Chapter 06 · Governance & regulationDevelopment, Impact & Global Frameworks
Climate education
Definition
Education that equips learners with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to understand and act on climate change — spanning school curricula, teacher training, technical and vocational education, higher education and lifelong learning. It is advanced internationally through SDG target 4.7, the UNFCCC's Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) agenda, and UNESCO's Greening Education Partnership.
References
GEP scope and four pillars; 99 countries / 2,000+ organisations; 50% green-schools target by 2030; education <2% of climate finance.
Curriculum-depth gap evidence (MECCE review of 131 countries); greening-education dashboard; teacher-training urgency.
Overview
What it means
Climate education is increasingly framed as climate infrastructure: UNESCO's Greening Education Partnership — joined by around 99 countries and over 2,000 organisations — works across four pillars (greening schools, curricula, teacher training and communities) with a target of transforming 50% of schools into green schools by 2030.
The gap is stark: reviews of national curriculum frameworks in 131 countries find environmental content nearly universal but shallow, with climate change and biodiversity often thin or absent; and education receives less than 2% of total climate finance despite its multiplier role.
"Climate literacy" denotes the intended outcome — an individual's understanding of climate systems and capacity for informed decisions — and is treated here within this entry rather than separately.
How it is used
Ministries integrate climate into curricula and teacher standards; the GEP dashboard tracks national progress; ACE focal points embed education in NDCs; universities and TVET systems build green-skills pipelines; non-formal providers (scouting, museums, media) extend reach.
Why it matters
Every other climate solution runs on people who understand the problem; climate education is the slow, foundational investment on which decades of policy and behaviour depend.