Canadian Parents for Climate Action	Fiona Koza	Founder
Care about Climate	Natalie Lucas	CEO
Center for Ecoliteracy	Adam Kesselman	Executive Director
Center for Green Schools at USGBC	Anisa Heming	Director
Centro Mexicano de Responsabilidad Global CEMERG, A. C.	Ney Villamil	Secretary General
Change Can Change Climate Change (C5) Foundation	Vishnu P R	CEO
Cinemaplaneta	Eleonora Isunza	Co-Director
CLEAN Network	Frank Niepold	Leadership Board Co-chair
Clean-Tech Republik CIC	Hira Wajahat	Founder
Climate Action Network Uganda
Climate Cardinals	Rohan Arora	Executive Board Member and Director of Research and Development
Climate Dads	Jason Sandman	Co-Founder
Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy	Kristen Poppleton	Senior Director of Programs
Climate Reality Leadership Corps	Arby Paulyn Rae Duero	Climate Reality Leader
Climate Reality Project	Kenneth Berlin	President and CEO
Climate Strike Thailand
ClimateMama	Harriet Shugarman	Executive Director
Club of Rome	Sandrine Dixson-Declève	Co-president
Club of Rome	Mamphela Ramphele	Co-president
Communitopia	Katie Modic	Executive Director
Congolese Youth Biodiversity Network	Marie Nancy Chimanuka	Member
Conservation Music Lesotho	Reekelitsoe Molapo	Co-founder
Contact Base	Ananya Bhattacharya	Secretary
Cork Environmental Forum	Bernadette Connolly	Coordinator
Design for Change	Sanjli Gidwaney	Co-Director
E3 Washington	Sylvia Hadnot	Co-Chair
Earth Uprising International	Alexandria Villaseñor	Founder and Youth Staff Coordinator
EarthEcho International	Philippe Cousteau	Founder
EcoAction Arlington	Elenor Hodges	Executive Director
Eco-Friends AJK	Ghaznain Iqbal	Co-Founder
Education International	David Edwards, PhD	General Secretary
EDUCA	Iñigo Orvañanos	President
EDUCA	Monica Cinco	General Director
Enab Baladi	Masoud Betar	PR Officer
Environment America	Andrea McGimsey	Sr. Director, Global Warming Solutions Campaign
Environment America	Wendy Wendlandt	Acting President
Environment Savers of Zambia	Enock Mwewa	Executive Director
Environmental Citizenship Program	Mahnaz Kadhemi	Member
EURONAT	Guenther Seidel
European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA)	Tanya Bascombe	Joint General Manager
Fondo para la Comunicación y la Educación Ambiental, A.C.	Teresa Gutiérrez
Foreldreløftet (Parents' Pledge)	Veslemøy Klavenes-Berge	Co-founder
Foundation Earth	Randy Hayes	Executive Director
Fuji Office Machines FZE	Amir Ali	CEO
Fundación Moisés Bertoni	Raquel Fratta	Lider de Iniciativas para la Nueva Economía
FutureSavers Sustainable Development Initiative Nigeria	Bernard Ogechi Destiny	Regional Supervisor
Global Shapers New Delhi Hub	Mitali Nikore	Curator
Gray2Green Movement	Kelo Uchendu	Founder and Lead Strategist
Green Cross Belarus	Vladimir Shevtsov	Director
Green Hope	Kehkashan Basu	Founder
Green Our Planet	Ciara Byrne	Founder and Co-Executive Director
Green society	Asmaa Hanafi	Founder
Green Vigil Foundation	Kaustav Chatterjee	Founder
Green Vigil Foundation	Surbhi Jaiswal	Team Lead
Greenpeace Africa	Nhlanhla Sibisi	Climate & Energy Campaigner
Guardianes De La Tierra	Francisco Javier Vera Manzanares	Founder
Happy Community Organization	James Njuguna	Executive Director
Hip Hop Caucus	Rev Yearwood	President and Founder
Ibdaa Foundation for the Environment and Sustainable Development	Dr. Yaser Baazab
Institute for Environmental Policy-Albania	Endri Haxhiraj	Executive Director
Institute for Nature Conservation in Albania	Genti Kromidha	President
Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Xalapa	Laura Ruelas-Monjardin	Docente
