Experts agree - climate change education needs review

‘The future is green’ ‘The younger generation will save the world’ ‘Green jobs revolution’. All these phrases are so casually thrown about, but the reality of these ever actually coming into fruition is harrowingly limited due to the truth of the current situation in schools facing our young people. 

‍

The recent report from the education body Cambridge University Press & Assessment said teaching about the changing climate was undervalued and under-represented in the curriculum. At Teach the Future we have been calling for exactly this since 2019. In our Tracked Changes version of the National Curriculum we have demonstrated just how climate education can and should be woven into every subject. 

‍

In a multi-nation YouGov survey commissioned by Cambridge University, it was found that 80% of the 700 14 to 18-year-old students surveyed said more climate education would help them to make more informed choices about travel, food and energy. The Climate Education Bill crafted by Teach the Future alongside Labour MP Nadia Whittome MP, which has received cross party support, needs to be implemented by the UK government to equip young people in the UK to rise to the challenges that face us. 

‍

At the moment - depending on the subjects you choose - students can leave full-time education without any knowledge and skills on how to tackle the existential issues facing us and our planet. 

‍

The climate and ecological emergency will be an issue for every child and student, for all of us, in all professions; every sector will have a responsibility to mitigate, adapt and tackle it. Therefore to leave us uneducated is to leave us unprepared and defenceless.

‍