Report sets out the need for climate curriculum change

A new report highlights the case for a reformed curriculum, centred on the climate emergency, to accelerate better climate education.

The report, Delivering integrated climate education, skills and professional standards, follows a consultation event at St George’s House in February 2024, where representatives from Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) including IOM3, young people, education organisations and employers met to explore ways to garner greater sustainability education uptake.

The need for enhancing education for sustainable development (ESD) competencies through the education sector has already been recognised as being important.

This work also supports the UK Government commitment of achieving net-zero by 2050 and of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Key recommendations and calls to action fall into three broad action areas:

• internal organisational change within PSRBs, including using the review cycle of benchmark standards as a critical opportunity to embed sustainability
• enabling student leadership and prioritising the voices of young people within PSRBs
• advocating for big system change.

The work has been funded by The Open University, The University of Edinburgh and The University of Southampton, and delivered by Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK) and The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC).