Climate-sensitive planning – Where are we and what more is needed to strengthen resilience of systems?

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Education is both impacted by climate change and a driver of climate change adaption and mitigation efforts. In the most direct way, more frequent and severe rapid onset events such as floods and landslides can threaten the lives of learners, teachers, educational staff and communities and disrupt school attendance. Events that occur slowly, on the other hand, can seriously disrupt the normal functioning of education systems. Both direct and indirect effects of climate change and environmental degradation, including climate-induced displacement, will strain countries' capacities to provide essential services such as clean water, health and education services, especially in poor, fragile and conflict-affected settings. However, education also has the power to combat climate change and contribute to more sustainable eco-system practices.

This panel drills down on climate-sensitive planning as a critical part of addressing the impacts of climate change in and through education systems, including in strengthening the resilience of education systems to climate change. A climate-sensitive planning approach, mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts into education plans and strategies, budgets, and data and monitoring systems empowers education authorities, schools and communities to prevent, prepare for and mitigate climate hazards and risks.

This panel includes a presentation from GPE on a framework for climate smart education systems, which outlines the key components of education systems which can contribute to addressing the impacts of climate change in and through education. ACER outlines a review of education sector plans, highlighting best practices from sector plans to mitigate and adapt to climate impacts. UNESCO-IIEP describes how climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts can be mainstreamed in educational planning and management processes, including through examples in Liberia, Vietnam, Jordan and Madagascar

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Anna-Maria Tammi, Global Partnership for Education

Individual Presentations

• A framework for global climate-smart education systems - Anna-Maria Tammi, Global Partnership for Education

• Supporting MoEs to plan for and manage climate change - Leonora MacEwen, UNESCO IIEP