How education influences climate responsibility views

Who is most responsible for climate action? In our new paper in Communications Earth & Environment, we show across 39 African countries that those who have heard of climate change place primary responsibility for addressing #climate_change on their own #government, a further third see ordinary #citizens as most responsible, while very few place responsibility on historical #emitters. Education, decreased poverty, and access to new media sources are associated with increased attribution of responsibility to historical emitters. Concerning that for those with least #capacity to deal with #climate impacts, there is low expectation of any improvement on #responsiveness of their government. This is important because the #political salience of climate change themes among political parties and voters remains comparatively low in Africa. #Political actors and climate #governance stakeholders more broadly will need to pay greater attention to #climate_action as #citizens experience climate impacts, understand its consequences, and increasingly look to hold their representatives and governments to account. Yet citizens who have access to #resources and #information are associated with support for #climate_action broadly, the empowerment of everyday Africans to act, and the recognition that historic emitters should play a larger role in climate action. Interestingly, #state_professionalism is associated with citizens’ increased willingness to address climate change, their increased demand that the state also addresses the issue, as well as their willingness to hold the government accountable, all three are consistent with the #virtuous_cycle. In regions with high levels of state professionalism, respondents are more likely to say that ordinary citizens can do something to address climate change. So what are the implications? #Poverty alleviation and increased access to #education, combined with professional frontline #government bureaucracies can re-apportion citizen expectations of responsibility for climate action onto historical emitters and actors with more resources for scalable climate action. Future work is needed to identify the joint effects of #climate_change_literacy, the attribution of responsibility, and how the Africans evaluate the action of their governments and historical emitters in addressing or failing to address ongoing climate change and losses and damages escalate. What are the implications for political settlements & political parties, especially for opposition parties? Read the Open Access paper here: https://rdcu.be/egjbw Thanks for another excellent #climate_literacy collaboration: Talbot Andrews Matthias Krönke Andreas Schwarz Meyer Christopher Trisos Debra Roberts Climate Risk Lab African Climate & Development Initiative University of Cape Town Afrobarometer Cornell University University of Reading Nimrod Zalk Tim Kelsall Nature Portfolio

New WB report on the untapped potential of education in climate action: https://rb.gy/rx8pmi. Some key points: - Education is a powerful but UNDER-USED instrument for climate action. Channeling more climate funding to education could significantly boost climate mitigation and adaptation. - Schooling and learning, especially for the poorest, are at significant risk because of climate change. Education systems need to adapt for a changing climate. This report shows how countries can do this. - Climate action remains slow. Nearly 79 percent of youth across eight low- and middle-income countries believe their country is in a climate emergency.  - This is in part due to missing or misleading information, in three ways: there are Information gaps on climate awareness, especially among older people. There are information gaps on how to act for climate mitigation and adaptation, and still there is a lot of misinformation. This is great work by my colleagues Shwetlena Sabarwal Marla Spivack, Sergio Venegas Marin and Diego Ambasz. Young people are feeling the impacts. They are anxious, angry, and ready to act. This report shows how education itself could be our most powerful weapon against climate change. It reshapes behaviors, develops skills, and spurs innovation—everything we need to combat the greatest crisis facing humanity: https://rb.gy/rx8pmi

Why is #ClimateEducation pivotal to combat our planetary crisis? Knowledge is power. We’re so fortunate to live in a time where data is abundant and technology is continuously evolving to provide increasingly accurate information and predictions about our environment. With the onset of the #AI age, reams of facts, figures and statistics are now just a click away, at our fingertips. However, we aren’t effectively using all the knowledge we have to drive real collective action for a better future. That’s where education comes in. I’ve always been a huge believer of the immense impact that education has on shaping our values, beliefs and attitudes needed for each and every one of us to be agents of positive change. Climate education matters because it helps us fully understand the scale and scope of our ecological crisis. While we already have widespread societal awareness of global warming, we haven’t yet made #ClimateLiteracy mainstream. From the science behind the causes of our climate crisis, to the importance of adaptation and related solutions—this education is the basis and motivation for us to take action. It helps foster the curious mindset that we need to solve our global problems. This is especially crucial for our younger generation, who are more environmentally-savvy than ever before. With #ecoanxiety on the rise, arming youths with the real scientific facts of climate change can eliminate the fear associated with the issue. As our children grow up in a rapidly changing world battling increasingly frequent extreme weather events, increasing climate literacy is key to maintaining optimism and cultivating ambition. It gives them their sense of #purpose—their ‘why’—to develop their own capacities and use the abundance of data we have to come up with new sustainable innovations. These innovations, along with existing tools we already have to future-proof our planet, will be crucial to transforming our current socioeconomic system into one that is nature-positive. If we are to reverse our pathway to destruction, we desperately need every bright mind and talent to be working together towards our global net-zero goal, in every industry and sector. Every year, Carbon Literacy Action Day spotlights the value of climate education. This year, #CLActionDay coincides with the UN #COP29 Climate Negotiations. On this day, all of us can get involved—no matter our age, background or nationality—to empower ourselves with the inspiration we need to use all the knowledge we have to drive impactful and tangible change for our Earth. What do you think is the most overlooked aspect in our knowledge and education on the climate crisis? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. COP29 Azerbaijan

Is climate literacy the most important tool we have in mitigating impacts from climate change and creating a better future? A 2020 study (https://lnkd.in/gRuXTbiv) run out of San Jose State found that if just 16% of middle and high school students in middle- and high-income countries studied climate change, we could cut nearly 19 gigatons of CO₂ by 2050. 😳 Why? Because educated youth form personal connections to climate solutions, shift their behaviors, and influence their communities throughout their lives. This research highlights a simple but profound truth: climate education, especially of our youth, has the potential to be more effective than many single technological or policy solutions. Future Climate Collective Breck Foster Lisa Whelan #ClimateLiteracy #ClimateEducation #FutureClimateCollective #Sustainability #ClimateAction

We had an energizing session this morning at the launch of our new World Bank report on education and climate: “Choosing our Future: Education for Climate Action.”     The report uncovers a critical dynamic – education is essential for effective climate action, yet climate change is simultaneously impeding education.     How does education drive climate action?    ➡️Each year of education increases climate awareness by 9%   ➡️Climate-educated individuals are more likely to adopt pro-environmental behaviors   ➡️Education systems can generate green skills at scale, propelling green transitions     However, climate change is disrupting education:    ➡️Schools were closed in 75% of major climate-related extreme weather events over the past 20 years   ➡️Rising temperatures are negatively impacting student test scores     This interplay demands urgent attention, especially in low-income countries where learning outcomes are already low. Small investments in resilience (a one-time investment of less than $20 per student) can make a huge difference to preventing learning disruption.     Please look at our new report to learn how we can harness the power of education for climate action while adapting our education systems for greater resilience: http://wrld.bg/Ks9g50TeZ8r Shwetlena Sabarwal, Luis Benveniste, Elizabeth Wathuti , O.G.W, Rachel Glennerster, Gaurab Basu, Lupi Quinteros-Grady, Kevin Frey, Liesbet Steer, Andrew Jack