OP28 has concluded, and the vital role that education can play in tackling the climate crisis was at the heart of the summit’s agenda.
The impact of the climate crisis on education is increasing. Weather-related disasters occur almost five times as frequently as forty years ago, disrupting the education of 40 million children a year.
Disruption to education compounds existing issues of poverty, access to education, and gender inequality, leaving the most vulnerable children even more susceptible to the impacts of a changing climate. In the face of climate-related disruption, governments find their education budgets rapidly depleted as emergency measures demand costly, short-term investments to mitigate the impacts.
The consequences of such disruption inevitably impact wider economic and social stability. Nations are reliant upon this stability to succeed, moreover, they need a skilled and educated workforce to flourish. But when climate-related disruption hits, learners can fall out of education entirely. If current trends continue, by 2030 less than 10% of young people in low-income countries will be on track to gain basic secondary level skills.
How Policymakers Can Maximize Impact
The key to mitigating the impacts of climate disruption on education is to get education systems ‘climate-ready’. As is the case with how we approach the climate crisis more broadly, preparation is better than cure.
Research shows that 55% of humanitarian funding is used for responding to crises that are predictable, with just 1% used for preparedness and early action. We need to flip this on its head.
Governments need to invest in ‘preparedness’, in building resilient education systems with the processes, structures, depth of expertise and capacity to manage and adapt for sudden changes with minimum additional investment. Resilient, prepared education systems are capable of not just managing and mediating crises in the moment but are able to make decisions now to pre-empt future challenges.
For example, in Pakistan, Cambridge is working with the government on a set of standards to evaluate the quality of distance and digital learning programs. This means they will have stronger remote learning initiatives in place that will help marginalized and out of school groups now but will also support larger scale pivots to digital learning in the case of further crises, like the devastating floods of last year. These preparations must consider access to emergency education provisions—as we saw during the global pandemic, inequality gaps widened for many children who were unable to access online learning.
Data’s Role in Greater Returns on Investment
Data helps us to understand the different elements of an education system and their relationships with one another. It is critical to finding the gaps and weaknesses in the system which will be the first to escalate in a crisis, and to recognizing those marginalized groups who will be most affected.
Using this data provides the insight governments need to make smart choices, prioritizing investment on the right solutions that will have the greatest impact both in the short and longer term.
With a rapidly growing funding gap for education in emergencies, governments, donors and the private sector need to invest more, and target this investment, to deliver greater return on investment. Businesses can play a crucial role in supporting investment in systemic education reform, as well as identifying the knowledge and skills the next generation will need to prosper. GBC-Education’s ESG + Education Playbook is just one tool businesses can use to make strategic investments in education to create social value and improve financial outcomes.
An Educated Workforce Can Embrace Green Growth Opportunities
An educated workforce is one possessing the skills, values, and desire to drive the technological transformation societies must deliver to combat climate change. Education can provide the basic, technical, managerial, and leadership skills necessary to innovate and develop green industries, transform economies and food systems, and reduce environmental destruction.
Green growth could produce up to 60 million additional jobs globally, but for societies to benefit, they must have the workforce capable of filling these roles. This requires ambitious education reform—from ensuring equitable access to quality early years education right through to creating a commercial environment that nurtures and develops skilled professionals. Top level leaders shaping the policies underpinning education systems can benefit from programs designed to deliver the capacity, skills and peer networks required to transform systems and infrastructure to become truly climate-ready.
We all have a role to play in the fight against climate change. Education and business leaders must take decisive action to shape the world’s ability to adapt, innovate and ultimately to save our planet.
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How Can Policy Leaders Build “Climate-Ready” Education Systems?
December 20, 2023
Education plays a crucial role in addressing the climate crisis, as was recognized during COP28. The climate crisis also disrupts education, creating wider economic and social instability, so policymakers must work to make education systems “climate-ready,” write Christine Özden and David Boutcher
C
OP28 has concluded, and the vital role that education can play in tackling the climate crisis was at the heart of the summit’s agenda.
The impact of the climate crisis on education is increasing. Weather-related disasters occur almost five times as frequently as forty years ago, disrupting the education of 40 million children a year.
Disruption to education compounds existing issues of poverty, access to education, and gender inequality, leaving the most vulnerable children even more susceptible to the impacts of a changing climate. In the face of climate-related disruption, governments find their education budgets rapidly depleted as emergency measures demand costly, short-term investments to mitigate the impacts.
The consequences of such disruption inevitably impact wider economic and social stability. Nations are reliant upon this stability to succeed, moreover, they need a skilled and educated workforce to flourish. But when climate-related disruption hits, learners can fall out of education entirely. If current trends continue, by 2030 less than 10% of young people in low-income countries will be on track to gain basic secondary level skills.
How Policymakers Can Maximize Impact
The key to mitigating the impacts of climate disruption on education is to get education systems ‘climate-ready’. As is the case with how we approach the climate crisis more broadly, preparation is better than cure.
Research shows that 55% of humanitarian funding is used for responding to crises that are predictable, with just 1% used for preparedness and early action. We need to flip this on its head.
Governments need to invest in ‘preparedness’, in building resilient education systems with the processes, structures, depth of expertise and capacity to manage and adapt for sudden changes with minimum additional investment. Resilient, prepared education systems are capable of not just managing and mediating crises in the moment but are able to make decisions now to pre-empt future challenges.
For example, in Pakistan, Cambridge is working with the government on a set of standards to evaluate the quality of distance and digital learning programs. This means they will have stronger remote learning initiatives in place that will help marginalized and out of school groups now but will also support larger scale pivots to digital learning in the case of further crises, like the devastating floods of last year. These preparations must consider access to emergency education provisions—as we saw during the global pandemic, inequality gaps widened for many children who were unable to access online learning.
Data’s Role in Greater Returns on Investment
Data helps us to understand the different elements of an education system and their relationships with one another. It is critical to finding the gaps and weaknesses in the system which will be the first to escalate in a crisis, and to recognizing those marginalized groups who will be most affected.
Using this data provides the insight governments need to make smart choices, prioritizing investment on the right solutions that will have the greatest impact both in the short and longer term.
With a rapidly growing funding gap for education in emergencies, governments, donors and the private sector need to invest more, and target this investment, to deliver greater return on investment. Businesses can play a crucial role in supporting investment in systemic education reform, as well as identifying the knowledge and skills the next generation will need to prosper. GBC-Education’s ESG + Education Playbook is just one tool businesses can use to make strategic investments in education to create social value and improve financial outcomes.
An Educated Workforce Can Embrace Green Growth Opportunities
An educated workforce is one possessing the skills, values, and desire to drive the technological transformation societies must deliver to combat climate change. Education can provide the basic, technical, managerial, and leadership skills necessary to innovate and develop green industries, transform economies and food systems, and reduce environmental destruction.
Green growth could produce up to 60 million additional jobs globally, but for societies to benefit, they must have the workforce capable of filling these roles. This requires ambitious education reform—from ensuring equitable access to quality early years education right through to creating a commercial environment that nurtures and develops skilled professionals. Top level leaders shaping the policies underpinning education systems can benefit from programs designed to deliver the capacity, skills and peer networks required to transform systems and infrastructure to become truly climate-ready.
We all have a role to play in the fight against climate change. Education and business leaders must take decisive action to shape the world’s ability to adapt, innovate and ultimately to save our planet.
