Climate Education
EARTHDAY.ORG EXCLUSIVE: Peru’s Minister of The Environment Juan Castro Vargas Backs Climate Education
October 10, 2025
As the world moves toward COP30 in Belém, Brazil this November, a powerful movement is gaining momentum across the world; the call to put climate education onto school curricula, making it a central pillar of national climate strategies.
Among the leading voices in this aim is Peru’s Minister of Environment, Juan Carlos Castro Vargas. In an exclusive conversation with Rodolfo Beltrán, Regional Director of EARTHDAY.ORG Brazil, the Minister laid out a compelling case for why environmental education must be at the heart of the region’s climate response.The timing of his message could not be more significant.
Over 400 million students globally have seen their schooling adversely impacted by extreme weather events in the last few years alone, especially in low- and middle-income countries that are least responsible for global emissions. As we continue to feel the very real effects of climate change, the question is no longer whether climate education matters, but whether governments are smart enough to act on it in time.
Climate Education and NDCs: Why They Matter
Nationally Determined Contributions,(NDCs), are the heart of each country’s climate strategy under the Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015. They outline steps a nation will take to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. These plans are updated every five years and the next NDC submission drafts are due at Cop 20 this year. This will be their third reiteration.
The Paris Agreement itself, in Article 12, highlights education, training, and public awareness as essential to meaningful climate action. Currently 85 countries’ explicitly note a plan to integrate climate education in their NDC in one form or another. The Vatican has just announced its inclusion of climate education in their NDC.
This is over a doubling of the 40 nations that committed to climate education back in 2020, but we still have progress to make. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have for shifting behaviors that will heal the planet, preparing future workers for a growing green workforce, and building resilience in communities on the front lines of climate impacts.
Climate education isn’t just about future generations. It’s also about equipping today’s workforce with the skills needed for a rapidly changing economy. The World Bank estimates that a green transition will create around 100 million new jobs globally. India alone could see 35 million green jobs by 2047. But to fill these roles, workers need new green skills. To earn them, they need the support of every nation’s educational system..
Despite climate education proving crucial to winning public support for climate friendly government policies worldwide, climate education remains drastically underfunded. In 2020, education made up just 1.3% of total global climate-related development assistance. Without pledged support in nations’ NDCs to commit to climate education efforts, it seems we are stuck in a cycle of underfunding this integral tool in climate action. Climate education is not a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. This is why EARTHDAY.ORG is urging all countries to include education in their NDCs.
Rodolfo Beltran, the Regional Director of South America, EARTHDAY.ORG, spoke with Minister Juan Carlos Castro Vargas, Minister of Environment of Peru for his insight in this important subject.
The timing is key as just days earlier, Peru hosted the XXIV Meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima; a historic session that brought together environment ministers from 33 countries to chart a bold, united path forward. Minister. Vargas, was this year’s President of this influential group.
The Forum, established in 1982 is Latin America and the Caribbean’s most important platform for environmental diplomacy, concluded with the adoption of a sweeping regional agenda to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. This will not only guide their regional priorities, but also prepares a united front for their forthcoming global negotiations at COP30.
Rodolfo Beltran, the Regional Director of South America, EDO: As Peru concluded its presidency of the Forum, what do you consider the most significant achievements, particularly during this final meeting in Lima?
Minister Castro: Firstly, the Lima Ministerial Declaration, establishes as key points, the implementation of all the NDC measures from each country and how they are confronting the climate crisis. Secondly, it is extremely important to implement measures that lead to ecosystem restoration and, above all, freshwater ecosystems, since we are all concerned about water security.
Another important point is advancing environmental culture and education. Everything that can be achieved through policies or strategies is linked to culture. If citizens themselves do not take responsibility for controlling pollution, no progress can be made.
Finally, I believe the consensus among countries is that all of Latin America and the Caribbean are looking toward a better future, one that delivers well-being to the population, with emphasis on ecosystem protection—especially the great Amazon ecosystem.
Rodolfo Beltran: The Lima Declaration highlighted gender, indigenous knowledge, circular economy, and sustainability education. How can public awareness and education be scaled to empower communities?
Minister Castro: Environmental education in many countries is still very incipient, and it is important to strengthen it so citizens realize they are key to ecosystem and environmental conservation.
Government efforts through policies, strategies, or mechanisms to restore rivers or ecosystems will not succeed if the population continues to devalue ecosystems, using them as dumpsites for waste. In many major Latin American and Caribbean cities, rivers are used as waste dumps. Therefore, citizen participation must be active, and countries must implement important mechanisms to reach people effectively.
Peru, for example, has a Directorate within the Ministry of Environment dedicated to Education, Culture, and Environmental Citizenship, which works with communities, environmental promoters, industries, and companies to change mindsets. This has led to the single-use plastics ban gaining traction with local governments and companies, changing production methods. Many supermarkets no longer use plastic utensils, replacing them with biodegradable materials. Local markets are also working with municipalities, helping people understand their role. This is a long-term effort, but countries are committed to making progress.
Rodolfo Beltran: Organizations like EARTHDAY.ORG are promoting the inclusion of climate education in updated NDCs. How can governments and civil society collaborate to make education a pillar of climate action?
Minister Juan Castro: The XXIV Forum of Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean has been key to seeing where countries stand, what difficulties they face, and whether governments truly have the will to solve problems through their initiatives.
It has been an opportunity to strengthen multilateral relations, which are essential for the region’s development. It has been clearly recognized that this joint effort among countries would not have been possible without international organizations such as EARTHDAY.ORG and agencies such as the United Nations and UNEP. They are crucial because they provide support, financing, and initiatives that help countries move forward.
