The start of a New Year is often a time for reflection and recalibration. This winter, as we leave behind perhaps the most difficult year in recent human history, this reflection takes on an even greater meaning.
In the words of Secretary-General Guterres, we are standing at a “make-or-break” moment for humanity, and the health of our planet. New COVID-19 variants continue to emerge, and despite global emissions falling by a record 7% last year, the planet is now at hotter than at any other point in human civilization.
The stakes have therefore never been higher. So while in 2020 we spoken of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that COVID-19 has provided us with – to reimagine our societies and economies in a way that benefits both people and planet – 2021 must be the year that we translate this narrative into action.
And education can drive this process forwards.
The Power of Education
In May last year, Nicholas Stern, Joseph Stiglitz and other renowned economists identified investments in education and training as having key multiplier effects for economic recovery and climate action.
The events of the past 12 months have demonstrated that, while rapid behavioural change is possible – and can have positive environmental effects – addressing the climate crisis requires more than incremental steps. Instead, change on a transformative scale is needed.
However, such change can only be achieved through a corresponding, radical shift in our collective mindsets, attitudes and behaviours. This entails changing the way that we think about, interact with, and care for both each other and our planet.
It is here that education can play such a critical role. Education is the catalyst that converts knowledge and understanding into new behaviours and actions – which eventually translate into the green policies and investments that will be needed to address the climate crisis in 2021 and beyond.
The correlation between education and climate action has been strongly validated by the results of the world’s largest “People’s Climate Vote”, which was conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and University of Oxford at the end of last year.
The vote asked more than one million people from 50 different countries whether they viewed climate change as a “global emergency”. Significantly, those with higher levels of education were consistently more likely to agree with this statement.
While climate literacy continues to trend in a positive direction, the fight is far from being won. Over a third of the vote’s respondents remain climate sceptics, and this figure was highest in Least Developed Countries – where education and technology gaps are greatest.
Scaling-up efforts and ambitions in 2021 will therefore not be enough. We must also adapt both how and what we learn.
Learning for a Green Economy
One area in which we can do so is green economy learning. To craft the knowledge and skills that must eventually underpin a green economy transition, a number of important steps must happen.
First, we must continue to fortify our green economy knowledge base. Over the last decade we have curated what a green economy means – the policies, investments, reforms and technologies needed – but now focus must turn towards building the skillsets to implement this in practice. This includes developing more robust indicators for measuring green economy progress at the national level.
Second, we must address the siloed and short-term mindsets that typically impede such progress. These mindsets are embedded in the education systems that nurture us, and by incorporating systems and strategic-based thinking into our learning at an earlier age – when our minds are most pliable – we can foster the lifelong competencies needed to bring different departments, sectors and worlds together in pursuit of a common goal.
Finally, we must adopt a continuous learning approach to adapt and react to complex challenges ahead. The past twelve months have highlighted the importance of key areas – such as the purple care economy – that perhaps sat outside green economy discourse before the pandemic took hold. If green is now seen to be limiting, we should embrace a multi-coloured approach that is inclusive of other elements.
Steps for 2021 and Beyond
These steps should guide green economy learning in both 2021 and beyond. Today, we can point to three recent initiatives that have set this ball rolling.
First, the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have launched the Green Learning Network (GLN) – a dedicated community space for both education professionals and students to collaborate around green learning. The GLN aims to respond to increasing demand for green skills and knowledge, and will host a series of peer-learning events that facilitate information exchange on green economy topics.
Second, the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) – together with UNITAR – has developed a Learning for a Green Recovery campaign, which aims to provide policymakers and other relevant stakeholders with the skills and tools needed to implement a green economy in practice. The campaign features six self-paced, free-of-charge e-Learning courses on trade, finance and other topics, and can be taken online at UNITAR’s flagship UN CC:e-Learn platform.
Finally, PAGE has recently launched The Green Renaissance: How to Rebuild the Global Economy – a new monthly podcast series on the green recovery. Available on YouTube, Spotify and all main podcasting platforms, the series aims to unpack the green recovery debate for a broad target audience. Significantly, one conclusion that initial episodes have drawn is the fundamental role that youth climate groups are now playing in shaping policy debate and direction – teasing the fruits that more targeted education can provide.
Education for Action
While these and other initiatives represents important steps in the right direction, the results of the People’s Climate Vote – and the continued rejection of climate science in many parts of the world – demonstrate that we have so far failed to fully shape the mindsets and behaviours needed to enact climate action on a transformational scale.
While we can point to the recent decarbonization pledges made by China, the European Union and others – as well as increased private sector leadership – as evidence that we are trending in the right direction, the fact remains that we have so far not been able to fully tip the scales on climate action.
However, the results of the People’s Climate Vote also demonstrate that it is education that will finally allow us to do so. By scaling-up investments in education and training, and adapting both how and what we teach in climate change education, we can achieve the recovery that people and planet need.
Too often in the past, when the world has changed education has failed to respond. Now, it must lead the way.