Climate Education Summit: open letter calls for action on climate education

It is clear that our children and grandchildren will be increasingly affected by climate change and the need to mitigate its impacts. It is only right that we equip them with the knowledge needed to build a positive future. We recognise that younger people are already playing a leading role in showing us the way.  

The UK Government recognises that more should be done to tackle climate change, and recent pledges to cut carbon and invest in green technologies are welcome. Climate education is critical if people are to understand and own the required policies to deliver these ambitious targets.

Britain has some of the leading centres in climate science and education. We now must bring together this expertise to address the problem. We hope that our online Climate Education Summit this September will make real progress in identifying a range of practical actions to improve climate education for young people that can be taken forward immediately, as well as into the future.  

Teachers across the country must be better supported to give young people the skills and knowledge they are calling for. A united effort is essential to making this happen.  

It is our collective responsibility to ensure that young people have access to the climate education they want and deserve, to prepare them for the challenges of a changing climate.  

Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor, University of Reading

Professor Liz Bentley FRMetS, CEO, Royal Meteorological Society

Professor Eric Guilyardi, President, Office for Climate Education

Iain Patton, CEO, EAUC – The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education

Harriet Lamb CBE, CEO, Ashden