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Chapter 6 Climate education for the public

UNESCO’s definition of climate change education provides a fundamental conceptual
cornerstone for global climate education. It defines climate change education as “learning to
live with risks, uncertainties, and rapid changes,” aiming to cultivate people’s understand-
ing and response capabilities regarding climate change, climate injustice, and the impacts
of global warming on biodiversity. This action-oriented educationIt is comprehensive, par-
ticipatory, and transformative, requiring re-examination and repositioning of educational
content, objectives, teaching methodologies, and learning environments, with a focus on cul-
tivating students’ systems thinking, strategic thinking, collaborative thinking, critical think-
ing, self-awareness, and comprehensive problem-solving skills. In terms of content, climate
change education encompasses interdisciplinary knowledge across geography, meteorology,
biology, physics, earth sciences, and chemistry, including climate knowledge, atmosphere
and pollution, ice/snow volume, sea levels, temperature and life, soil and vegetation, cli-
mate’s impact on humanity, while also addressing effective communication skills regarding
climate and climate change, as well asmakingthe cultivation of attitudes, motivations, and
beliefs necessary for informed and responsible decision-making.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) plays a
significant role in establishing climate education standards and assessments. Although
its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is not specifically climate-
focused, its surveys include content related to students’ understanding and attitudes towards
environmental and climate change issues. PISA2018 findings reveal that most young people
are aware of climate change and care about environmental protection, with schools serving as
central agents in enhancing students’ environmental awareness and attitudes. Approximately
90% of surveyed principals reported that topics like climate change and global warming had
been incorporated into school curricula. The OECD has also published the report “Rethinking
Education in the Context of Climate Change: A Lever for Transformation,” proposing to
reconfigure STEM education based on its environmental science framework to innovate
climate-related education. This framework clarifies that the core mission of STEM education
is to cultivate learners’ fundamental scientific literacy. It advocates combining “solution-
oriented” learning with “problem-based” learning approaches, guiding learners to master
climate change solutions, apply scientific knowledge to address real-life climate challenges,
and strengthen confidence in climate responses. Simultaneously, it emphasizes shifting from
individualism to collective action, focusing on developing students’ collaborative problem-
solving skills, abilities to negotiate and manage conflicts, promoting diversity in STEM
education, narrowing gender and social class disparities, and strengthening career guidance
in environmental protection fields.
The United States has many practices in climate education standard development. Since
2013, 19 statesstates and the District of Columbia have adopted the Next Generation Science
Standards, which were jointly created by states andscientific authoritiesjointly created,
requiring teachers to begin teaching the facts of human-induced climate change from the

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