Abstract
The European Union (EU) has set a goal to reduce emissions by 55% compared to 1990 levels in 2030 and reach climate neutrality in 2050. The Education for Climate Coalition (ECC), introduced by the EU Commission in December 2020, strives to contribute by holding workshops, conferences, and competitions to engage teachers and students. Due to the extreme urgency of climate change mitigation, ECC should promote a Climate Change Education (CCE) subject in all European Union member states from the beginning of primary to the the end of higher education programs. The courses at each level should include expert sessions, excursions, and other activities that inspire more vocal EU citizens to hold politicians and businesses accountable and contribute to climate change mitigation in their personal and professional lives, therefore making significant contributions to reaching the EU 2030 goal.
Tackling the Climate Change Crisis
Climate change is the largest and most pressing crisis of our time. Practices like unsustainable energy use or consumption cause GHG emissions to rise. This leads to an increase in global temperatures, triggering many climate extremes and natural catastrophes.[1] The European Union has responded by setting a goal of achieving a 55% emissions reduction compared to 1990 levels in 2030 and ultimately climate neutrality in 2050.[2] To achieve this, the EU initiated the European Green Deal and designed a program called Education for Climate Coalition (ECC) in December 2020, which aims to link education and science by training teachers and raising awareness to change behaviors.[3] To reach the EU’s 2030 goal, the ECC, which is currently operating in the form of conferences and workshops, should promote a subject called Climate Change Education (CCE) that is implemented in all European Union member states from the first grade on until the end of higher education. The aim should be in-depth knowledge that is built up through consecutive lessons, interaction with experts, as well as excursions and other forms of climate action. It should inspire an aware, vocal, and empowered society that in addition to self-determined action holds politicians and decision-makers accountable and sets an example for the rest of the world.
Impact of Households on European Union Emissions
Emissions are regularly attributed to economic sectors, in a so-called sector-based approach.[4] An alternative way of counting emissions is the consumption-based approach, which is commonly used in the context of per capita emissions. For consumption, value chain emissions of goods and services are assessed, which are then attributed to the final consumers.[5] They are a large driver of GHG discharges, especially in developed countries. For instance, Marja Salo and Ari Nissinen found that household consumption accounts for 70% of global GHG emissions, which could be decreased by 60% only by making more conscious consumption choices.[6] A study by C40 Cities found, that 80% of 79 representative cities all over the world have larger consumption-based emissions than sector-based emissions,[7]whereas a study by Daniel Moran et. al. states, that the European Union’s footprint could be reduced by 25% merely by the adoption of green consumption habits.[8] This makes consumption a highly relevant issue in the climate change mitigation discussion, which can be addressed by educating citizens to make conscious consumption choices while also having a positive impact in their careers.
The Education for Climate Coalition (ECC)
Research shows that education can have a significant impact on long-term behavioral change.[9] Therefore, educating citizens on climate change and sustainable consumption is an effective measure to reduce consumption-based GHG emissions. In 2020, the European Union started the Education for Climate Coalition (ECC), a participatory initiative that is part of the EU Green Deal.[10] Its main priorities are training teachers and bridging education with science to change behaviors and to make a sustainable future possible. The ECC features a web portal focusing on co-implementation, where EU citizens can sign up, exchange ideas and create impact by organizing workshops, events and competitions.[11] People in several official roles are responsible for organizing the platform and ensuring a vibrant, active and respectful community exchange. For instance, the Climate Secretariat is responsible for the coordination of the program, the Climate Community Advisory Group, which consists of community members, gives recommendations to the Secretariat and Climate National Coordinators are responsible for a well-planned execution of the ECC in the EU countries.[12] Some of these responsibilities are currently held by people with various professions as a non-full-time commitment, which ensures diversity. It might also stand in the way of developing the full potential of the education initiative. Individuals working on the successful implementation of the ECC should therefore be fully employed by the European Union, with wages being funded with help of the €1 trillion assigned to the implementation of the Green Deal.[13]
School Subject “Climate Change Education (CCE)”
While the ECC already has a substantial reach and positive impact, to achieve the EU 2030 and 2050 targets, the topic of education should be prioritized further. A school subject called Climate Change Education (CCE) should be implemented in all EU member states from the first grade on, targeting primary schools, high schools, as well as higher education. Teachers, scientists, politicians, and decision-makers should be included in the creation of the program to ensure an optimal structure and effect. The backbone of the course should consist of consecutive lessons that build up over time and have main subject standards, being held 3-4 hours a week. This would guarantee that climate change is treated as a priority, which would impact student values, their families, and society as a whole.[14] The course should build a bridge between other subjects by inspiring synchronized teaching and course collaboration. The inclusion of mandatory excursions as well as guest lectures would draw a connection to the real world and give students the possibility to familiarize themselves with possible future career paths and to learn how they can contribute to climate change mitigation in their personal lives. CCE should build on the current participatory approach of the ECC, meaning that the course is implemented in a bottom-up way with co-design and constant adaptation to new ideas of community members. The current ECC platform should be used to enable students to interact with peers and experts transnationally, to get active themselves by organizing events and to stay connected and engaged throughout the courses. This might, for instance, result in student-organized events, where students can work on technological sustainability options with natural science experts, in informative talks on sustainable consumption or even in transnational legislative and judicial action or business boycotts. The ECC platform should function as a catalyst for impact beyond schools and engage anyone interested in participating.
