Ei-iE

The 10th Education International (EI) World Congress meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 29 July to 2 August 2024:

1. Recalls the strong role that EI has played in advocating for climate solutions. Education International’s 7th and 8th World Congresses, in July 2015 and July 2019 respectively, adopted the following resolutions:

1. Education and Research Play a Crucial Role for the Environment and for the Future of Humanity;
2. Defending Education, Sustaining the World;
3. Disaster Preparedness and Response; and
4. Education for Sustainable Development.

The 10th World Congress recognises that:

2. Earth’s climate is in jeopardy, and as citizens, we owe it to future generations to protect our planet and help build a sustainable and resilient future for all. Research has shown that increased global temperatures are at least 1 to 1.12 percent higher than the pre-industrial mean, with global temperatures projected to reach or surpass the critical 1.5°C tipping point by 2035;
3. The global climate emergency affecting us is a result of human activity associated with a socially unjust and environmentally unsustainable model. This model, based on extractivism, production, and consumption, accelerates the destruction of the biosphere, increases social inequality, and compromises the lives of future generations;
4. The negative consequences of climate change are increasingly impacting the environment and the lives of students and educators;
5. Despite being the least responsible for its consequences, climate change will have a significant impact on young peoples’ health, well-being, learning, security, and economic prospects;
6. Indigenous Peoples, communities of colour, under-resourced urban and rural communities, girls and women, and people with disabilities bear the greatest burdens from these negative climate impacts and suffer disproportionately from water scarcity, extreme storms, record-high heat and more;
7. Every country is negatively impacted by global warming; however, African countries, Middle Eastern countries, Southeast Asia, and small island nations throughout the world are at the highest risk of devastation from climate impacts. The Caribbean has been particularly impacted, as the area has experienced progressive warming over time, with alterations in the frequency, duration, and intensity of rainfall, as well as an increase in tropical storms and hurricanes and higher concentrations of air pollutants from other parts of the world. The average estimated disaster damage as a ratio to GDP was six times higher for Caribbean countries compared to larger states, making the region disproportionately more vulnerable, despite greenhouse gas emissions from these countries being minimal. The region experienced 175 disasters between 2020 and 2022 alone, and the impact of these climatic changes have increased food insecurity by 15 to 20 percent;
8. Environmental stressors caused by climate change will only continue to increase food insecurity and decrease food sovereignty and have a negative impact on the most vulnerable groups in society;
9. Any climate actions or solutions must prioritise, elevate, and engage the most affected communities to advance equity and environmental justice. Given their experiences with the impacts of climate change and environmental injustice, these communities have crucial insight into climate solutions and must be at the helm of climate actions, both in and out of school buildings and worksites;
10. All students, families, and educators deserve to live in safe, resilient, healthy, and sustainable communities;
11. Students and educators deserve learning and working conditions that do not inhibit their health or ability to teach and learn;
12. All people and communities – including Indigenous communities, communities of colour and under-resourced communities – have the right to equal protection and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations and have the right to be free from environmental injustice;
13. Climate change has major impacts on education: disrupting the learning of over 40 million children per year. However, large-scale climate solutions often overlook the role that education can play. Educators and the education sector can take greater action in advancing climate solutions by preparing students to lead a sustainable future; fighting for climate change solutions and environmental security; and investing in safe and sustainable school infrastructure for all students while keeping an eye on energy and environmental costs.

The 10th World Congress asks EI and its member organisations:

14. To affirm support:

1. Toward the advancement of climate and environmental justice for all, particularly for the communities most affected by climate change’s negative consequences, including Indigenous communities, communities of colour, girls and women, people with disabilities; and under-resourced urban and rural communities;
2. For every student and educators’ right to clean air and water;
3. That access to clean air and water is necessary;
4. For the rights of Indigenous Peoples and their land;
5. For the development and use of renewable energy in school communities; and
6. For a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in keeping with the Paris Agreement (COP21).

15. To pressure policymakers and education leaders to:

1. Acknowledge existing environmental inequities in our school and communities that are affecting students’ ability to learn and centring these students and communities in policy solutions;
2. Fund green education initiatives to create awareness and promote resilience measures for children and youth;
3. Partner with international organisations to promote green education campaigns;
4. Combat any attempt to introduce in education simplistic, opportunistic, or exploitative views of reality which often may hide corporate interests or divert climate justice towards individual solutions;
5. Prioritise under-resourced communities and communities of colour in school infrastructure investments to build sustainable school buildings and grounds;
6. Reduce schools’ environmental footprints and greenhouse gas emissions;
7. Improve indoor air quality and water quality in schools and surrounding communities;
8. Stop using fossil fuels, utilise renewable energy sources, and shift toward zero-carbon economies;
9. Support healthy sustainable food use;
10. Support schools in adapting and building resilience to our changing climate;
11. Ensure that new school infrastructure is made sustainably and is properly designed to withstand climate impacts;
12. Ensure that existing schools are retrofitted to withstand climate impacts (e.g. floods, extreme heat), particularly in areas of high climate vulnerability;
13. Put systems in place to ensure students are adequately prepared for the green jobs of the future;
14. Support educators in engaging students in learning about climate change, its causes, consequences, and solutions to provide quality climate change education for all;
15. Ensure voices of the communities most impacted by climate change are centred in decision-making and emphasise the importance of Indigenous knowledge systems;
16. Ensure a just transition in education by safeguarding educators’ occupational health, safety, and well-being, and strengthening social protection;
17. Campaign against conservative and neo-liberal approaches to climate change policies that would exacerbate debt dependency and food insecurity in regions of need, in order to increase the number of children who can access educational opportunities;
18. Support research on impact assessments on the effects of climate change on education unions and their members in regions of need; and
19. Collaborate with education unions when determining policy to advance climate and environmental justice in education;

16. To advocate and wield union power to advance climate and environmental justice within its own membership;
17. To call for a just transition in the education sector and consider climate change’s impact on education workers when engaging in collective bargaining and social dialogue;
18. To promote divestment from fossil fuels by unions, educator pension funds, and education institutions;
19. To promote green, environmentally sustainable operations and climate resilience programs;
20. To support other member organisations in replicating best practices on a systemic level;
21. To encourage United Nations (UN) agencies, governments, and strategic partners to collaborate with education unions to identify or develop comprehensive programs to support the advancement of climate and environmental justice within the context of school surrounding communities; and
22. To disseminate the “ Education International Manifesto on Quality Climate Change Education for All” to promote quality climate change education.