The Need for Climate Education in Nepal and Beyond
It is high time we reimagine the current education system by embedding comprehensive and up-to-date teaching regarding climate in all levels and forms of education.
Climate education enables young people to fight to dismantle the existing unfair system so that we can get rid of climate and other socio-economic crises all at the same time.
It took only the first day of my Environmental Science class to make me realize the seriousness of the climate crisis and environmental degradation. Like most people, I had not dreamed of a life in climate activism before I started my bachelor’s. I wanted an ordinary, peaceful life. I believed in a few simple rules that I lived my life by – I dreamt big and resolved to do the best I could in everything, hoping that success would eventually follow.
I lived in this mindset till I was seventeen years old. Then, everything suddenly changed the moment I learned about the scale and horrors of the climate crisis. I learned about the increased pressure faced by women due to the drying of nearby water sources, the burden carried by children who were forced to give up their studies because their workload has been increased caused due to unseasonal forest fires, and the frequent occurrence of extreme weather events. I immediately reflected on the connection between the heavy rainfall my town experienced in my childhood that often drowned our neighborhood and stopped me from going to school. It all clicked for me. Knowingly or unknowingly, we are all already being affected in some way by the impacts of the climate crisis.
My excitement to begin a new academic journey was transformed into a profound, eye-opening moment that initially left me paralyzed and anxious. The climate crisis is a matter of life and death and it is already affecting us now. I could write a hundred-page tale of how terrified and hopeless I became after that day. There were even moments when I felt it would have been rather good if I hadn’t known about the climate crisis. Because if that were the case, my outlook toward life would have been unchanged: optimistic, hopeful, and content.
Six years later today, I work with youths and youth organizations to aware people of the climate crisis and inspire them to take action- no matter how small it is. Through this time, I have experienced moments that have reinstalled the feeling of optimism in me via my work. I have seen people dedicate their lives to this cause which continues to inspire me still. However, now at the age of 24, I do feel that If only I had learned more about climate chaos from an earlier age, I could have done more. Below are some key lessons and reflections I have over the years.
There were even moments when I felt it would have been rather good if I hadn’t known about the climate crisis. Because if that were the case, my outlook toward life would have been unchanged: optimistic, hopeful, and content.
Shreya delivering an educational session on climate change to students
- Anxiety to Action:
The impacts of climate change are felt everywhere and are set to escalate. Our future is at stake; young people understand life can be turned upside down in only a matter of time. “Climate anxiety” also known as “Eco anxiety” refers to the feeling of fear, anxiety, despair, and pain due to the threats posed by anthropogenic climate change.
In a study done by UNICEF Nepal, 78% of Nepali youth respondents (n= 2,506) indicated that they are ‘very/extremely worried’. Climate change makes us feel powerless, betrayed, and unheard. Acknowledging the threats of crisis is a hard step but it can no longer be ignored. We have the right to know about the future we are going to inherit from an early age. Mandatory integration of climate and environment across all the formal and informal curricula will help us to know the problems and empower us to take timely actions. Learning about our connection with nature and local and indigenous practices benefits handing over information and skills to young people promoting respect and diversity in the community.
- Individual action matters and demanding collective action:
Explorer and prominent environmental activist Robert Swan says “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” The climate crisis is definitely a global emergency but the good news is climate action starts from our homes and community. If individuals and communities alone can realize the power of their voices and choices, it will lead to a huge change and a massive reduction in our carbon footprint. The rule is simple: reduce emissions and resource consumption whenever and wherever possible and elect the right people who commit to climate action and sustainability. These individual efforts need to be complemented by demanding collective action from polluting industries and countries. Climate education helps people to realize the potential of smaller actions and makes them hopeful to build them forward on a larger scale.
