Why green education is important
The move to a climate-neutral EU will have significant social, economic and employment impacts. A socially just transformation needs people to have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to shape and cope with profound change. Education and training systems and institutions can act as catalysts and support a shift to a more sustainable society.
A wide range of initiatives and actions on the environment and sustainability are taking place in education and training across Europe. They reflect progress and growing public interest, but more needs to be done so that learning for sustainability becomes a systemic feature of education policy and practice in the EU.
What the EU is doing
- the Education for Climate Coalition is a growing community of pupils, students, teachers and organisations active on climate change and sustainability
- a Council Recommendation on learning for the green transition and sustainable development supports Member States in embedding sustainability in education and training
- the European sustainability competence framework sets out the knowledge, skills and attitudes learners of all ages need to acquire for the green transition
- a dedicated working group on sustainability in school education regularly produces input papers and key messages. The working groups on Vocational Education and Training, Adult Learning and Higher Education also deal with the green transition and sustainability
- Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps support a variety of initiatives related to sustainability in education and training, including student and staff exchanges, research, volunteering
- the Horizon Europe programme has a dedicated call on climate change and sustainability education
- the InvestEU programme enables Member States to access funding for sustainable education infrastructure and the development of skills
- the Researchers at Schools initiative connects young researchers with teachers and pupils on climate change and sustainable development
- the Erasmus+ DiscoverEU Green route inspires young people to plan and discover Europe in a sustainable way
- the 2022 European Innovative Teaching Award selected 50 outstanding projects focused on sustainability
- the EU Learning Corner includes teaching and learning materials on sustainability and the climate and environmental crisis for primary and secondary schools