The document summarizes the agenda of a conference session on climate change, disaster risk reduction, and education. The agenda includes presentations on UNFCCC initiatives, climate change, low carbon initiatives by an RCE in Malaysia, and disaster risk reduction by an RCE in India. It also discusses coordination and an open discussion period. Additional sections provide overviews of the Paris Agreement, countries that have signed it, US state climate policies, and how climate change is addressed in developing curriculums.

1. Climate change & disaster risk
reduction in education for
sustainable development
10TH GLOBAL RCE CONFERENCE 2016
YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA
NOVEMBER 24TH : SESSION 6-1 ~ 8:30AM – 10:30AM

2. Agenda
 Introduction (10 mins.)
 Presentation on UNFCCC initiatives (10 mins.)
 Presentation on Climate Chance (10 mins.)
 Presentation on low carbon initiatives (RCE Iskandar) (20 mins.)
 Presentation on disaster risk reduction (RCE Srinigar) (15 mins.)
 Coordination and communication (15 mins.)
 Open discussion (25 mins.)
 Wrap-up (5 mins.)

3. Overview of the Paris Agreement
 The backbone of the Paris Agreement is the implementation of Nationally
Determined Contributions (NDCs) to emission reductions. NDCs must be:
 Ambitious
 Represent a progression over time
 Be reported every five years
 However:
 NDCs are set by each individual country
 Contributions are not binding
 Agreement provides no consequences if countries do not meet commitments

4. Paris Agreement: Nations that have
signed and joined

5. US States with climate change policies with
specific GHG emission reduction targets
 Over 50% of US population and majority
of its emissions occur in states that have
climate change policy mandating
reduction targets
 Energy efficiency is improving in US,
however, transport emissions remain large
weakness across the board

6. US States with GHG emissions reporting
systems at the state level
 The majority of US states have state level
reporting mandates in addition to any
federal reporting requirements
 Redundant auditing culture of US is useful
for getting accurate data

7. Education and the UNFCCC
 To understand climate change and also to understand what needs to be done to
address it, a sharp and sustained focus on education, training and public
awareness in all countries and at all levels of government, society and enterprise is
required
 To achieve this, governments party to the UNFCCC are working with both the
private sector and civil society stakeholders in six priority action areas: education,
training, public access to information, public awareness, public participation, and
international cooperation
 This objective is anchored in Article 6 of the UNFCCC, which has been renamed
Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE)

8. Overview of National Focal Points for Article 6
of the UNFCCC in the Americas
Country Name of Contact Ministry or Institution
Argentina Maria del Valle Peralta Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development
Brazil Mario Henrique Mendes Ministry of the Environment
Canada Laurence Ahoussou Environment Canada
Colombia Carlos Ernesto Perez Ministry of Environment, Housing, & Territorial Development
Guatemala N/A N/A
Mexico N/A National Institute of Ecology
Peru Claudia Elena Figallo de Ghersi Ministry of the Environment
United States N/A N/A
http://unfccc.int/cooperation_and_support/education_and_outreach/national_focal_points/items/8942.php

9. What ACE can provide to RCEs
 Resources: Information portal on education and training tools:
 http://unfccc.int/cooperation_and_support/education_and_outreach/education_and_trai
ning/items/8955.php
 Also, section devoted specifically for resources in working with youth:
 http://unfccc.int/cooperation_and_support/education_and_outreach/youth/items/8964.p
hp
 Good Practices: Case studies on how climate change education programmes have
been implemented
 http://unfccc.int/cooperation_and_support/education_and_outreach/education_and_trai
ning/items/8956.php
 Also, section devoted specifically to case studies working with youth:
 http://unfccc.int/cooperation_and_support/education_and_outreach/youth/items/8963.p
hp

10. UNESCO and climate change education
 Recently, the UNFCCC dedicated the day of November 14th to the critical role of education in
responding to climate change
 During a high level panel discussion that day, UNESCO launched Action for Climate
Empowerment, a website with new guidelines for policymakers seeking to use education,
training, and public awareness to combat climate change
 https://engage4climate.org/ace-action-for-climate-empowerment/
 UNESCO also took the opportunity to launch its’ new publication – PLANET: Education for
environmental sustainability and green growth, which showcases how education can shift
people’s behavior towards more sustainable ways of living.
 http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002464/246429E.pdf

11. How climate change is addressed in developing
curriculums
Current Trends Issues Possible Solutions
Education on climate change in many
school systems uses banking model
Many pupils get understanding of
what causes climate change and why it
is dangerous, but don’t change their
behavior
Emphasize action competence as opposed to only
knowledge in curriculum related to climate change
literacy
Most learning environments are in
facilities that operate without allowing
users to practice the sustainable
behaviors they are trying to learn
Students must operate in a context of
‘do as a I say, not as I do’ which can
lead to general apathy on climate
action
Learning environment should allow for practice of
action competence around climate change –
minimize policies and practices that contradict
these competencies
Most climate change education materials
are designed to target children and youth
Children and youth themselves often
don’t have as carbon intensive
lifestyles as adults in their society –
good to start early, but cannot ignore
lag between when they learn and
when they will be adults
Adults and seniors need to be targeted as learners
for climate literacy and building action
competence within their own (more carbon
intensive) lifestyles