Climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature through extreme weather events affecting people and various ecosystems worldwide. With the continuous emission of greenhouse gases, climate change would continue to become a predominant global issue. According to WMO (2022), “there is a 50:50 chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial level for at least one of the next five years.” To combat this alarming issue, climate change education (CCE) is being integrated at the primary and secondary school levels as CCE is considered a sustainable development goal, with children being one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change.
Education not only empowers people, but it can also motivate the young to take action in helping curb climate change (UN, 2022). Specifically, CCE promotes learning about the causes and effects of climate change as well as possible responses, providing a cross-curricular and multidisciplinary perspective because it develops competencies in climate change mitigation and adaptation, with the aim to promote climate-resilient development and reduce the vulnerability of communities in the face of an uncertain future (UNITAR, 2013). Crucially, CCE helps elementary to high school students start making informed environmentally friendly decisions early and practice making responsible actions contributing to reduced greenhouse gas emissions through more sustainable lifestyles, as they will be made aware of the reality of climate change and how it's affected by human consumption patterns (UN, 2022). Lastly, by preparing learners, communities, and education systems to face natural hazards, CCE contributes to disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts.
In the Philippines, the government has implemented Republic Act No. 9729, or the Climate Change Act of 2009 to respond to the call for CCE, which enhanced the curriculum integration of key climate change concepts across all grade levels from primary to secondary education in the K-12 program (DepEd, 2017a). In particular, Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) and Climate Change Action (CCA) concepts are included in kinder to junior high school curricula through subject areas such as Health, Science, Araling Panlipunan, and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao. As for senior high school, a specialized subject in DRRM is offered to students taking up STEM, while climate change concepts and competencies can also be found in Earth Science and Earth and Life Science Subjects. In addition to curricula changes, schools included co-curricular activities such as the establishment of the Youth for Environment in Schools Organization, integration of Gulayan Sa Paaralan, Solid Waste Management, and Tree Planting Under the National Greening Program to be made available to their students. In addition, learning materials regarding climate change have also been made available, such as the Handbook for Teaching Climate Change. It can "provide information on the different aspects of the climate crisis, particularly climate science, impacts of climate change, and adaptation and mitigation strategies" (DepEd, 2017b).
Reference:
Department of Education (2017a). The Need for Climate Change Education. https://www.deped.gov.ph/climate-change-education/cce-in-the-philippines/
Department of Education (2017b). CCE DepEd References and Resources. https://www.deped.gov.ph/cce-deped-references-and-resources/
United Nations (2022). Education is key to addressing climate change. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-solutions/education-key-addressing-climate-change
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (2013). Resource Guide for Advanced Learning on Integrating Climate Change in Education at Primary and Secondary Level. https://www.uncclearn.org/wp-content/uploads/library/resource_guide_on_integrating_cc_in_education_primary_and_secondary_level.pdf
World Meteorological Organization (2022, May 9).WMO update: 50:50 chance of global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C threshold in next five years. https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/wmo-update-5050-chance-of-global-temperature-temporarily-reaching-15%C2%B0c-threshold