As part of the preparations for COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference, which Dubai will host in November, the UAE’s Ministry of Education on Tuesday unveiled the country’s Green Education Partnership Road Map.
At the event that marked launching of the roadmap, series of agreements to advance climate education and action among the younger generation before, during and after the conference were signed between the ministry and the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and its Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
According to state news report, the ministry also announced its plan to create the first education pavilion ever to be included at a COP event.
Under the UAE’s leadership, UNESCO will support the organization of a high-level advocacy meeting of the leaders of member states to discuss the role of education in efforts to address climate issues, and host the inaugural meeting of Greening Education Partnership Multi-Partner Trust Fund. This partnership initiative was established last year during the Transforming Education Summit, with a particular focus on tackling climate change.
Environmental and climate-friendly initiatives the ministry intends to implement before and after COP28 are highlighted in the roadmap. This include plans to ensure that 50 percent of all UAE schools and campuses attain green accreditation, and provide more than 2,400 educators and 1,400 principals with relevant training.
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The UAE’s minister of education, Ahmad Belhoul Al-Falasi said that COP28 marks a significant development that will provide a blueprint for leveraging the potential of education to help accomplish the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and combat climate change whilst it will also raise awareness of climate change and discuss efforts to mitigate its consequences.
The minister stressed the importance of global cooperation to integrate climate themes into education and coordinate activities to combat climate change, saying the UAE is eager to provide a practical and adaptable road map for the education of students and teachers about climate change, which other countries can adapt, customize and benefit from.
“Individual behaviors toward climate change are still the key to making a real impact, and with that comes the significant role of education in shifting minds, actions and attitudes about the environment today and in the future,” Al-Falasi was quoted as saying.
The ministry will also launch a “Children’s Voice” initiative, as part of which young people throughout the country will be offered training to help them advocate for, and participate in, environmental decision making.
There will also be an “Educator’s Voice” initiative through which the ministry will focus on developing the critical role teachers can play in raising awareness of climate change and combating its effects.
Story was adapted from Arab News.