Minister Juan Carlos Castro Vargas, Minister of The Environment of Peru
Minister Juan Castro: The Forum is important because it gives Latin America a space to place many of its problems on the table and seek joint solutions. Discrepancies among countries will always exist, but the richness of the Forum lies in how differences create opportunities for joint and multilateral work, learning from one another to strengthen our mechanisms and policies to solve the climate crisis affecting all ecosystems in the region.
How can governments work with associations? Civil society has an important role in these policy- and strategy-making spaces. Their participation, when aligned with government policies, is key to advancing.
Civil society contributes to implementing NDCs through energy transitions, ecosystem protection, and more. But it is important to distinguish civil society contributions—clear and constructive proposals—from activism that seeks only to block or protest. Youth and civic groups are crucial, but their contributions should build and complement national policies.
Civil society must also help reach populations, shifting mindsets on issues like water use. In facing future water challenges, civil society’s role is critical—preventing waste, valuing water resources, and promoting new behaviors toward them.
Rodolfo Beltran: The Forum adopted several regional action plans to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. How will these measures bring long-term benefits to the region?
Minister Castro:The idea is to establish strategies and mechanisms for ecosystem restoration. Many ecosystems in Latin America are degraded, especially forests, and the goal is to begin pushing concrete actions rather than just declarations of conservation or protection.
Several countries, such as Peru, already have concrete actions for ecosystem restoration. Peru has advanced green finance that promotes bio-businesses and eco-businesses. It has management plans for communities aimed at conserving two million hectares of Amazon forest, and agroforestry projects to recover more than seven million hectares currently deforested through community-based agroforestry mechanisms, benefiting the people.
We have recognized that the Amazon ecosystem is crucial not only for generating resources for the population but also as the main generator of water that flows to the Andes and then down to the coast. Thus, maintaining freshwater ecosystems is critically important—preventing contamination of water sources and ensuring water availability and quality. Freshwater ecosystems are recognized as a strategic resource for all countries’ development. Without water, there can be no development; without water, populations face severe problems.
Additionally, strong work is advancing on infrastructure for waste and methane control, since methane is one of the gases released from decomposing organic matter. Over 50% of waste is organic, which presents an opportunity to create value through composting and other mechanisms. Countries like Chile and Peru have made progress—Peru, for instance, has closed 52% of its gaps in solid waste management. However, investments remain insufficient in many countries, especially in the Caribbean, due to lack of financing.
It has also been recognized that progress is impossible unless waste generation itself is controlled through environmental education and culture among the population—the very people generating waste. Looking ahead, many countries are moving beyond landfills to new systems, including waste incineration, as is the case in Peru.
Rodolfo Beltran: With 33 countries aligned under a renewed environmental agenda, how do you see this unity strengthening Latin America and the Caribbean’s position in global negotiations, especially COP30?
Minister Castro: The idea of the Forum of Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean is that we can bring a single voice as a region to international events, especially COP30, which relates heavily to financing. Some countries have advanced more than others in proposals, but the main idea is that much of the climate finance discussed and approved at COP30 should remain in Latin America and the Caribbean, since we are not the world’s major polluters.
It was made clear that Peru, for example, contributes only 0.56% to global pollution—not even 1%. Yet Peru and other countries receive the impacts of climate change despite being the least responsible. Therefore, we need financing to implement restoration of ecosystems, infrastructure to capture methane, energy transition, and water crisis management. Financing is available, but we must go as a united Latin America.
This is why the Lima Ministerial Declaration should be presented at COP30, so each country can support it collectively. The plan is also to present the declaration at the 7th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi.
Rodolfo Beltran: The Forum emphasized species conservation, including a regional plan for jaguars. Why are emblematic species so important, and how does this relate to broader restoration goals?
Minister Castro: In species conservation, we are all included. The Jaguar Conservation initiative has united almost all of Latin America and the Caribbean around this emblematic species and others that are recovering.
This is directly tied to ecosystem restoration, since it requires restoring habitats and ensuring connectivity between ecosystems so species can recover. There are ongoing efforts across the region to restore ecosystems and habitats for important species.
Peru has examples of species once nearly extinct and on the red list of threatened species—such as the white-winged guan, whose habitat has been restored, increasing its population by 50%, as well as the rhea (Suri) and the tapir. These experiences can greatly contribute to jaguar conservation. This initiative underscores the importance of ecosystems and their connectivity, uniting Latin America and the Caribbean around the jaguar and efforts for its conservation, particularly in the Amazon biome.
Rodolfo Beltran: Minister, thank you for your time and insights. We are proud to see Peru, and Latin America as whole, leading the world on protecting the planet and educating the next generation on these critically important issues.
Thank you to the Ministers, Vice Ministers and Representatives of these nations for taking part in The Forum: Argentina, Bahamas,Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Venezuela, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, NIcaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, Tinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guatemala and Jamaica.
A Two-Decade Fight for Climate Education in NDCs
Still, global inclusion is far from complete. Many major emitters, including the United States, have yet to include climate education in their NDCs.
EARTHDAY.ORG’s own Rodolfo Beltran and Bryce Coon, our Director of Education, will be on the ground at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, ensuring that climate education remains firmly on the agenda.
Alongside ministers, negotiators, and civil society, they’ll be pushing for the inclusion of education in every single nation’sNDC. You can keep track of progress with our Climate Education NDCs Tracker.
