Renforcer la résilience grâce à l’éducation au changement climatique dans le Pacifique.
La montée du niveau des mers et les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes déplacent des populations, endommagent des infrastructures vitales et menacent la sécurité alimentaire. Face à ces défis croissants, l’éducation est mobilisée pour renforcer la résilience climatique et permettre aux élèves de s’adapter à un monde de plus en plus marqué par la crise climatique.
Dans cet article, Alanah Torralba, partenaire d’apprentissage et spécialiste de la transition juste, explore le potentiel de l’éducation face au changement climatique pour renforcer les capacités des élèves, des enseignants et des communautés à agir dès aujourd’hui. Les habitants des îles du Pacifique posent ainsi les bases d’un avenir durable et juste.
À l’école primaire de Boera, qui compte plus de 400 élèves dans la province centrale de Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, les élèves et leurs familles ressentent les effets du changement climatique dans leur vie quotidienne. Boera est située au bord de la mer et risque de disparaître en raison de l’élévation du niveau de la mer. Les élèves, les enseignants et les membres de la communauté sont de plus en plus inquiets, car le village montre déjà des signes de destruction imminente.
“Il fait parfois si chaud que nous ne pouvons pas envoyer les enfants faire des activités en plein air. Nous sommes en saison sèche, mais il fait trop sec. C’est maintenant que nous ressentons vraiment les effets du changement climatique », a déclaré l’enseignante Andrea Pokiton. En été, une sécheresse prolongée a affecté l’approvisionnement en eau et a aggravé les conditions déjà difficiles dans les salles de classe, les infrastructures étant incapables de résister aux conditions météorologiques extrêmes et aux effets climatiques à évolution lente.
D’après l’UNICEF, les chocs climatiques constituent une menace importante pour le droit à l’éducation dans le monde entier. En Asie du Sud, la région la plus touchée au monde, 128 millions d’élèves ont subi des perturbations dans leur apprentissage en raison du climat. Parallèlement, 118 millions d’élèves du Bangladesh, du Cambodge, de l’Inde, de Thaïlande et des Philippines ont été touchés par des vagues de chaleur extrêmes. Étant donné que la plupart de ces élèves vivent dans des pays à faible revenu ou à revenu intermédiaire inférieur, le changement climatique risque d’aggraver la crise de l’apprentissage et d’accroître les inégalités de revenus et entre les genres.
L’éducation : un outil puissant dans la lutte contre le changement climatique
According to the World Bank, education is the most significant factor in raising climate change awareness. When students and their communities learn about climate change comprehensively, they not only become aware of the climate crisis, but they also shift mindsets and adopt sustainable behaviours. Climate change education can also spark innovation and empower students to become more active in civic activities related to climate action. It can also prepare students for emerging sustainable economies by learning about green skills.
However, while education is a powerful tool for climate action, it is still overlooked. In climate finance, for example, only 1.5% has been directed to climate education, affecting the roll-out of vital climate education programmes in the world, according to the World Bank.
Globally, governments have been slow to implement climate change education programmes. In a 2021 UNESCO-led survey, while 92% of education sector plans and curricular frameworks mentioned environmental themes, most have done so superficially.
Climate change was rarely addressed in depth, with fewer than 20% showing moderate integration of climate change education. Moreover, climate change was often subsumed into general subjects related to “the environment.” Meanwhile, one-third of surveyed teachers said that teacher preparation is insufficient, with climate-related content absent from pre-service and in-service teacher training.
For the Pacific, this means that while there is relatively high awareness about climate change among the public, an integrative approach in education regarding the climate crisis is lacking. It also means that education’s potential in building climate resilience remains untapped.
Towards a transformative climate education agenda in the Pacific
The climate crisis highlights the urgent need for resilient education systems and a shift in curricula to teach climate change more effectively. Despite the realities of climate change in the Pacific, the education sector is not yet being mobilised towards climate action. There are not enough resources being directed to climate change education, particularly for teacher training and the provision of up-to-date learning materials. In response, several national education coalitions in the Pacific region have started to prioritise advancing climate change education as a key focus of their advocacy efforts.
Among them are the Papua New Guinea Education Advocacy Network, Samoa Education Network, Kolisen Blong Leftemap Edukesen (KOBLE Vanuatu), and Coalition for Education Solomon. A total of five education coalitions including the regional coalition ASPBAE have gathered through the Education Out Loud Pacific Learning Collaborative to drive meaningful change and share strategies towards a climate change education agenda in the region.
In Vanuatu, KOBLE is now engaging 30 civil society organisations within their coalition in discussions about climate change education and climate justice. PEAN in Papua New Guinea has started conducting teacher training on climate education and is participating in various civil society events related to the promotion of safety in schools, including on heat stress in classrooms. COESI in the Solomon Islands has held discussions with their education ministry as well as stakeholders in schools about how climate change is currently being taught in schools. SEN in Samoa has held a debrief session among its members and shared their learning with other organisation members as well as conducted a community outreach with youth and community.
Recognising that climate change education in the Pacific requires the allocation of dedicated resources, the education coalitions plan to engage more deeply in advocating for a climate change education curriculum that is responsive to the needs and aspirations of students, teachers, and their communities.
The collaborative has also generated practical resources that can be shared beyond the participating coalitions. These include learning materials such as a mapping of transformative climate education approaches and infographics on climate justice and the issue of loss and damage in the Pacific—tools that can support advocacy efforts across the region. In addition, a baseline assessment survey was developed to identify the skills, knowledge, and capacity-building needs of National Education Coalitions in relation to advancing climate justice within the education sector.
These outputs provide a foundation for strengthening climate education initiatives and can be utilised by other grantees and civil society actors committed to this agenda.
The Pacific Learning Collaborative on Climate Education
- The Pacific Learning Collaborative on Climate Education
is an initiative by Education Out Loud aiming to strengthen civil society leadership towards advocacy efforts on climate change education. - Through various activities including media development, online collaboration and an in-person workshop, key stakeholders and advocates from the Pacific
strengthened their capacities towards climate change education advocacy. - It also serves as a platform for sharing best practices
and engaging in thoughtful dialogue with students, teachers and community members about the alarming consequences of climate change for the education sector.
- Learn more about Climate Education
– Learning Interrupted: Global snapshot of climate-related school disruptions in 2024 (UNICEF)
– Greening Curriculum Guidance (UNESCO)
– Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action (World Bank) - The Pacific Learning Collaborative: Materials
– Baseline assessment survey on National Education Coalitions skills, knowledge, and capacity-building needs in relation to advancing climate justice within the education sector.
– Mapping of transformative climate education approaches Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea
– Infographics on climate justice and the issue of loss and damage in the Pacific — tools for advocacy and communications.