Absolutely. Currently, there are so many examples of climate change being side-lined, or treated as an afterthought, in the news, in politics, by businesses and in every-day life. For example, Edinburgh Evening News recently ran a story about Qatar Airways having more than doubled flights between Edinburgh and Doha, without any mention of the climate impact. Newspapers and other publications may have a ‘Sustainability’ section, but awareness of the climate and ecological crises needs to be integrated throughout every article, every aspect of business and everyone’s life, not kept in a silo. Integrating climate change throughout every subject would be a great way to help create this cultural shift.

Yes of course. Teaching about the solutions should focus on reducing emissions in ways that are compatible with climate justice. That includes reducing energy use and consumption by big businesses and the world’s wealthy citizens (who tend to have the highest carbon footprint), and supporting the Global South and people with fewer means to transition to sustainable fuel sources, sustainable transport and so on. It should also include explanation and exploration of a just transition, without using this concept as an excuse to delay or obstruct climate action. Teaching about the solutions should make students aware of greenwashing and costly techno-fixes that are promoted as a solution, but are mainly motivated by the desire for the oil and gas sector to continue operating and making money, such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage. These issues should be explored with nuance, as they may have their place but cannot be relied upon to solve climate change, and should not divert investment from genuine solutions like renewable energy. Teaching about the causes and impacts should consider the structural causes of climate change, including a free market economy focused on growth and profit at any cost.

Definitely. Teachers across the UK are already over-worked, so they need training and resources in order to take on this additional but critical task. I agree with Teach the Future’s policy proposals that climate education should be embedded within initial teacher education, it should equip teachers to deal with the issues in a way that empowers both teachers and students, and it should include specific training in addressing eco-anxiety. (Although teachers should not be relied on as substitutes for qualified medical professionals on this issue.) It will be important to ensure that the teacher training is evidence-based and delivered by independent, qualified organisations or individuals, without financial links to fossil fuels or other causes of the climate crisis.

I agree that more public money should be spent on upgrading schools and other public sector buildings to be carbon neutral and adapted to be comfortable in higher temperatures. There is a good case to be made for schools being placed first in the queue, to ensure that students can concentrate in a comfortable learning environment, without relying so much on emissions-causing air conditioning or fossil fuel-powered heating. The UK Government has cut the Scottish construction budget by 10% in real terms over the past ?ve years, meaning Scotland has been left with a fraction of what is needed to build and upgrade schools ?t for the future. This budget should be increased. Further, given that many schools now require maintenance and repairs partly due to RAAC, a holistic approach should be taken to repair and retrofit at the same time, where possible. This should save money and minimise disruption. For example if students and teachers need to decamp to another location while the work is being done, this would only be required once, rather than once for repairs and then again for retrofitting. The Scottish Greens helped deliver the Scottish Government’s New Build Heat Standard, which applies to new buildings and limited conversions, and disallows the use of oil and gas boilers and other direct emissions heating systems. We would also clearly rule out the use of hydrogen for heating, as the majority of it is made from non-renewable sources. We are advocates of district heat networks powered by renewables and/or industrial waste heat (with certain conditions to prevent ‘lock in’), and would want to see schools benefitting from connection to these networks, to minimise bills and time spent on maintenance.

Yes, this is essential to enable people to transition from other sectors into green jobs. Oil and gas companies should provide their staff with a training budget for this, as part of their just transition plan. This could be mandated by the UK Government, as a way for these companies to give something back to workers and the planet, after so many years of profiting off those resources. Denmark has become known as a green skills exemplar, and provides training for employees from other countries. Scotland could do this as well, as we have real expertise in electrical engineering, decommissioning and other skills necessary for working in renewables or zero carbon heating. Green jobs also include local agroecological food production, forestry, peatland restoration, rewilding and other land-based jobs. Jobs in the arts and culture, care and education can also be low-carbon, green jobs. Resources should be increased for adult-learning and training in these green skills, as well as more technical skills.