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Climate change:Education+

by | 05-01-2015 10:35


Mr previous article on climate change and education was a peek into how cimate change education aids in tackling problems of climate change. I ended it with few questions. I must say I ended in such way intentionally to know what the other ambassadors think. I am really glad that few of you poured your views. and I am glad it was in support of education. There is no denial that education is important but is it enough? this is what I think.


Except few skeptics, people believe that climate change is real and it should be addressed. I suppose the greatest debate in the world in not about the occurrence of climate change. But the debate is who is going to borne the responsibility of addressing it and who will finance the actions to address it. It is seems quite irrelevant at times because the UNESCO (2014) data shows that 87% female and 92% male youth in the world are educated. As we know that since climate change is a global problem, global community come together to solve it. And those sitting in negotiation table are always highly educated people. But we rarely hear of the rigid outcomes from each of these negotiations. Conference of the parties (COP) is a most striking example of it. Since inception of Kyoto protocol, COP takes place every year where parties of the protocol negotiate to take stringent actions to address climate change. However each time people have weak and far lesser than expected commitments from the global leaders.


In most of the conference global leader occupied with the well being of their country?s economy. In COP 20 held at Peru the countries whose economy is dependent upon fossil fuel demanded of providing solutions to their economy if the entire world is divesting from fossil fuel. Meanwhile the vulnerable countries are always demanding to increase the funds for adapting the impacts of climate change. Nevertheless the developed countries that are held responsible for present crisis are less reluctant to pay the price of the problems they have caused. They have shown their commitment but it is still not strong enough to tackle the problems of climate change in numerous developing and vulnerable countries that are being motivated to adapt notion of sustainable development. It clearly indicates that education alone did not bring the desired outcome to address climate change. Rather politics and economy is governing the actions to address climate change.


More examples can be drawn from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which has developed mechanism to provide monetary incentive for increasing carbon stock in the globe and curbing carbon emission. It too has provision for technological transfer. Another report from The Guardian (2014) reported that the poor countries have cut of their education and health budget to spend on climate change adaptation in their country.  The report quoted Kevin Watkins, executive director of ODI, "While richer countries invest heavily in flood-defense systems, coastal protection and other projects, poorer countries have no choice but to divert scarce resources, potentially reversing the progress made in tackling poverty." This too points out at need of economy and technology to address problems of climate change.


UNESCO (2010) suggests that in order to tackle climate change, "progress in needed in sectors of technology, policies, and reduction in GHG emission along with education."