International Association for the Advancement of Innovative Approaches to Global Challenges- IAAI GloCha	Miroslav Polzer	Executive Director
International Trades Union Confederation	Sharon Burrow	General Secretary
International Youth Council - Yemen	Ala Mustafa Al-Rabeei	Environment & Climate Change Program Coordinator
IvyPlus Network, India
Kabataang Lingkod Bayan ng Pilipinas	Raiza Mae Togado	Deputy National Secretary General
King's Centre for Visualization in Science	Peter Mahaffy	Director
Kupu Hawai'i	Yvonne Yoro	Program Coordinator
Latino Outdoors	Luis Villa	Executive Director
Labor Network for Sustainability	Joe Uehlein	President
Let's Do It India	Pankaj Choudhary	Founder
Liberian Youth for Climate Actions - LYCA	Ezekiel Nyanfor	Founder & Executive Director
Malawi National Youth Network on Climate Change( NYNCC).	Malango Kayira	Member
Mass Audubon	Kristen Scopinich	Director of Education and Engagement
Moms Clean Air Force	Molly Rauch	Public Health Policy Director
Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust	Carl Bruessow	Executive Director
National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal	Daya Sagar Shrestha	Chairperson
National Center for Science Education	Ann Reid	Executive Director
National Children's Campaign	Kimberly Gutzler	Co-Founder and President
National Council for the Social Studies	Lawrence Paska
National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation - NNOCCI	Lauren Watkins, PhD	2021 Executive Chair
National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation - NNOCCI	Emily Moberg, PhD	2020 Executive Chair
National Wildlife Federation	Kevin Coyle	Counsel to the President and CEO
Netzwerk Schweizer Pärke	Dominique Weissen	Geschäftsführerin
Nikore Associates	Mitali Nikore	Founder
North American Association for Environmental Education	Judy Braus	Exectutive Director
NY Sun Works	Manuela Zamora	Executive Director
Ocean Foundation	Mark Spalding	President
Our Kids' Climate	Frida Berry Eklund	Founder and Senior Adviser
Parents for Climate Aotearoa	Alicia Hall	National Coordinator
Parents for Climate Israel
Parents for Climate Israel
Parents for Climate Poland
Parents for Future Germany
Parents for Future Global
Parents for Future UK
PROCASUR	Juan Moreno	Director
Poly Prep Country Day School	Brian Filiatraut	Director of Sustainability
Rachel's Network	Fern Shepard	President
REEDUCA	Ana Paula Margain León	General Coordinator
The Resilient Foundation
Reversible	Ruben Cors	Co-founder
RJS/Clim	Miti Madina Ouattara	Bénévol
Rural Environmental Sustainability Initiative	Herbert Murungi	Operations Director
Sanctuary Nature Foundation, India	Bittu Sahgal	Founder
Sangguniang Kabataan	Marian Jule Cedeno	Sangguniang Kabataan Federated President
SAVE Foundation	Waltraud Kugler	Project Director
Schools for Climate Action	Nancy Metzger-Carter	Lead Teacher
Sea Cleaners	Yvan Bourgnon	President-Founder
SEEP	Simo Ribaj	Chairman
Solar Impulse Foundation	Bertrand Piccard	Chair
Soluciones Turisticas Sostenibles STS CR SA	Roberto Emilio Baca Plazaola	Soluciones Turisticas Sostenibles STS CR SA
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and William C. Velasquez Institute	Lydia Camarillo	President
Sukaar Foundation	Gulab Rai	Sr. Program Manager
Sustainability and Education Policy Network	Marcia McKenzie	Director
Sustainable Energy and Enterprise Development for Communities (SEED4COM)	Clarence Gio Almoite	Project Coordinator
SustainableOman	Agnes Astolfi	Founder