Implementation
While education can have a substantial effect on behavioral change, it can take up to 2-3 months after the completion of an educational program for significant transformation to be noticed.[15] With the 2030 goal in mind, it is therefore crucial to fast-track CCE implementation. The school course Ethics, which was implemented in Austria in September 2021, can serve as an example. Ethics has existed in form of course trial runs since the early 2000s. Almost 20 years later, the Austrian “Schul-Organisations-Gesetz” was changed in November 2020 to make it a mandatory subject in Austrian schools.[16] The curriculum was introduced in June 2021 with the official and final subject introduction in September 2021. The establishment of a bachelor’s degree for Ethics teachers in October 2021 completed the implementation process.[17]
Taking Ethics as an inspiration, the introduction of CCE could be fully realized within one year, including a shortened version of the trial run, which could start in September 2024. This would give responsible stakeholders, for example the Climate Secretariat, the Climate Community Advisory Group and the Climate National Coordinators, more than one year from now to prepare the necessary processes and create an outline of the course. In November 2024, the Austrian “Schul-Organisations-Gesetz”, together with laws in all other EU member states, should be changed to make CCE a mandatory subject in every European educational institution. The curriculum should be introduced in June 2025 with a final implementation of the CCE subject in September 2025, one year after the trial run begins. This would give the program more than 4 years until 2030 to have a significant impact on approximately 62 million students who are enrolled in EU universities and EU Secondary School Level (Sekundarstufe) 1 and Level 2 each year. With behavioral change being seen on average 2-3 months after the completion of an educational program (in this case four years of CCE starting in the Secondary School Level 1 counts as completion), by 2030, more than 62 million students in the EU would have completed the program, with impact brought to approximately 40 million families, which covers up to a third of the EU population.[18] If consumption behavior can be changed effectively through CCE, the introduction of the school subject could thereby promise a reduction of the EU footprint of up to 25% according to Daniel Moran et. al.[19] This makes CCE an effective and relevant part of the EU roadmap for 2030.
Roadmap to Success
There is a consensus in research that household consumption has a significant impact on EU emissions. Education can play a big role in changing behaviors, therefore, the European Union should build on the current Education for Climate Coalition (ECC) and introduce a school subject called Climate Change Education (CCE) by September 2025 in all educational institutions located in EU member states. This should provide students, their families as well as society with necessary information regarding climate change and consumption decisions and inspire EU citizens to act sustainably in their careers in all different economic sectors. Together with EU citizens holding politicians and decision-makers accountable, the implementation of CCE could trigger a reduction of the EU footprint of more than 25% and should thereby be a cornerstone in achieving the EU 2030 goal while serving as an example for the rest of the world.
[1] IPCC. “Ar6 synthesis report: Climate change 2023.”
[2] European Commission. “2030 climate target plan. Climate Action.”
[3] Szkola, Susanne. “Education for climate.”
[4] Statista. „Distribution of carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union in 2020, by key source.”
[5] C40 Cities. “Consumption-based GHG emissions of C40 cities. Climate Action Planning.”
[6] Salo, Marja; Nissinen, Ari. “Consumption choices to decrease personal carbon footprints of Finns.”
[7] C40 Cities. “Consumption-based GHG emissions of C40 cities. Climate Action Planning.”
[8] Moran, Daniel et.al. „Quantifying the potential for consumer-oriented policy to reduce European and foreign carbon emissions.“
[9] Bray, Belinda; Cridge, Andrew. “Can education programmes effect long-term behavioral change?”
[10] Circular Economy Forum Austria. “European Green deal timeline.”
[11] Szkola, Susanne. “Education for climate.”
[12] European Commission. “The Secretariat and Community Roles.”
[13] Vlaanderen. “A European Green Deal.”
[14] Bray, Belinda; Cridge, Andrew. “Can education programmes effect long-term behavioral change?”
[15] Bray, Belinda; Cridge, Andrew. “Can education programmes effect long-term behavioral change?”
[16] Fischer, Katrin. „Neues Fach Ethik: Das Musst du Wissen.“
[17] BMBWF. „Ethik – Pflichtgegenstand für alle Schülerinnen und Schüler, die keinen Schulischen Religionsunterricht Besuchen.“
[18] Bray, Belinda; Cridge, Andrew. “Can education programmes effect long-term behavioural change?”; European Union. “Facts and figures on life in the European Union.”; Eurostat. „Archive: Statistiken über Hochschulbildung (tertiäre Bildung).“; Eurostat. “Archive: Statistiken über sekundare Bildung.“; Eurostat. “How many children were born in the EU in 2021?”
[19] Moran, Daniel et.al. „Quantifying the potential for consumer-oriented policy to reduce European and foreign carbon emissions.“
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