EARTHDAY.ORG Helps Get Climate Education onto the EU’s Climate Plan

November 12, 2025

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(EARTHDAY.ORG) When the European Union published its updated climate pledge this week, something remarkable happened: Climate education took center stage. After years of advocacy, meetings, and movement-building, the European Union, EU, has added climate education directly into its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. For us at EARTHDAY.ORG (EDO), who have championed climate literacy for over a decade, advocating for inclusion of climate education in NDCs since 2017, this is a watershed moment.

Climate education is not just about combating the climate crisis—it’s a critical foundation for training the global workforce, equipping everyone with the green skills needed to thrive in an evolving economy, and empowering businesses to grow sustainably in a rapidly changing world.
Kathleen Rogers, President, EARTHDAY.ORG

Afterthought to a Cornerstone

Just one year ago, the EU’s NDC made only a passing mention of climate education with a single sentence buried deep in a technical document. But through sustained engagement by EARTHDAY.ORG and our partners, that sentence has grown into two meaningful paragraphs packed, with the ambition to integrate climate education across school curricula from kindergarten through grade 12.

This milestone didn’t materialize overnight. Behind the scenes were over 60 bilateral meetings, several COPs and UN conferences, hundreds of calls, dozens of petitions, and countless emails.

Knowledge fosters awareness, comprehension, and critical thinking. Education is a fundamental tool in building climate resilience. Just as literacy paved the way for the first Industrial Revolution, climate education will ignite the next revolution, one that addresses the climate crisis.
Max Falcone, Global Advisor, EARTHDAY.ORG

From Brussels to Bonn, EDO and its coalition partners pressed a simple but powerful idea: that fighting climate change must start in the classroom. It was a message that caught far far beyond the borders of the European Union.

Climate education transforms communities and inspires action. Across Brazil, the projects of Limpa Brasil – Let’s Do It! show that when people unite around a common purpose, they become protagonists of the energy transition and the building of more sustainable cities. The work of EARTHDAY.ORG strengthens this network of active citizenship, connecting education, the environment, and collective responsibility in every state of the country.
Edilainne Muniz Pereira, Director of Limpa Brasil – Let’s Do It! São Paulo, SP, Brasil

The Link Between Learning and Livelihoods

At the heart of EDO’s campaign is the conviction that education and the economy are inseparable in the climate era. According to the World Bank report Choosing our future: Education for climate action, jobs that require green skills are growing faster than the number of people trained to fill them. The World Economic Forum found that job postings requiring at least one green skill increased 22.4% from 2022 to 2023.

Today, 152 countries now embed climate education in these national commitments.The EU’s move now sends a powerful message: green skills are not a side project, but the foundation of a sustainable economy.

Education is not only about knowledge; it’s about purpose, transformation and collaboration. As we face the realities of the climate crisis, empowering young people with climate literacy becomes an act of leadership.I value EARTHDAY.ORG’s commitment to education that embodies the excellence and entrepreneurial spirit needed to build a more sustainable future.
Purdey Morgan, Climate Content Marketing Manager, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford Oxford, England

Building a Global Standard

With the EU’s adoption, more than 60 nations have now used EARTHDAY.ORG’s model language for climate education in their NDCs. What began as a campaign has become a global standard.

Climate education is the engine of the energy transition. That’s why we value the role of EARTHDAY.ORG in creating green jobs and preparing citizens to face the challenges of the 21st century.
Renata Moraes, Founder of the Brazilian Coalition for Climate Education (CBEC) Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brasil

As the world gathers in Belém, Brazil, for COP30, EDO will push the conversation further to focus on how to finance the teaching of climate education worldwide.

Integrating climate education into national strategies is fundamental to empowering our citizens and strengthening the resilience of our ancestral communities. In Guatemala, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources works closely with Mayan territories to promote knowledge, adaptation, and sustainable livelihoods as part of our national energy transition. EARTHDAY.ORG’s global efforts amplify this vision, ensuring that education becomes a bridge between traditional wisdom and the scientific innovation our century demands.
Ing. Andrea Lucrecia Fión Góngora Directora Dirección de Cambio Climático Ministerio de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales

If you would like to support EARTHDAY.ORG please pledge to support climate and environmental literacy.

The critically important role of education cannot be overstated. It’s time for other nations to step up and show solidarity by supporting by adding meaningful climate education into their own NDCs. The time to act is now. Mitigating climate change requires a united and engaged global community— to ensure that no country is left behind in the race for a sustainable future.
Rodolfo ‘Ropo’ Beltran, Regional Director, South America, EARTHDAY.ORG

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Excerpt from Earthday.org: - EARTHDAY.ORG (EDO), the global organizer of the Earth Day movement—observed by more than one billion people each April 22—celebrates the European Union's landmark decision to integrate climate education into school curricula from kindergarten through grade 12, as part of its 2025 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement.

