COP31 in Türkiye puts climate education at heart of agenda

As climate change enters more national curricula, experts say stronger teacher training and locally tailored learning are essential to turn awareness into meaningful action.

Climate education could take a central place at the upcoming United Nations climate conference in Antalya, as experts push for greater investment in teaching young people about climate change and how to respond to its impacts.

Eric Guilyardi, a climate scientist at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS-IPSL) and president of the Office for Climate Education (OCE), said COP31 represents a critical opportunity to embed climate education within the global climate agenda, describing quality instruction as “probably the most transformative climate adaptation action.”

The UN climate conference, due to convene in Türkiye this November, has placed Youth and Education among the 10 priority areas of its COP31 Action Agenda, Guilyardi told Anadolu Agency.

“There are many reasons why we need young people worldwide to better understand what climate is, how it works, how we are modifying it through our human activities, and what course of action we can think of to limit the changes we are doing and their impact on societies and ecosystems,” he said.

Guilyardi, who was a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, said climate education goes beyond teaching scientific knowledge and should give young people tools to envision their future world.

The interdisciplinary field can encompass climate science, humanities, sports and history but may “fall through the cracks” depending on how education systems are structured, he said.

Teachers are central to effective climate education, Guilyardi said, adding that changing professional practice requires between 30 and 80 hours of specialised training.

“This education is very different from just awareness. You’re not going to have a two-hour conference and that’s it. It’s not enough to change your professional practice in the classroom,” he said.

Many teachers currently feel isolated when dealing with climate-related subjects they do not fully master, he added.

Guilyardi also stressed the need to adapt climate education to local realities, cultures and education systems.

“This is absolutely key. The one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in this field,” he said.

Despite climate change now appearing in more than 50 percent of national curricula, a development that was not the case even five years ago, Guilyardi said progress remained insufficient.

“Things are changing fast,” he said, but added that quality climate education still reaches only a small share of young people.

“If we look at the different surveys we’ve been doing in the 30 countries where OCE is working, we estimate at the moment – it varies among countries — that between 3% and 7% of the young generation receives quality climate education,” he said.

Guilyardi said awareness of climate change remains high globally but needs to be translated into action through quality instruction. That, he said, requires bridging the current disconnect between the climate and education sectors.

The fifth edition of the “Teachers’ COP”, a global platform established by OCE five years ago, will be held alongside COP31 in Antalya this November, Guilyardi said.

He said the conference’s decision to dedicate a full day to youth and education was “extremely exciting”. OCE is contributing to the organisation of the dedicated day alongside Turkish authorities, he said.

The event could provide a platform to move quality climate education beyond simple awareness, while helping teachers address anxiety-inducing narratives around climate change, Guilyardi said.

The inclusion of education in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are at the heart of the Paris Agreement, marks a “game-changer” since the last COP, he said.

OCE will hold several events at COP31 to help countries take advantage of the opportunity, Guilyardi added.

Work on disinformation launched under the Belém Agenda at the previous conference will also continue at COP31. “Prebunking”, which involves equipping young people to distinguish trustworthy information from disinformation on social networks, will move higher on the agenda, he said.

The fifth edition of the “Teachers’ COP” will convene alongside the main conference sessions in Antalya this November.