High-Level Event: Education - A Key Driver to Scale-Up Climate Action
14 November 2016 from 13:15 to 14:45, Room: Pacific, Marrakech, Morocco

This event brought together ministers of environment and education, and international organizations to discuss how education can enhance the implementation of INDCs and climate action. Good practices were showcased. A guidance document for policymakers and ACE focal points was launched.

Background: The solutions to climate change are also the paths to a safer, healthier, cleaner and more prosperous future for all. However, for such a future to become a reality, people in all countries and at all levels of society need to understand and get involved. 

Education is key to prepare societies for global change. It plays a critical role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and putting the Paris Climate Change Agreement into action. Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) stipulates that all Parties shall cooperate in and promote education, training and public awareness related to climate change, and shall encourage wide public participation in this process.

The critical role of education in the global climate change response is further recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as in the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Article 12 of the Paris Agreement states that “Parties shall cooperate in taking measures to enhance climate change education, training, public awareness, public participation and public access to information.” Because COP 22 will serve to kick-off the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the education sector needs to be prepared to support this endeavour. 

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) helps to generate and scale up action at all levels and areas of education and learning to accelerate progress towards sustainable development starting with policy. Education as a key driver to scale-up climate action should be included in national commitments and policies such as the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

This has been initiated, from 2014, and at the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, that marked the end of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), with the commitment of International Organizations such as the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection to the post-2015 agenda of the Global Action Program (GAP).

Objectives: Promote the role of education as key driver in moving forward the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Foster all stakeholders’ engagement (governments, academia, civil society, private sector, international organizations, funding agencies, the media, etc.) towards transformational partnerships for climate change education and ESD, and promote intercultural dialogue.

Specific objectives:

• Provide guidance on how education can be integrated into the INDCs;

• Showcase good practices linking climate change education and the SDGs. Share experiences from North and South countries;

• Highlight the strategic orientations and priority actions for anchoring climate change education and ESD in national education policies and systems at government level (formal and non-formal education, vocational training, etc.), across sectors (environment, water, energy, etc.) and at sub-national and local levels (role of regional and local councils);

• Define the necessary resources to be put in place in order to effectively support the implementation of Article 12 of the Paris Agreement with a focus on specific priorities for African countries (capacity building, expertise, technology transfer, financing, etc.);

• Launch the 2016 GEM- Planet Report and present the key findings on climate change and education;

• Launch a guidance document for policy makers and national focal points for Action for Climate Empowerment, developed by UNESCO and UNFCCC.

Organizers: The High-level event: Education: “A key driver to scale-up climate action’’ is organized by the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training of the Kingdom of Morocco in partnership with UNFCCC, UNESCO, the members of the UN Alliance on Climate Change Education, Training and Public Awareness and the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection.

Agenda of the High-level event: Education - A key driver to scale-up climate action (199 kB)

Agenda of the High-level event: Education - A key driver to scale-up climate action