Geoethics education and climate literacy: Bridging the gap – interactively

In previous years, the authors have addressed questions related to geoethics education, or what we have called geo-edu-ethics (GEE), in relation to geo-problems in general (such as global warming, pollution, sea-level rise, deforestation, ocean acidification, biodiversity).

In this session we wish to focus in on the greatest of all geo-problems, that of climate change (CC), which necessarily entails the urgent need for massive, widespread climate literacy (CL) – both education and learning.  We wish to examine the relationships between GEE and CL, their overlaps and differences, and how they may mutually reinforce each other.  In so doing, we will also touch on the ethics of educational and learning methods that are used to help people learn about geoethics and CC.

Currently, it seems that the two areas work in parallel, maybe even separated by a mindset of splendid isolation, and yet the apparent overlap, not least in their visons and missions, beckons us to bring the two closer together.  This is what we will attempt in our presentation.  The questions that we plan to address include the following:

• Is it true, or a misconception, that GEE and CL tend to work separately, often ignorant of each other?
• What do GEE and CL have in common?
• Their ethos, their content, their methods, their audience?
• Is it possible to unify the GEE and CL into an overarching rational and thereby form a coherent community of practice?
• What can practitioners in each bubble learn from each other? What will it take for the two bubbles to merge?
• How can each group maintain its own professional identity (if that is deemed important) and yet work hand in hand with the other, to their mutual benefit?
• What are the most effective ways forward, given the geoethical urgency of acting to slow CC?

The presentation will be interactive, as we will invite the audience to contribute their own ideas and experience.  If we are permitted to have breakout rooms, we will divide into small groups for a short time, and then bring everyone together for a plenary sharing.