Education for a better climate
“…International environmental institutions can’t make states do what they don’t want to do, but citizens can. It is increasingly clear that treaties rely not only on states for implementation but on citizen activism and national environmental leadership. …If citizens do not demand strong environmental policy from their own government, no number of treaties and summits will save the earth.” – Prof. Stacy VanDeveer
The above quote speaks to the importance of common citizens in the preservation of our planet. Specifically Prof. VanDeveer points to citizens driving policy and treaties, quite applicable to our current goals here at COP15– especially as the final days draw near and doubt continues as to whether an international agreement will be reached. Citizens are also vital in the preservation of our planet outside of the political region, namely in their everyday actions, habits, and responses to change.
In both of these capacities, the vital step is to have these citizens of the earth be informed and educated. And in that lies a huge challenge, in how and by whom.
I have always been heavily involved in outreach and educational efforts regarding science and climate change understanding; much of my interaction with the youth population both in and outside of the traditional school education system. This has brought me hope in generating new stewards of the land, classroom by classroom, student by student. I dream of that day– when frustrations from hearing ignorant rants (by citizens, by politicians, by uninformed adults) subside because the new generation of educated youth has entered the stage.
However, I have to ask myself: is this enough? Is this fast enough for the rapidity at which the Earth needs action? Relative to our problems it seems too slow paced, both in terms of the number of youth being reached at a time, and also the fact that the youth must age before will have their full capacity as sustainable citizens. Yes, we might eventually reach a critical mass of youth, Generation ‘S’ for sustainability, but will it be too late for much of the planet 10-15 years down the road by the time that generation has voting and life decision power? In our pursuit of outreach and education, we must reach to the youth so that the day I dream of will indeed come when environmental concern is the unnoticed norm, and also reach to the current adult public so that immediate actions can be taken to preserve the Earth for the future.
Luckily, there are indeed new efforts to reach out, and put climate change education higher on the international agenda. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) and WMO (World Meteorological Organization) work together within the UN for climate knowledge, and have recently placed a focus on enhanced education and public awareness. Their support and programs are diverse in the techniques they use and populations they target, and I commend them for this creativity as it is needed for the diverse nature of the planet’s citizens. Some of these educational approaches include: integration of climate change education into already established educational programs and school curricula; enhancement of networking between educators to share good practices and experiences; support for teacher training; local field-based education through UNESCO’s networks both with youth and adult communities, sometimes utilizing UNESCO sites; sharing of climate change experiences, strategies, monitoring, impacts, etc. between communities; support to bridge the gap between IPCC assessment reports and services required to adapt to climate change; support to build capacities of journalists so they can serve as the knowledgeable connection to the public. What a wonderful list! UNESCO’s goals are far and good. I hope that they are able to materialize into outcomes, as often these political decrees seem to blur out of tangibility. UNESCO’s planned actions for the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 do indeed show real concrete steps in educating the public (including an IYB travelling exhibition!) suggesting we can hope for real action. (See http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/ev.php-URL_ID=7998&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html for more info on what the IYB will entail).
It is refreshing to see this public education agenda and action on the level of an international UN organization, in addition to the numerous grassroots and local-level educational efforts of which I have been a part, because there is no doubt that any effective climate change policy framework must include an educational component. I hope that our politicians here at COP15 can agree to this at the very least, even if they are stuck on all else climate change related.