- Reimagining the current education system
Many readers, especially Nepali people may have watched a viral clip from TV’s Himalayan Roadies, which shows three young girls being mocked for their incorrect knowledge of climate change. These girls are not exceptions. Studies have found that most people outside the climate bubble do not have any idea of what climate change is and how bad things are. One analysis found that only 34% of Nepali youth respondents were able to explain what climate change and global warming are. And, it is not the fault of the youth for not knowing about climate, it is the complete fault of our education system which fails to equip young people with the knowledge of climate and often provides incomplete and misleading information. It is high time we reimagine the current education system by embedding comprehensive and up-to-date teaching regarding climate in all levels and forms of education thereby also creating resources and investing in capacity building of the teachers.
- Generalized Climate Education
Whenever I try to talk with my friends studying law, Information Technology (IT), business, or engineering about climate, they get turned off. They believe that the climate crisis is not a topic that they should be concerned about because they haven’t read about it in their syllabus. The current education system is giving a dangerous message to young people that climate change is something that only students of environmental science should be concerned about. When we embed climate in all forms of education, we build a new generation of change-makers doing different things but incorporating the knowledge of climate change and taking action from various fields. This is what the climate movement desperately needs; beyond climate activists and scientists, we also need climate engineers, climate lawyers, climate educators, and more.
- Achieving climate targets
The “net zero” is a new buzzword in the realm of the climate conversation. It means not adding new emissions to the atmosphere by balancing the carbon emitted and carbon absorbed. The planet has already warmed by 1.1°C than it was in the late 1800s. Scientists have reported that emissions must reach net zero by 2050 to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement i.e., limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Above this threshold, the effects of climate change are said to be irreversible causing severe implications for people, wildlife, and ecosystems.
Technology shift and finance are a must, but education and awareness of climate are also of utmost importance to reach net zero. With this in mind, I and my team at Mock COP worked with the UK Presidency, the Government of Italy, UNESCO, and Youth4Climate to bring Ministers of Education and Environment together at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26 to pledge to integrate climate change and sustainability into learning in formal education systems. We were able to receive ambitious commitments from 25 countries that pledged to make climate education a mandatory part of their curricula. We are organizing another Mock Education Ministers Summit where young people will act as education ministers of their country and assess the state of climate education in their country. As individuals, we all are responsible to change habits that harm the planet and adopt more sustainable lifestyles. Educational institutions can also bring transformational impact through their research, teaching, and advising the private sector and government.
- Debunking climate myths and Greenwashing
Climate change is not something people can choose to have an opinion about. It’s already happening, whether we believe it or not. A group of just 100 investor bodies including fossil fuel companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions. They are the key to tackling climate change. But fossil fuel corporations spend billions to spread myths and mislead the public by pushing the narrative that individuals are alone responsible for climate change and they are the ones who can solve it.
With people being aware and searching for sustainable products, greenwashing has come to rise, a false claim that companies are climate and nature conscious when that is not the case. Adequate information on climate and nature will abolish such false narratives and practices and drives a large number of people to demand accountability and real solutions from the actual polluters; the very right thing we need to achieve is climate justice.
Students and Teacher from Mount Valley English School, Nepal after an interactive session on “Climate change and how schools and students can work together to take action”
- Systemic change
We cannot deny that the climate crisis is more than co2 emissions as it is linked to colonialism, capitalism, racism, and other systemic oppressions that have unfolded over the centuries. The world’s richest 10% produces half of the carbon emissions while the poorest half is responsible for just seven percent of carbon emissions. Those least responsible for climate change are the ones who suffer most from the climate crisis. Yet their voices are unheard and ignored. The system was built in a way to prioritize profit over people and the planet. The fight against climate injustice is a fight for justice itself as it shares roots with long-standing systemic exploitation and privileges.
Climate education enables young people to fight to dismantle the existing unfair system so that we can get rid of climate and other socio-economic crises all at the same time.
The latest IPCC report on the mitigation of climate change has recognized that many people in the world care about nature and are motivated to engage in climate action. Yet, they face barriers to take action which should be solved by climate education.
The time to introduce climate and environmental education is now or never.
Written by: Shreya K.C., Campaign Coordinator at Mock COP