As 100+ organizations representing youth, teachers, and civil society we are calling for a unified, global commitment to integrate climate education into national curricula as a compulsory module with a focus on civic skills building, climate justice, and green innovation. Education is not an ask, it is a necessity  to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement with climate action based on knowledge, engagement, and responsibility.

The Climate Education Coalition calls on the governments to:

1. Embed Climate Education in NDCs update in 2025
   We call on governments to establish quality, solutions-oriented climate education as a core component of their NDCs, transforming climate education into a formal, compulsory part of curricula nationwide. This education should empower students with green and civic skills, emphasize indigenous knowledge, include biodiversity and environment, and promote scientific-based data.
   
   
2. Enhance Teacher Training and Resources
   We urge governments to provide teachers with training and resources to deliver inspiring and impactful climate education. Such support should be designed to equip educators to guide students with confidence, fostering a proactive, innovative, and solutions-driven mindset toward the climate crisis.
   
   
3. Empower Youth and Fund Youth-Driven Climate Initiatives
   We call for increased funding of youth-led climate initiatives, with a focus on projects that advance education, renewable energy, and sustainable practices, particularly in regions most affected by climate change. Engage youth leaders in climate policy-making through advisory boards and participation in the UNFCCC process as members of national delegations.
   
   We invite governments and international organizations to engage directly with the delegation of   the Climate Education Coalition at COP29 to discuss the implementation of these demands, fostering a collaborative approach to global climate education reform. Please contact us at [email protected]
   

Signed by , the Climate Education Coalition

See Full Coalition List

We, the undersigned organizations, are united for COP28 as the #Education4Earth
movement, representing global youth and climate education activists from all around the
world.

We are calling on world governments and international agencies to fulfill the
following demands in 2024 and 2025.

Fashion is said to be a reflection of culture. What does it say about our culture when it endangers the environment and all living things?  

The fast fashion industry operates on a “race to the bottom” model to produce the greatest number of garments at the lowest price. With cheap production, lowered costs and societal pressure to constantly consume clothing, fashion’s numbers are staggering: 100 billion garments made annually, 87%  ending in landfills or incinerators and only 1% recycled. Toxic textile processing pollutes freshwater systems harming connected ecosystems, and each year 200 million trees are razed for cellulosic fibers imperiling biodiversity. 69% of clothes are made from crude oil and washing them accounts for 35% of the ocean's microplastics. Microfibers are in the food chain, our air, our soil and appear deep in our organs and our bloodstreams threatening our existence. 

This $2.5 trillion industry is shockingly unregulated. Citizens alone cannot change the industry.  Government legislation must be implemented now. 

We’re calling on the US Administration to instruct the following agencies to create regulations to protect the environment and the health of living things. 

The Environmental Protection Agency must:  

• Hold the fashion industry responsible for cutting carbon emissions to achieve alignment with the 1.5 degree pathway set out by the 2015 Paris Agreement  
• Enact an Extended Producer Responsibility requirement for fashion brands to sustainably dispose of their waste   
• Impose a carbon tax on all clothing made from virgin synthetic materials  
• Mandate every new clothes washing machine have a filter installed to capture plastic microfibers 
• Restrict the manufacture, import and export of clothing containing harmful chemicals/substances  
• Support an infrastructure and standard systems for consistent, convenient and widespread collection and sorting of used clothing to prevent the waste of 17 millions of tons of textiles in the United States each year 

The Federal Trade Commission must: 

• Require labeling of garments for transparency and traceability, the percentage of recycled content, and the amount of microfiber shedding during washing
• Force brands to abide by the Fair Trade Commission's Green Guidelines for accuracy in claims related to sustainability 

U.S. Department of Labor must: 

• Strictly enforce a ban on the importation of clothing made with forced labor, indentured servitude or child labor  
• Eliminate unfair practices for apparel workers working below minimum wage or under a piece-rate system, and create multilateral accountability that holds not only factories but brands liable for unsafe conditions and unpaid wages  

The $2.5 trillion apparel industry has evolved rapidly over the past 20 years. Cheap production and lowered costs for consumers along with the influence of social media, has produced an avalanche of cheap clothing. "Fast fashion" production is based on a model of ‘take-make-waste’, designed to be worn and discarded within a short period of time.  

Textiles are disposed of in landfills or incinerated; apparel companies conservatively produce 100 billion garments per year; less than 1% of clothing is recycled; 40 million tons of textiles (87% of clothing) are disposed of in landfills or incinerated. The industry is responsible for 4% of all carbon emissions. Textile processing  pollutes rivers, streams and ground water with high levels of pesticides and harsh chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic. 200 million trees are taken down every year for the production of manmade cellulosic fibers for clothing affecting biodiversity and species loss. Today 69% of all clothing is made from polyester or other synthetics which are made from crude oil. Washing garments made of synthetics accounts for 35% of the ocean's microplastics. These have been discovered in our bodies and in our bloodstreams.

To add insult to injury, fashion companies "greenwash" their clothing by making false claims of sustainable fabrics and methods of production.

Unlike other huge industries, the fashion industry is almost entirely unregulated. Citizens alone are not able to regulate fast fashion. Government regulations must be implemented.

