Climate Education
What’s Going On in Bonn: Climate Education’s Moment to Have Impact
June 20, 2025
EARTHDAY.ORG’s (EDO) climate education team is committed to advancing the global campaign to make climate education a core part of every school curriculum, from kindergarten through high school. Their presence at the UN Climate Conference SB 62 at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) HQ in Bonn, Germany underscores the organization’s commitment to integrating education across all subjects, for the benefit of the green economy worldwide.
Bonn, once the capital of West Germany, remains internationally significant as the headquarters of the UNFCCC, the body responsible for global climate agreements. Each summer, the city hosts critical climate meetings where world leaders and advocates, including EARTHDAY.ORG, gather to push for stronger climate action and policy commitments.
Bryce Coon, Director of Climate Education at EARTHDAY.ORG, is heading to Bonn for these meetings and will be joined there by EDO’s youth leader Johnny Dabrowski and European consultant Max Falcone—all of them advocating for a fully integrated approach to climate education. The vision is not for climate change to be a single, isolated subject, but rather a theme woven throughout all disciplines:
That means adding climate-related lessons and exercises to the whole curriculum for every school class. It’s a truly integrated approach: for example science classes can teach students about carbon emissions, while English classes can include poetry readings triggered by the effects of climate change, and math classes can use greenhouse gas measurements to bring algebra to life. The primary goals are to prepare students to face the climate crisis and equip them with the skills needed to empower the green economy.
Some nations, for example South Korea, are already incorporating this approach to climate education into their curricula at every level of their schooling. Since 2019 their revised national preschool curriculum has included climate change education, focusing on daily experiences and play to instill environmentally sustainable attitudes from an early age. In primary and secondary schools, climate change topics are included in both science and social science subjects. The South Korean government has enacted laws to expand climate education, with the aim of nurturing “eco-citizens”.
Why Should We All Teach Climate Education?
The answer reaches far beyond environmental stewardship —it’s about preparing young people to thrive in a rapidly changing world where the economy itself is being redefined by the need for sustainability.
Today, the global workforce is undergoing a profound transformation. As countries and industries pivot toward a low-carbon future, climate education will become the foundation for our economic resilience. But the green economy is not a distant dream; it’s already here, creating millions of jobs and reshaping entire sectors.
Recent estimates suggest that the transition to sustainable industries could generate over $10 trillion in new and augmented jobs across the globe. These opportunities aren’t limited to scientists or engineers. They span construction, where workers are needed to build energy-efficient homes and retrofit aging infrastructure; manufacturing, which demands new skills in sustainable materials and clean technologies; social work and education, where professionals help communities adapt to climate impacts; finance, where expertise in sustainable investment and risk assessment is increasingly essential; and agriculture, which is being revolutionized by regenerative practices and precision farming.
It is vital we invest in climate education because it is a critically important way to fulfill many existing job vacancies. Industry and business are clear on this — they need more climate educated college graduates to drive the global economy and they need them now.
Johnny Dabrowski, Coordinator, Climate Education Coalition, EARTHDAY.ORG
Industry leaders are sounding the alarm: the demand for workers equipped with green skills is skyrocketing. Companies need employees who understand climate science, who can analyze environmental data, manage sustainable supply chains, design eco-friendly products, and plan for climate resilience. Without a workforce trained in these areas, businesses risk falling behind, unable to innovate or meet new regulations and consumer expectations.
At the same time, there’s a human dimension that cannot be ignored. EDO’s Climate Education Report highlights that three out of four young people say the future feels frightening because of climate change. Education is a powerful antidote to this anxiety. When students learn about climate change in a solutions-oriented way, they gain knowledge, and agency. They see how they can be part of the solution. Recycling, conserving energy, and making sustainable choices become as natural as fastening a seatbelt—habits that last a lifetime and ripple through families and communities.
So What Are The Hopes for Bonn?
This session of the Bonn climate meetings (SB 62), held from June 16 to 26, is especially important because it is the last major negotiation before the Conference of Parties (COP30), made up of the nations of the UNFCCC,the private sector and civil society, which will be held in Belém, Brazil in November 2025. Bonn acts as a stepping stone conference that helps to set the agenda and kick-start negotiations for COP30.
It is essential to include processes of climate education and climate environmental education, both in the formulation and implementation of the NDCs, to ensure they are truly aligned with the 1.5’C mission.
Marina Silva, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Brazil
Liliam Chagas, the director of climate negotiations for Brazil, is pushing for progress in two main areas: the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP), which aims to ensure that workers and vulnerable communities are supported in the shift to renewables, and the Global Stocktake (GST), which reviews global progress on the Paris Agreement. The GST has found that the world is not on track to limit warming to 1.5°C, so negotiators in Bonn need to address this gap and agree on how to make the transition fair for all.
EARTHDAY.ORG hopes that governments coming to Bonn recognizes the importance of universal climate education and allocates provisions for teaching it. If countries can be convinced of its importance, Bonn could help make climate education a global priority, with more nations adding it to their national climate plans. Emphasizing the benefits of climate education country-by-country are key .Which is why EDO’s team in Bonn is aiming to persuade more individual nations to add climate education to their school curricula as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Climate Education in NDCs
NDCs are each nation’s commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement, submitted to the UNFCCC as a way of formalizing their plans for carbon neutrality and climate change adaptation.
Within global climate efforts, the education sector remains overlooked. While climate-related official development assistance increased from 21.7 percent in 2013 to 33.4 percent in 2020, education made up less than 1.3 percent of this change. In terms of government action plans for climate, also known as Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs), less than 1 in 3 mention climate education, and less than 1 in 4 mention green skills.
World Bank Choosing Our Future Education For Climate Action Report
There have been some recent victories — Maldives, Saint Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda, three island nations, have each added EDO’s model language into their most recent NDCs.
This is a great development for two reasons: First, it strengthens the precedent of including climate education in NDCs, which may encourage more countries to follow suit. Secondly, as lower income countries, they will be able to use their NDCs to claim funding for climate education.
NDCs should be updated every five years, but nearly every country missed the February 2025 deadline, and the majority still have not submitted their most recent plans. This tardiness has, counterintuitively, turned Bonn into a major opportunity for climate education advocates. Because so few new NDCs have been submitted, developments at Bonn could affect what is included in every nation’s final version.
Bonn is our last best opportunity to get a critical mass of countries to put climate education into their NDCs to prioritize climate education once and for all and allocate much needed international funding for the Global South so that they can implement climate education too.
Kathleen Rogers, President, EARTHDAY.ORG
EDO’s Climate Education NDC Reception on Wednesday, June 20th we will see climate negotiators, the Polish Presidency of the EU Council and Efrem Bycer, the Senior Lead Manager and Public Policy and Economic Graph, from LinkedIn taking part in a panel discussion. It is events like this that aim to consolidate support around climate education, recognize the progress that has been made in this regard, all while encouraging countries not yet committed to teaching climate education to get onboard.
What Can You Do?
Help us seize the opportunity by donating to EARTHDAY.ORG and supporting the work of the climate education coalition, working to introduce and strengthen climate education provisions in NDCs. You can also use this NDC tracker to see which countries are already backing climate education, you can even read our report to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn and IG.
Bonn will not be the last battle in the fight for climate education, but it has the potential to be a major breakthrough and lead us into COP30 on even stronger footing.
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