Climate Education
Forty to One Hundred Fifty-Two: A Decade of EARTHDAY.ORG Progress
November 13, 2025
When countries submitted their first Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement in 2015, climate education was largely an afterthought. For clarity they were called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) back then and before the Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015, countries were asked to submit their proposed climate plans.
When the Paris Agreement entered into force these INDCs were formally converted into NDCsonce countries ratified the agreement. So, effectively, the first round of NDCs were the INDCs submitted in 2015, and they became official NDCs upon ratification 2016 onward!.
The earliest NDCs focused on energy, transport, forestry, and finance. Few included measurable climate education goals. Early adopters such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Cambodia, Benin, Malawi, Vanuatu, and the EU, UK, and Dominican Republic set important precedents, integrating climate education into curricula, teacher training, or community learning. Of 133 NDCs reviewed, only 40 countries mentioned climate or environmental education specifically in strategies for mitigation, adaptation, or resilience.
By October 2025, the picture has transformed: 152 countries now meaningfully include, reference, or institutionalize climate education, marking a clear shift toward recognizing education as a strategic tool in climate action.
WHY DOES CLIMATE EDUCATION MATTER?
Here’s why climate education in all schools matters: it empowers students to navigate the climate crisis and helps to alleviate eco-anxiety. On top of that, it equips students and all learners with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in the burgeoning green economy.
According to the latest World Bank 2025 report on the subject, Are Green and Digital Skills a Pathway to Jobs in the Middle East and North Africa?, the demand for green and digital skills is rapidly outpacing supply, underscoring the urgency of integrating these competencies into educational curricula.
Similarly, LinkedIn’s 2024 Global Green Skills Report highlights a significant gap between the increasing demand for green talent and the available workforce, with global demand for green skills growing approximately twice as fast as supply between 2023 and 2024..
Countries such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Cambodia, Benin, Malawi, Vanuatu, and members of the EU, UK, and Dominican Republic have pioneered efforts by embedding climate education into national curricula, teacher training, and community initiatives. These countries have not only addressed environmental concerns but have also laid the groundwork for a workforce adept in sustainable practices and green technologies.
Teaching green skills is an environmental priority AND it’s an economic one. Climate education prepares young people for the clean energy and sustainability jobs that are defining the 21st century. The green economy will be built by a generation that knows how to design, install, and innovate sustainably and that starts in the classroom.
Dennis Nolasco, Education Coordinator, EARTHDAY.ORG
As the global economy shifts towards sustainability, integrating climate education in school curricula globally is becoming an imperative. especially in preparing the workforce for careers in the energy transition industries of solar and wind.
WE HAVE LIFT OFF!
It was from 2016 onwards that climate education began to gain real traction. UNESCO’s Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (2015–2019) framed education as a driver of transformation, helping to mainstream sustainability principles across education systems. The implementation guidance adopted at COP24 in Katowice in 2018 provided an international framework for education, awareness, training, and public participation under Article 12 of the Paris Agreement—known as Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE). Meanwhile, civil society, led by EARTHDAY.ORG’s Climate Education Coalition, mobilized governments to embed climate education into their updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
EARTHDAY.ORG has played a pivotal role in both tracking and mainstreaming the concept of climate education through its decades long advocacy for teaching students about climate change.
At COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2022, EARTHDAY.ORG’s Global Climate Education Coalition was launched to bring together more than 100 youth focused partner organizations to further champion climate education. Building on EDO’s 2020 Climate and Environmental Literacy Campaign, the Coalition advocates for countries to embed education and civic engagement into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The Coalition positions education as a strategic tool for resilience and green transformation, empowering young people to take a lead in creating a sustainable future.
All of this advocacy and campaigning was made even more accessible by EARTHDAY.ORG’s communication team’s decision to create an NDC Tracker in 2024. This tracker monitors which countries include, or omit climate education and is maintained by EDO’s dedicated education team with the help of their interns. The tracker cleverly divides climate education adoption into 4 categories, 1 featuring the most significant adopters. By translating complex UNFCCC language into clear data EARTHDAY.ORG is amplifying calls for climate education and is a measurable component of climate ambition.
By October 2025, 62 countries explicitly integrated climate education into school curricula, Kindergarten through Grade 12 (Category 1 on the EARTHDAY.ORG NDC Tracker), while 64 countries referenced it as important without specifying curricular inclusion (Category 2 in the NDC Tracker). One of these 64 in Category 2 represents the EU’s 27 member states.
We created the NDC Tracker because what gets measured, gets changed. By tracking how countries include climate education in their national commitments, we can identify leaders, inspire those who are falling behind, and ensure that education stays at the heart of climate action. The NDC Tracker helps us see the bigger picture: where climate education is advancing, where it’s missing, and how collective pressure can bring about change.
Dennis Nolasco, Education Coordinator, EARTHDAY.ORG
Altogether, 152 nations have now meaningfully included climate education in their NDCs. Only a few countries remain without mention—a nearly four-fold increase since 2015, demonstrating the powerful alignment between education policy and climate commitments.
REGIONAL PROGRESS IS KEY
Regional progress is notable. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Panama have moved from symbolic mentions to institutional mandates. Coalitions like the Brazilian Coalition for Climate Education link ministries, civil society, and private actors to anchor education in energy-transition narratives.
In Africa, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Namibia, and Benin have launched teacher-training curricula integrating climate content, with the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) endorsing education as a national priority.
In Asia and the Pacific, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Vanuatu, and the Marshall Islands operationalize climate education across school systems, where literacy is critical for survival in Small Island Developing States. Europe continues embedding environmental education into Green Deal and Just Transition frameworks.
Challenges remain. Few NDCs include indicators for educational outcomes, funding for climate education remains limited, rural and Indigenous communities often lack access, and cross-ministerial coordination is weak. Dedicated funding through mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and Transforming the Future Fund is essential to close these gaps.
WORK STILL TO BE DONE
Around 40 countries have yet to integrate climate education into their NDCs. But UNFCCC procedures allow them to submit updates at COP30 Belém to align with global consensus. COP30, the first UN Climate Conference in the Amazon, brings together civil society—including EARTHDAY.ORG, the Brazilian Coalition for Climate Education, IPAM Amazônia, and youth networks—advocating for a Belém Declaration on Climate Education.
All parties are urged to integrate climate education into their NDC 3.0 revisions, fund teacher training and curriculum reform, and include education indicators in the Global Stocktake 2028. If adopted, Belém could mark the moment when education becomes a measurable lever of climate ambition rather than a footnote.
From 40 nations in 2015 to 152 in 2025, climate education’s inclusion in NDCs reflects the growing maturity of global climate governance. EARTHDAY.ORG’s NDC Tracker provides the transparency and accountability needed to sustain this progress. What is more, we will have a three person team in Belém, during COP30, including myself to keep advocating for climate education. If you want to speak with EARTHDAY.ORG about supporting our efforts, please reach out to me here: [email protected]
Education is no longer peripheral; it is the foundation of mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. As the world converges on COP30 Belém, the message is clear: teaching climate action is itself a form of climate action. If you agree there is an urgent need for all nations to incorporate climate education in their NDCs, add your name to our Climate Literacy Petition to pledge your support.
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