UNESCO Chief of Education

"Global Education Must Transform Itself to Address the Climate Crisis"

Alexander LeichtNew York, NY (USA), May 2022 - On any given day, over one billion children head to school. The United Nations has called climate change the biggest threat modern humans have ever faced. Climate education for all students is a crucial strategy in tackling our environmental crisis. So what's been done with curriculum in global school systems so far?

UNESCO's Alexander Leicht, Chief of the Section of Education for Sustainable Development, tells youth climate activist Sofia Lana in a NET ZERO exclusive that addressing climate change is about "rethinking everything we do, changing our lifestyles and the way we think and act."
He stresses the urgent need for climate change to be "a core curriculum in schools across the world," emphasizing that "education must fundamentally transform itself to address the climate crisis. We need a multidisciplinary cross curriculum integration of climate change and sustainability that teaches students how to become climate activists who can engage in the political process to push for better legislation."

NET ZERO is an acclaimed new video and podcast series that features 24 young climate activists from the Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement, in association with Planet Classroom, who ask global environmental thought leaders the key questions as to how their nations are progressing towards their 2050 Net Zero pledges since their commitments at COP26.