"The inclusion of climate education in the EU NDC is an important step toward equipping students with green skills and countering climate disinformation. This progress has been made possible through the collective engagement of civil society organizations working in dialogue with public authorities, with EARTHDAY.ORG contributing as one of many committed partners in this process." Katarzyna Wrona, Director at Department of Clean Air and Climate Negotiations, Ministry of Climate and Environment, Republic of Poland

The Danish Presidency formally submitted the European Union's NDC to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 5 November 2025. By officially incorporating climate education across its 27 member states, the EU joins more than 60 other countries that have adopted EARTHDAY.ORG–model language in their NDCs—helping to cement climate literacy as a global standard for climate action.

"The inclusion of climate education in the EU's NDC is a significant victory for young people across Europe. Strengthening green skills in curricula will make young Europeans better prepared and more competitive in the green job market but also combat the rise of climate misinformation which is arising across Europe.

This achievement is the result of strong collaboration between governments, youth, and civil society. Our dear youth colleague from EARTHDAY.ORG has been an important advocate for advancing climate education at the EU level." Sigurd Krabbe, Denmark's Youth Delegate to the UN for Climate and Environment

This milestone marks the result of over a decade of bold EDO advocacy.

"As we navigate the climate emergency, quality climate education is as fundamental as teaching reading and writing. Teachers are determined to empower students for climate action and a just transition but we need policies that provide us with enabling conditions. Through our Teach for the Planet campaign and together with EARTHDAY.ORG, we are advocating for governments everywhere to recognize and fund climate education as the essential adaptation measure and resource that it is."
Dave Edwards, General Secretary, Education International

The World Bank's Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action finds demand for "green skills" outpaces supply. The World Economic Forum reports job postings requiring at least one green skill rose 22.4% from 2022 to 2023.

"The green transition will create over 100 million new jobs globally in the next decade. To fill these roles, workers need green skills, and climate education teaches them. It's non-negotiable for global economic growth and prosperity." Kathleen Rogers, President, EARTHDAY.ORG.

"The transition to a green economy won't happen without a workforce with the right skills, and demand for green skills continues to outpace supply. EARTHDAY.ORG's success in helping more than 150 countries include climate education in their updated NDCs is a major step forward.

This achievement aligns with insights from LinkedIn's 2025 Global Green Skills Report: climate education doesn't just tackle climate change—it connects people to jobs and economic opportunity. By prioritizing climate education, these nations are investing in both a sustainable future and an inclusive economy." Efrem Bycer, Head of Workforce and Climate Policy Partnerships, LinkedIn

Last month, the Vatican endorsed climate education and integral ecology, highlighting EDO's advocacy in Vatican News alongside the release of its updated NDC.

The EU and the Vatican are not alone — nations across the political and economic spectrum are now integrating climate education into their NDCs.

"It has been clearly recognized that this joint effort among countries would not have been possible without international organizations such as EARTHDAY.ORG and agencies such as the United Nations and UNEP. They are crucial because they provide support, financing, and initiatives that help countries move forward." Minister Juan Carlos Castro Vargas, Minister of the Environment of Peru

COP30, currently underway in Belém, Brazil, provides an ideal forum to discuss financing so that every nation can scale climate education.

"The Kenya Climate Change Strategy mooted in 2021 aims at enhancing climate change knowledge, interpretation and its applications among learners, teachers, trainers and facilitators by 2030. The specific actions range from integration of climate curriculum at all levels, capacity building for teachers and trainers in climate change, and enhancing research and innovation in climate change. In this regard, Kenya is proud to have integrated climate education into the heart of our NDC 3.0. This decisive action, aligned with the global efforts of the Climate Education Coalition, Earth Day, and multilateral development banks, signals our commitment.

Now, our priority is to move from commitment to implementation. This requires concrete support from global climate finance. Investing in climate education is not just an expense; it is one of the most effective forms of adaptation—it means training new, aware, and prepared generations to face future challenges while ensuring a just and sustainable development path for all." Hon. Julius Migos Ogamba, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Education, Kenya

"We grew up learning about the great forests, oceans and rivers of the world but not how to care for them even though our lives are dependent on them. We didn't learn that the industries that make us prosperous are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and that we must use clean energy and clean tech to keep the planet livable. Thank you to the Governments supporting the climate curriculum - our children will know better." Sharan Burrow, Vice Chair, European Climate Foundation, former General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) & former teacher

The EDO NDC CLIMATE EDUCATION TRACKER is updated daily and serves as an important tool for monitoring the integration of climate education into national commitments. The schedule for our on-the-ground teams' speaking events at COP30 can be found HERE.

About EARTHDAY.ORG: EARTHDAY.ORG's mission is to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, EARTHDAY.ORG has become the largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with 150,000+ partners in over 190 countries. One billion people participate in Earth Day activities annually, making it the world's largest civic observance. Visit www.earthday.org to learn more. READ MORE