UNESCO Chief of Education for Sustainable Development Says Global Education Must Transform Itself to Address the Climate Crisis

UNESCO Chief of Education for Sustainable Development Says Global Education Must Transform Itself to Address the Climate Crisis

• In an exclusive interview with Net Zero, UNESCO’s Alexander Leicht discusses climate change, curriculum and what must change.

On any given day, over 1 billion children head to school. The United Nations has called Climate Change the biggest threat modern humans have ever faced. Climate education for all students is a crucial strategy in tackling our environmental crisis. So what’s been done with curriculum in global school systems so far?

UNESCO’s Alexander Leicht, Chief of the Section of Education for Sustainable Development, tells youth climate activist Sofia Lana in a Net Zero exclusive that addressing climate change is about “rethinking everything we do, changing our lifestyles and the way we think and act.” He stresses the urgent need for climate change to be “a core curriculum in schools across the world,” emphasizing that “education must fundamentally transform itself to address the climate crisis. We need a multidisciplinary cross curriculum integration of climate change and sustainability that teaches students how to become climate activists who can engage in the political process to push for better legislation.”

Net Zero is an acclaimed new video and podcast series that features 24 young climate activists from the Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement, in association with Planet Classroom, who ask global environmental thought leaders the key questions as to how their nations are progressing towards their 2050 Net Zero pledges since their commitments at COP26.

About the Protect Our Planet Movement

The Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement is an initiative designed to address the urgent need to share information and knowledge with the youth on solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (#SDGs) adopted by the UN, mitigate climate change, and adapt to its growing impacts. Intended to ultimately reach the size, scale, and momentum to become a global movement, POP mobilizes the youth worldwide to take collective action needed to mitigate climate change and protect threatened ecosystems.

About the Planet Classroom Network

The Planet Classroom Network, organized by C. M. Rubin World, brings together musicians, dancers, video game creators, filmmakers, activists, learning innovators and emerging technologists from around the world to entertain, educate and engage youth, and to provide a rich cultural experience for all. Content showcased for youth and by youth on the Planet Classroom Network is provided by 29 cultural organizations from around the world. Young people globally played a significant role in conceptualizing, creating, and producing the network’s vision and programming.