Today is World Environmental Education Day, a date to remember the importance of this tool to empower people and promote collective commitment to sustainability. This day has its origins in the International Seminar on Environmental Education held in Serbia in 1975, where the Belgrade Charter was adopted, a fundamental document that establishes the principles of environmental education. This event brought together representatives from more than 60 countries under the International Environmental Education Programme of UNESCO and UNEP, consolidating the idea that education is key to facing global challenges. Despite the advances, the global education system faces significant challenges in integrating sustainability and climate change into its curricula. According to the UNESCO report “Teachers Have Their Say: Motivation, Skills and Opportunities to Teach Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship” (2022), although 95% of teachers believe that it is vital to educate about climate change, only 40% feel comfortable doing so, and only 20% can explain how to act in the face of this crisis. Similarly, the report “Prepare All Schools for Climate” (2023), by the same organization, highlights that almost half (47%) of the national curriculum frameworks of 100 countries do not mention climate change. Although the most vulnerable countries are the ones that integrate this content the most, those who have the greatest responsibility for emissions often do not include it in a significant way.

Education plays a fundamental role as a driver of social transformation and, consequently, education and sustainability must go hand in hand. According to professor and writer César Bona, “the big change is going to come from the schools upwards because education is where it all starts, what we are and what we want to be, and sustainability is where we need to go”. This expert in pedagogy, who starred in the ninth episode of Naturalmente, the Fundación Biodiversidad podcast, argues that the participation of children and adolescents is essential when facing environmental challenges.

A fundamental tool to face global challenges

Along these lines, in 2021 the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFPD) drew up the Environmental Education for Sustainability Action Plan (PAEAS). This document, which covers the period between 2021-2025, establishes 61 actions grouped into six operational axes to promote sustainability through education. The Biodiversity Foundation coordinates some of the actions of the Plan, reinforcing the commitment to environmental education, by supporting projects that promote sustainable lifestyles and encourage citizen participation in the ecological transition. This includes the creation of spaces for dialogue and learning to address the challenges of the climate emergency. Environmental education is a driver for social transformation and its implementation requires a joint effort between governments, teachers and society at large.