Strategies of Climate Change Education to Promote Climate Action in Estonia

Climate change poses high risks to many natural and human systems. The science is clear: we need to act to reduce these risks. However, the lack of appropriate expertise strongly limits the effectiveness of climate action. Estonia has a high rate of climate scepticism, and there needs to be a clear national policy on educating people about climate change and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

In an EEA-financed project, "KLIIMATEADLIK - Climate Change Education to Promote Climate Action", we focus on promoting climate change education in formal and non-formal education to increase the competencies necessary for climate change mitigation and adaptation. We aim to establish climate change education at all education levels in Estonia. We develop education strategies, create learning materials and support teachers.

The first step was to understand the current situation regarding climate change education. For this, we assessed the national curricula. Climate change is mentioned as an independent topic only in natural sciences. Another problem is that only the concept of local climate is introduced. Not connecting climate topics to the global climate system makes it challenging to integrate climate change issues.

The next step was to study the status quo of teaching. We analysed the textbooks and surveyed the teachers. Unfortunately, the textbooks do not include a scientific understanding of climate change. The explanations of the causes and impacts of climate change are missing. Moreover, climate change mitigation and adaptation are not covered at all. 

Our solution is to educate teachers and prepare study materials. The study materials cover the causes and impacts of climate change together with climate change mitigation and adaptation. Educating teachers and students will translate to increased climate change awareness in Estonian society in general.