Young people must be equipped with the knowledge and competencies and be empowered through learning to address the climate and environmental crises and adapt to their impacts. The recently adopted ‘Council Recommendation on learning for the green transition and sustainable development’, and how it is implemented by Member States, is crucial to centring young people in education for sustainable development both as agents of change and as those most impacted by the current failures of our education systems.
This paper describes GCE’s position on the ‘Council Recommendation on learning for the green transition and sustainable development’ which was adopted by the Council of the European Union on 16 June 2022. Whilst we are pleased to see that it repeatedly highlights the role of young people in implementing the Recommendation in Member States, we are disappointed that the urgency of the matter of education for a green transition has been played down and that all notions of transformative education have been lost.
This statement sets out three key recommendations and accompanying action points to aid Member States in the implementation of the Recommendation so that climate and sustainability education is integrated into all levels and forms of learning to achieve intergenerational justice and develop the active citizens needed to address the climate and environment crises.
