As of September 2020, every Italian child, in every grade, is required to learn about climate change and sustainability. In September 2021, New Jersey became the first state in the US to require every child, k-12 to learn about climate change across 7 curricular areas. In countries, towns and districts across the US and the world, the realities of our climate emergency are beginning to be taught in formal educational settings. This is long over due and uneven in its implementation and requirements, but finally, it seems to be taking off on a wider and public scale.
Under Article 12 of the 2015 United Nations Paris Agreement, the importance of climate change education, training, public awareness, public participation and public access to information, was recognized, and signatories of the agreement were asked “to cooperate in taking appropriate measures.”
On September, 2021, the USA Department of Education took steps to enact the Biden Administration’s decision to address our climate emergency across every Federal department, Executive Order 14008 and to see the Paris commitment, under Article 12, through. The US Department of Education’s Climate Adaptation Plan, for the first time includes: “facilities and operational as well as how public-facing programs, guidance, policies, technical assistance, data collection, and civil rights action can be supportive of reducing the footprint of schools across the nation, as well as improving health, increasing climate resiliency, and improving students’ environmental literacy.” You can review the new Climate Adaptation Plan here.
Photo credit: Unsplash/KianaBosman
What are your children learning about the climate emergency? We need to equip our children with the knowledge, the skills, the opportunities, and the ACTIVE hope, to be part of our collective response to slow down the global climate emergency we all face. How can you help turn your child’s “angst into action?” What is your school district and your child’s school doing specifically to teach and address the realities of the climate emergency. Get involved, get engaged, get informed. Let us know, and certainly and firstly, let your children know you are working on this for them!
Warmly,
Your Climate Mama
