Research 20/09/2024

Climate change and education: from evidence to action

By Rachael Fitzpatrick, Donvan Amenya, Tony McAleavy

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Over the past ten years, the world’s poorest countries have experienced nearly eight times as many natural disasters compared to three decades ago. This report considers the impacts of the global climate emergency on school education in low-income countries, and explores how to address the negative consequences it has on learning.

In this report, we review the latest research literature on climate change and education, including EDT’s research studies in Kenya and Rwanda. Our review confirms that childhood exposure to climate shocks can have a profound negative impact on learning. Moreover, the adverse effects of climate change are more damaging to children from poorer households and other vulnerable groups, and this exacerbates existing social inequalities.

We propose a model that identifies the impacts of heavy rain, wind, drought and extreme heat (including landslides, infrastructure damage, the loss of livestock, crop failure, water shortages and conflict), and links them to factors that disrupt education – such as school closures, absenteeism and poor concentration.

The report then explores the important role that education can play in tackling climate change through mitigation, resilience building and adaptation: it highlights the fundamental importance of a good quality education, calls for climate-resilient education systems at a national level, and explains how schools can empower communities through the dissemination of climate-related knowledge.

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Climate change and education: from evidence to action

This report considers the impact of the climate emergency on school education in low-income countries, and explores ways in which those wishing to mitigate its negative consequences on learning should respond. The first part of the document reviews the relevant research literature, including research undertaken by EDT. Based on this review we propose a model that seeks to comprehensively identify the effects on education and learning likely to arise from a range of events caused by climate change, if no action is taken. The second part of the report highlights some practical measures that can be taken to minimise learning loss caused by climate events.

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