We’re calling on the Biden Administration to enact legislation

• Holding the fashion industry responsible for cutting carbon emissions to achieve alignment with the 1.5 degree pathway limiting global warming as set out by the 2015 Paris Agreement
• Requiring the fashion industry to be responsible for sustainably disposing of their waste materials and used clothing
• Requiring labeling of garments for transparency and traceability 
• Forcing brands to abide by the Fair Trade Commission's Green Guidelines for accuracy in claims related to sustainability
• Imposing a carbon tax on all clothing made from virgin synthetic materials
• Mandating every new clothes washing machine has a filter installed to capture plastic microfibers
• Restricting the manufacture, import and export of clothing containing harmful chemicals/substances
• Eliminating unfair practices for apparel workers working below minimum wage or for piecework in unsafe factories, and creating multilateral accountability that holds not only factories but brands liable for unsafe conditions and unpaid wages  
• Banning the importation of clothing made with forced labor, indentured servitude or child labor
• Educating consumers on how to effectively recycle used clothing

Calling on the Global Environmental Facility CEO, GEF Member Countries, and GEF Agencies to support formation of a new Focal Area for GEF Projects for Climate Education at the upcoming GEF Seventh Assembly in Vancouver, Canada. 

Dear GEF CEO Mr. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, GEF Member Countries, and GEF Agencies,

We, the undersigned organizations, representing youth and the civil society, respectfully ask you to invest in climate and environmental education projects as part of the Global Environmental Facility. 

We believe that climate education and skills-building develop climate literacy, which is critical for accelerating the growth of the green economy globally. Specifically, we believe that climate literacy is crucial for shaping a green workforce and developing innovative climate solutions, both of which are imperative elements for meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. Climate education should be championed as a fundamental pillar in our fight to address the climate crisis.

At the moment, there are 5,890 GEF Projects registered on the GEF official website.
It is appalling that none of these projects are related to climate literacy and also not included among GEF's priorities or in the GEF Projects Focal Areas. In none of the titles of the GEF Funded Projects are the words climate education or education included. The word knowledge is only included three times and the word learning is only included once in the titles of the
GEF funded Projects.

The upcoming Seventh Assembly of the GEF gives us the opportunity to encourage GEF Leadership to invest in climate education. We are asking you to support and speak in favor of the establishment of climate education as a new and separate Focal Area for GEF Projects that will receive a funding of at least $50 million to amplify projects that will lead to more climate-conscious societies worldwide. 

As the undersigned organizations, many of whom will be present at the  Seventh GEF Assembly in Vancouver, we are ready to collaborate with the GEF Leadership, GEF Member Countries and GEF Agencies to continue a dialogue about our proposal and further discuss the investment in education by the Global Environmental Facility and its members.

  In addition, we strongly believe that investing in climate education will not only generate long-term environmental benefits, but also strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities to the impacts of climate change. By empowering young people with knowledge and skills to face environmental challenges, we will be building a society more prepared and able to adopt sustainable practices as well as lead biodiversity and climate projects. 


“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” - in living memory of President Mandela's words, let’s use climate education as one of the solutions for dealing with the climate and biodiversity crisis. Let’s unite, mobilize and equip people with the right tools for the just, green transition and effective biodiversity conservation.

Yours sincerely,
The undersigned organizations, 

Organizations that have signed:

ClimateScience

SOS-UK

EcoHouse

Climate Action Project

EARTHDAY.ORG

Fridays For Future Climate Education Team

Toronto Zoo

Global Youth Biodiversity Network

Climate Education Coalition 

https://www.earthday.org/climate-education-coalition/

Our fight for action on climate change has entered a critical new phase. In its Sixth Assessment, the IPCC states that the nations who are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions have failed to reduce their output and now a certain amount of global warming is locked in and is irreversible.  

This means that extreme weather events and heatwaves will become more common and are here to stay. If we do nothing to reverse the course we’re on, we could see the planet warm 4 degrees Celsius in a matter of decades — and with it, catastrophic sea-level rise.  

Inaction on climate change is not an option. The United States needs to honor our commitments to global climate action, and we must move climate action forward here at home, too. We cannot remain silent and wait for things to change. We must cut our carbon emissions today.  

Sign our petition calling on our leaders to put partisanship aside and work together to produce legislation that will help the US transition to a clean energy economy and low-carbon future.  

EARTHDAY.ORG has a new professional development (PD) series on watershed education for Virginia teachers. This program will be in line with Virginia Standards of Learning for middle school teachers, but can also apply to teachers outside of middle school. It will support teachers in educating youth about the connections of ecological, social, and economic systems.

The PD will include a series of live webinars throughout the 2021-2022 academic year to address topics from watershed structure and function to teaching strategies for addressing environmental justice. In addition to science and civics, the webinars will cover opportunities to utilize cross-cutting concepts such as writing, research, math, and art. The PD will address in-person, hybrid, and virtual learning scenarios. ASL interpretation will be provided.

It will be accompanied by teacher support through emails and resources. Culminating on Earth Day 2022, it will prepare teachers for a student action project related to watershed conservation or restoration. Teachers will also have the opportunity to achieve a certificate of completion to assist in obtaining professional development credits.

Sign up here!

Funding for this program was provided by the sale of Friend of the Chesapeake license plates. The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund receives funds for each plate sold or renewed. Learn more about how to purchase a Friend of the Chesapeake Bay license plate.

Sign to ensure the Endangered Species Act remains the way it was originally written.