Education is an essential building block in accelerating the ambition of Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement and protecting our people and our planet from the life-threatening risks of climate change.
Education has the power to unite communities, build consensus and transform entire societies.
In the classroom of the future, girls and boys will acquire the green skills they need to thrive in the new economy of the 21st century. In the classroom of the future, communities will come together to share early warnings and act in advance of fast-acting climate hazards such as droughts and floods. In the classroom of the future, an entire generation of future leaders can build the will and commitment to break down the status quo and create true lasting solutions to this unprecedented and truly terrifying crisis.
But education is under threat – especially in countries where conflict, forced displacement and climate change have come together to push millions of girls and boys from the safety of the classroom. Without an education, these children face unimaginable attacks on their humanity, from forced recruitment into armed groups to child marriage.
At this year’s Climate Talks in Baku (COP29), Education Cannot Wait called on world leaders to place education at the top of the international agenda.
The climate crisis is an education crisis
Multilateral climate finance has not prioritised the education sector to date, meaning a tiny proportion, at most 0.03%, of all climate finance is spent on education. While children have the most to offer in building long-term solutions to the crisis, they also have the most to lose.
The connection between climate action and education are also noticeably underrepresented in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – national commitments to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Only half of all NDCs are child and youth sensitive.
This is an urgent situation. In 2022, over 400 million children experienced school closures as the result of extreme weather. On the frontlines of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, these disruptions will often push children out of the education system forever. In places like Chad, Nigeria and Sudan – where millions of children are already out of school – it could impact the future of an entire generation.
It starts with finance
So how do we connect climate finance with education actions, especially education in emergencies and protracted crises?
The first step is increasing access to the main climate funds – including the Global Environment Facility and Green Climate Fund – and activating new innovative financing modalities to deliver with speed, depth and impact.
The funding needs to be faster, easier, more transparent, and fully coordinated across both humanitarian and development sectors.
Next, as we look forward to COP30 in Brazil, education must play an integral role in the new Loss and Damage Fund. Education losses caused by climate change take unprecedented tolls on societies, especially in countries impacted by conflicts, displacement and other pressing humanitarian emergencies.
The loss and damage connected with years of lost learning may seem hard to quantify. But we know that for every $1 invested in a girl’s education, we see $2.80 in return. And we know that education isn’t just a privilege, it’s a human right.
Finally, we need to ensure the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance includes a firm commitment to educating all the world’s children. Not just the easy-to-reach, but the ones that are the most vulnerable, the millions of lost souls whose lives are being ripped apart by a crisis not of their own making.
Addressing the impacts of the climate crisis requires a whole-of-society approach. With quality education for all, we have the opportunity build consensus toward a common vision for a climate-resilient future. Now we just need the finance and political will to make it happen.
