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Educate them to transform Africa’s green economy
Teaching Africa’s young about climate change unlocks three key benefits for the continent
Hello – one of the glittering subjects on the agenda at the current New York Climate Week is education. See here.
Everyone is talking about it but… in Africa the gap between elite climate talk and popular awareness is growing rather than closing.
The continent’s workforce is not skilled enough for many green opportunities and responsibilities ahead.
That’s especially true for the 50+ million a year emerging from African schools & universities.
Seeking an impactful lever in climate action? They may not come any bigger than this one.
⏳ Today’s reading time: 4 mins
1. 🚁 Heli view: Climate literacy stands at just 37% across the continent
Africa’s green economy is hampered by a lack of public awareness among the young around climate issues.
The overdue solution is a major investment in climate education that's unlike anything Africa has seen before.
No new tech or innovation is needed, just the will (and funds) to teach the bottom two-thirds of the age pyramid.
Stunning fact: Average climate literacy – just knowing there is an issue – stands at 37% in Africa.
In Europe and North America the number is 80%.
Education levels: Rates vary by country depending on attention to climate in schools.
Awareness in Mauritius, which teaches green subjects, stands at 66% while Tunisia, which doesn't, is at 19%.
The same applies within countries. Impoverished Kano state in Nigeria has a climate literacy rate of 5%.
Meanwhile, the rate is 71% in better-off and less densely populated Kwara state.
Age dynamics: Climate illiteracy is a solvable problem. Schooling is a powerful tool when a large part of the population is in it, given Africa’s youth bulge.
Climate education could transform public attitudes within one generation.
But without it, economic & ecological benefits for the continent may remain elusive.
The opportunity: Three reasons explain why Africa needs a major investment in climate education.
First, it opens up paths to specific skills for future employees in the green economy.
Second, better-informed young voters would provide political support for tough climate measures.
Third, awareness is the first step towards changing consumer behaviour around buying climate-positive products.
Good news: A growing number of African countries are stepping up public teaching.
Zambia is launching a major climate change project that seeks to transform its education system as a driver for green growth.
Kenya's Institute of Curriculum Development aims to use technology and digital learning to address the climate crisis.
Yes but: Even where the right policies exist and funds are allocated, many schools still hold on to old curricula as teachers lack relevant knowledge.
Teaching teachers is often a necessary first step. Non-profit Teach For All is trying.
Fundisa for Change, a South African organisation, wants to enhance professional learning for teachers in the area of sustainability.
International support: UN agencies have provided resources to nudge governments in this direction.
With UN support, Ghana has trained over 600 primary school teachers, and prepared learning materials for new curricula.
Unicef created the Generation Unlimited project as a public-private youth partnership to deliver innovative solutions to global challenges.
Tiny start: These programmes are worthwhile but much more is needed to shift the needle.
African governments could follow Italy’s example and make climate a compulsory subject in national curricula.
At scale: Africa has 11 million teachers engaged in primary and secondary education.
Ideally, governments would increase that number to boost outcomes.
Yet even just giving climate training to 10% of them could be transformative.
Modest funding: Such efforts may be more affordable than many assume.
In Ethiopia, the cost of training 200 volunteer teachers during the covid pandemic to create new subject materials was $12,000 or $60 per teacher.
2. Cheat sheet: Four solutions at the climate-education nexus
(i) Planet-friendly school meals: Ensure nutrition boosts learning and local economies while reducing carbon footprints.
(ii) Teaching as a green profession: Empower educators to be agents of environmental action and orient children to seek green opportunities.