Climate and EducationToday, on World Climate Day, we pause to reflect on what climate truly means. As the Environmental Alliance reminds us, climate is not a distant or abstract concept. It “shapes every part of life… the food we grow, the water we drink, the seasons we move through, and the stability of the places we call home.”
At Global Schools Forum, we spent the last year building a community around a specific, urgent piece of this reality: the profound intersection where climate change meets education. We have learned that while the climate crisis is global, the solutions are deeply, beautifully local.
Where we started: a spark in Nairobi
Our journey began at the GSF Annual Meet in Nairobi last October, where a room full of educators, NGOs, and policy influencers confronted a staggering number: 242 million students had their learning disrupted by climate events in 2024.
That session, moderated by Shweta Bahri (Earth Warriors Global), framed education’s dual role as both a receiver of climate shocks and a powerful responder. We heard stories of resilience from Joel Elphas (TECEC, Tanzania), Jenny Groot (PEAS), and Emma Gremley (IRC). We mapped our realities across continents and left with a shared conviction: no single organisation can do this alone. Read takeaways here.
A Community of Practice (CoP) was born.
Climate change is not just damaging our environment. It is damaging education, and it is doing it silently.
Nouman Alam
Our journey: three sessions, three layers of learning
Since November, our CoP has grown into a living space for peer learning, anchored by the ‘Surviving & Thriving’ framework – addressing both urgent disruptions to education and the transformative potential of climate-conscious learning. Education is a receiver of climate shocks, with schools closing and inequalities deepening with every flood and drought. But more importantly, it can be a powerful responder, transforming into a resilience hub that protects learning and equips communities to adapt.
Session 1 (January 2026): Naming the reality
Led by our core working group—GSF, PEAS, SEED, TECEC, Earth Warriors Global, Link Education International, and Kizazi – we gathered over 20 organisations from 15 countries. A needs assessment survey of 30+ organisations revealed top priorities: curriculum integration, climate action plans, and funding access.
Samantha Ross from Link Education International shared how ‘schools can play a pivotal role in building community resilience to climate change, but this requires alignment with government policies and localised solutions.’
Watch the session one recording here.
Session 2 (February 2026): Stories become solutions
We heard from two members whose work turned our framework into lived reality:
- Nouman Alam (Climate Class Connection, Pakistan) showcased Pakistan’s first Teachers’ Parliament and Climate Baithaks, where young girls led discussions with village elders—transforming themselves into recognised community leaders.
His efforts to consciously engage in gender inclusive climate dialogue was inspired by a personal story – of how floods in his village led directly to his sister dropping out of school—not because she was weak, but because “the system failed her.”
Sharing my sister's story was difficult, but the response showed me why this space matters. People didn't just hear a problem; they connected it to their own contexts.
Nouman Alam
- Dr. Oritseweyinmi Erikowa-Orighoye (CMADI, Nigeria) transported us to the Niger Delta, showing how a 25-hectare family-conserved mangrove park serves as a “living classroom,” blending indigenous knowledge with scientific research.
Watch the session two recording here.
Presenting our mangrove work was an opportunity to shift a narrative. The Niger Delta is often known for pollution and conflict, but through this community, I could share the beauty and resilience—how students become advocates by restoring their own ecosystem.
Dr. Oritseweyinmi Erikowa-Orighoye
Session 3 (March 2026): Diving into curriculum & wellbeing
Tresa and Shweta (Earth Warriors Global) led a masterclass on the realities of integrating climate into packed timetables. They shared hard-earned lessons from Delhi government schools (where even motivated teachers completed only 15 of 20 lessons) and from rural Botswana (where “polar bears” didn’t resonate, but local examples did). The session surfaced the tension between dedicated versus integrated models and the critical need for age-appropriate, solutions-focused content that nurtures hope rather than anxiety.
Watch the session three recording here.
What stood out most was how freeing it felt to share challenges openly and hear others echo the same experiences. Even across different contexts and geographies, the core struggles remain similar, making spaces like this so valuable for collective reflection and problem-solving.
Tresa Ajay
What we have learned collectively
Through these sessions, several cross-cutting insights have crystallised:
- Climate change cannot be addressed in isolation. It is an education problem, a gender problem, a health problem, and a livelihoods problem – all at once.
- Agency matters more than awareness. The goal is not just to teach about climate change, but to give students and teachers the tools, confidence, and platforms to act. This is seen in girls leading community meetings and students selling eco-friendly products.
- Local knowledge is an under-tapped resource. From indigenous agricultural practices in Nigeria to community baithaks in Pakistan, traditional wisdom is often dismissed rather than recognised as sophisticated, climate-smart solutions.
- There is will, but there are structural constraints. Teachers and leaders want to act, but they navigate packed timetables, exam pressure, and competing priorities. The challenge is space and support, not motivation.
- Spillover impact is real – and under-measured. Parents in India now report that their children refuse to throw plastic on the road, waiting until they find a dustbin. As Shweta noted: “These sound like very basic things, but it is not actually done. That spillover impact is a big thing we should focus our research on.”
The questions that stay with us
Every session ends with new questions—the kind that linger and shape our next steps:
- How do we ensure climate education continues into secondary, when dedicated time often disappears?
- What does it take to make integration sustainable – not just an add-on that fades when funding ends?
- How do we measure and communicate spillover impact in ways that funders and policymakers can hear?
- How might practitioners support each other in advocacy efforts with governments?
- How do we balance the urgency of the crisis with the need to nurture hope and wellbeing in children?
A call to the wider ecosystem
This Community of Practice was designed as a space for GSF members to learn together. But the challenges we are grappling with are not confined to any single network. They belong to all of us working at the intersection of climate and education.
So today, on World Climate Day, we extend an invitation.
If your organisation is navigating these questions – whether you are integrating climate into curriculum, adapting school infrastructure, supporting teacher wellbeing, or advocating for policy change, we want to hear from you.
We are particularly interested in connecting with others working on:
- Climate finance for education — how do we bridge the gap between climate funders and education practitioners?
- Advocacy and policy influence — what strategies are working to put climate education on government agendas?
- Measurement and evidence — how are you capturing impact in ways that resonate beyond the sector?
This is an invitation to connect, share, and explore where parallel conversations might meet.
Let’s talk
If any of this resonates with your work, we would love to hear from you. Whether you have a question to ask, a resource to share, or simply want to be part of a broader conversation, please reach out.
Contact Ajay Pinjani: ajay.pinjani@globalschoolsforum.org
“Climate resilience is about reducing harm and improving the conditions people depend on. The work ranges from community-scale actions to national policies. A climate resilient world is built from many small decisions and shared commitments.” — World Climate Day
This is our small decision. This is our shared commitment.
With gratitude to every organisation and individual who has contributed to this journey – This community exists because of you!
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