This chapter examines how climate change education must be fundamentally reconceptualized to address issues of equity and justice. The authors argue that neither traditional environmental education approaches nor standard climate change curricula can adequately prepare learners to address the complex challenges of climate change. Instead, education must directly confront the historical inequities and injustices that underlie both climate change and educational systems.
The research analyzes three key historical contexts that shape current inequities:
- Industrial development and emissions responsibility
- Colonialism's ongoing impacts
- Neoliberal economic and political structures
The analysis reveals how these forces have created a situation where marginalized communities face compounding disadvantages – bearing the worst climate impacts while having the least resources for adaptation and often the least access to quality education.
The authors identify four essential principles for developing more equitable climate change education:
- Using best pedagogical practices while considering positionality
- Centering marginalized voices and epistemologies
- Making explicit connections between social systems and climate impacts
- Developing learners as agents of transformation
These principles emphasize the importance of connecting theoretical understanding with practical action in ways that address both environmental and social justice.
The chapter makes an important contribution by proposing a framework for climate change education that explicitly centers equity and justice rather than treating them as secondary considerations. This framing emphasizes the importance of understanding climate change not just as an environmental crisis but as a manifestation of deeper social injustices that must be addressed through education.
The analysis highlights how both climate impacts and educational opportunities are shaped by historical and ongoing inequities. However, it also reveals growing efforts to develop more equitable and just approaches to climate change education. The authors note that while some innovative programs are emerging, much work remains to be done to fully integrate equity and justice into climate change education.
A key finding is that effective climate change education must go beyond simply teaching about environmental science to help learners understand and address the social and political dimensions of climate change. The authors argue this represents not only an educational imperative but a matter of justice, as marginalized communities continue to face disproportionate climate impacts while often having the least voice in climate solutions.
The research contributes to broader discussions about climate change education by highlighting the essential role of equity and justice considerations. It demonstrates how educational approaches can either perpetuate or help address existing inequities, while offering practical principles for developing more just and effective climate change education.
The authors emphasize that such integration must go beyond simply adding content about equity issues to fundamentally reshape how we think about and teach climate change. This requires moving away from treating climate change as purely an environmental issue, toward a more nuanced understanding of its connections to social justice, power, and systemic inequity.
The chapter concludes by calling for a fundamental transformation in how we approach climate change education. It suggests that the four proposed principles offer a way to develop more equitable and just educational approaches while maintaining high standards for environmental and climate science learning. This could help create educational experiences that prepare all learners to address both the environmental and social dimensions of climate change.
The Bottom Line
This introductory book chapter argues that environmental and climate change education has historically failed to adequately address issues of equity and justice, despite these being fundamental to both the causes and impacts of climate change. The authors demonstrate that those least responsible for climate change face its worst impacts, while also experiencing educational inequities that limit their capacity to respond. Through analysis of historical contexts and current challenges, the chapter proposes four key principles for developing more equitable and just climate change education.