SustainableQATAR	Katrin Scholz-Barth	President
Take Action Global	Koen Timmers	Executive Director
Tanzania youth biodiversity network	Zuhura Ahmad	Biodiversity conservation
Tanzania Youth Biodiversity Network	Rhoda Chausa	Organization Representative
Techno India Group / Y-East	Pauline Laravoire	Sustainability Director
The Community Check-Up	Rohan Arora	Founder & Executive Director
The Eroteme	Ronnel Franco Landrito
The Global W.E./Global Warming Express	Genie Stevens	Executive Director
The Green Guerrilla	Melissa Tan
The Hunger Project Mexico	Diana Delgadillo Ramírez	Manager of Advocacy in Public Policy
The Ianna Mallayka Foundation	Mallayka Oddenyo	Director
The Parents' Climate Community	Eileen McGinnis	Founder
The Shri Ram school	Aditya Mukarji	Secretary Environment
Timorese Youth Initiative for Development
Together to protect Human & the Environment Association	Saadiyah Hassoon	General Director
Union of Agricultural Work Committees	دعاء زايد	سيدة
Universidad Técnica de Manabí	Dr. Ezequiel Zamora-Ledezma	Professor
Utpravan YF
Våra barns klimat	Sofia Bernett	Head of Operations
We Don't Have Time	Ingmar Rentzhog	Founder and CEO
We Mean to Clean
Women and Gender Constituency	Bridget Burns	Co-focal point
Women and Gender Constituency	Ndivile Mokoena	Co-focal point
YES- Young European Socialists	Alícia Homs Ginel	President
YOUNG CEO	Hemang Vellore	CO-FOUNDER
Young Earth Savers Club	Andy Alegre	Member
Young Environmental Forum	Ludwig Federigan	Executive Director
Young Environmental Forum	Elvira Capili	Climate Reality Leader
YOUNGO	Marie-Claire Graf	Co-Focal Point
YOUNGO	Heeta Lakhani	Co-Focal Point
Youth Action for Success and Development	Edward Msiska	Executive Director
YOUTH FOR OUR PLANET	Maurice Munga	Regional Mobiliser for Africa
Youth For Our Planet Africa
Youth Strike 4 Climate Philippines	Jefferson Estela	Lead Convenor
Yuvsatta (youth for peace)	Parmod Sharma	Founder
(individual)	Thomas Lovejoy, PhD	Conservation Biologist
(individual)	Mark S. McCaffrey	Founder of ECOS and Co-founder of CLEAN, the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network.
(individual)	Mayor Mary Casillas Salas	Mayor Chula Vista, CA
(individual)	Mayor Victoria Woodards	Mayor Tacoma, WA
(individual)	Mayor John Dailey	Mayor Tallahassee, FL
(individual)	Mayor Jorge Munoz Wells	Mayor of Lima
(individual)	Mrs. Karla Raquel Taboada Falla	Jefa de Educación Ambiental Municipal Government of Lima
(individual)	Michelle Wyman	Energy, Climate and Environment Expert
(individual)	Ricky Kej	Composer, music producer and environmentalist
(individual)	Brenda Mwale	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Jeancy Kangunza	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Aditya Dubey	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Aditya Mukarji	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Batjargal Ankhtsetseg	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Belgutei Chizorig	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Hemang Vellore	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Ridhima Pandey	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Saddam Sahito	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador
(individual)	Sidharth Singh,	EARTHDAY.ORG Ambassador

SOURCE Earth Day Network

Nick Nuttall, International Strategic Communications Director, EARTHDAY.ORG, [email protected]; Olivia Altman, Publicist, EARTHDAY.ORG, [email protected], https://www.earthday.org/

Related Links

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