At the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership (GEP) will continue to champion the vital role of education in addressing climate change and building a climate-ready future, while strengthening action on climate education and supporting the transformation of education systems.
Through the Partnership, UNESCO is supporting countries to green education systems across four interconnected areas: greening schools, greening curriculum, greening teacher training and greening communities.
What’s new at COP31?
At COP31, UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership (GEP) will advance a set of initiatives designed to strengthen implementation and build a lasting legacy for climate education.
Antalya Protocol for Action
Children, youth and teachers at the heart of greening education
Hosted by the COP31 Presidency and the Greening Education Partnership, the Antalya Protocol for Action will bring together governments, educators, young people and partners around a shared agenda for action.
The Protocol will focus on three priorities:
- Strengthening teacher leadership by supporting quality climate-related training for pre-service and in-service teachers.
- Advancing meaningful youth participation by creating stronger mechanisms for children and young people to contribute to policy, implementation and advocacy.
- Strengthening monitoring and evidence so countries can track progress, learn from one another and build accountability for greening education.
The Protocol aims to translate political commitments into practical action at country level and reinforce the Greening Education Partnership as a platform for implementation, peer learning and knowledge exchange.
New GEP mechanisms for action
COP31 will also mark the launch of new mechanisms to support countries and partners in advancing these priorities. These efforts will help connect policy commitments with teacher preparation, classroom practice, youth engagement and evidence of progress.
GEP working group on monitoring evaluation and evidence – A new working group to strengthen indicators, evidence and accountability for greening education, building on the GEP Global Tracker and other existing international mechanisms.
GEP youth working group – A new mechanism to strengthen meaningful youth engagement across the Partnership and ensure that young people are recognised as active stakeholders in transforming education
Greening teacher training guidance – The COP31 process will launch the development of global guidance to support countries in integrating climate change and sustainability into pre-service and in-service teacher education.
Events at COP31
High-level dialogue: Children, youth and teachers at the heart of greening education
Hosted by the COP31 Presidency and the Greening Education Partnership, this high-level dialogue will bring together ministers, international organizations, educators, young people and development partners to advance implementation of greening education.
The dialogue will highlight the role of teachers as leaders of climate action, strengthen meaningful youth participation and announce new GEP mechanisms to support action, including the development of global guidance on greening teacher training and new working groups on youth engagement and monitoring, evaluation and evidence.
High-level dialogue: Setting goals and monitoring outcomes of greening education
This ministerial dialogue will focus on how countries can strengthen climate literacy and use evidence to track progress in greening education.
Building on the Baku Initiative on Human Development for Climate Resilience and the integration of a dedicated climate literacy domain into PISA from 2029, the session will explore how countries can establish measurable goals, strengthen monitoring and learn from one another.
The dialogue will also advance the development of a Global State of Greening Education Report, bringing together international evidence on climate literacy and progress in greening education systems.
What to know for inheriting a planet: Building climate-ready learners in reliable information ecosystems
Organized by UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership and the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change (GIIICC), this side event will explore how education and reliable information can empower learners to navigate climate change and take informed action.
The session will showcase practical experiences at the intersection of climate education, education for sustainable development, media and information literacy, and information integrity.
With a particular focus on young people, the discussion will examine how learners and educators can develop the knowledge and critical skills needed to engage with climate information, identify misinformation and act on scientific evidence.
The event will bring together education stakeholders, governments, information integrity actors and civil society to share approaches that can be adapted and scaled across different contexts. Its outcomes will contribute to a policy brief on greening education, youth engagement and education for sustainable development beyond 2030.
From COP31 to lasting action
The work launched at COP31 is designed to extend beyond the conference itself. UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership will support countries and partners in translating commitments into implementation, strengthening peer learning and tracking progress over time.
Looking ahead, the Partnership will advance the development of global guidance on teacher training, strengthen youth participation and monitoring mechanisms, and contribute to a recurring cycle of evidence and accountability for greening education.
In addition, the first Global State of Greening Education Report is planned for 2030, bringing together international evidence, including the results of the PISA 2029 climate literacy assessment and progress reported through the GEP Global Tracker.
Together, these efforts aim to help countries build education systems that are climate-resilient, inclusive and equipped to make every learner climate-ready.
Greening Education Partnership
Reposted from UNESCO