A Sustainable Vision Based in Climate and Environmental Literacy | Campaign for Sustainability | truCSR
Written by Rebecca Shibu
Compiled by Vrinda Panpalia Edited by Yamini Peter
A climate-literate person understands the essential principle of the climate system on Earth, they know how to assess scientifically credible information with regards to climate, they communicate about climate and climate change in an effective way and they are able to make informed choices and responsible decisions keeping in mind its impact on the climate.
Climate change is an ideal interdisciplinary subject for lifelong learning about scientific processes and how humans influence and are influenced by the Earth's structures. This vast theme can be addressed on several levels, from comparing daily weather to long-term records to investigating abstract climate representations in computer models to analysing how climate change affects humans and the environment.
Understanding all of these interconnected principles would necessitate a systems-thinking approach, which entails the ability to comprehend complex interconnections within all of the climate system's components. Furthermore, public awareness will continue to evolve as climate science advances and attempts to inform the public about climate's effect on them and their impact on the climate system.
The vision of sustainability and development, then, borrows heavily from the population that is aware and how it functions. In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, all 17 goals address the need and influence the process of climate and environment action. Through measures based in education, health, partnership among other things - the underlying intent is development of a community that understands the gravity of ecological crisis and comes together to work towards it.
On Earth Day
On this Earth Day, given the theme ‘Restore Our Earth’, in order to begin and join hands in the work towards this restoration, it will take infrastructures to be in place. Climate and environment literacy, then, become predominant factors in the process of restoration. This year’s focus remains on natural processes, emerging green technologies and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems.
Furthermore, the theme rejects the notion that mitigation and adaptation are the only ways to address climate change. It establishes the strength in comprehension and thought that emerges from the concerns in our disrupted ecology. Hence, through the blog we sew the importance of climate and financial literacy that contribute significantly to the awareness of our surroundings and initiatives taken to tackle the looming climate emergency.
Components and Sub-components of Environmental Literacy
KNOWLEDGE: What environment literacy entails
Physical and Ecological Systems — such as ecosystem interdependencies, matter and energy transfer cycles in ecosystems, interactions among Earth's major systems, and the role of water in Earth's surface processes; Climate change and how human actions affect the Earth's climate are modelled; energy management and energy conversion. It also deals with the human value, their impact on the ecosystem.
Social, Cultural and Political Systems - knowledge of various social, cultural, and political structures, as well as the historical and geographic contexts in which they evolved and still operate. Civic engagement and environmental beliefs/practices are also included in this category.
Citizen Participation and Action Strategy - involvement, initiative, and community service by citizens aimed at preserving or improving the environment. Restoration programmes, consumer and economic intervention, proactive communication campaigns, political action, and collective solution finding are all examples of action strategies.
DISPOSITIONS: Both positive and negative determinants of behaviour towards the environment
Sensitivity - caring and positive feelings toward the environment
Attitudes, Concern, and Worldview - learned predispositions to respond in a favourable or unfavourable manner toward objects, events, and other referents
Personal Effort and Responsibility - a personal engagement and thoughtful mechanisms that lead people to avoid or minimise behaviours that have significant negative environmental impacts, as well as to engage in behaviours that have significant positive environmental impacts.
COMPETENCIES: Competencies are groups of skills and abilities that can be used and articulated for a particular task.
Acknowledge environmental issues - including the ability to explain and provide evidence for the issue's dimensions, human disagreements at the heart of the issue, and factors that cause or contribute to it.
Ask relevant questions - concerning environmental issues, as well as human dimensions and historical or geographical aspects of a problem. This involves the opportunity to ask higher-order questions aimed at uncovering factors that affect the issue.
Interpret environmental issues - the analysis and application of information about stakeholders, their positions, values, and value perspectives, as well as knowledge about physical, ecological, and socio-political processes. This also involves the ability to identify relevant factors and distinguish relationships among them, as well as the ability to predict the probable outcomes of issues.
Evaluate the climate emergency - constructing dispassionate assessments and interpretations based on available knowledge and stakeholders' beliefs and values, and articulating positions on possible behaviour The ability to think critically is at the heart of this skill.
Create plans for resolution - by taking responsibility for acting, often in collaboration with others, and participating in preparation based on environmental factors, available resources, and sociopolitical contexts to address or assist in the resolution of issues
ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR: Within a sense, environmentally friendly behaviour is the manifestation of experience, dispositions, and competencies.
Promoting Climate and Environmental Literacy through Education
“Literacy is a never-ending process.” - Stefani Hines
Like any form of education, environmental literacy must never stop, and it has to be promoted and encouraged at all levels and sectors. The continuity and consistency of the process allows us to understand and plan how long it would take to get the entire population onboard with immediate climate change plans. In the context of sustainability too, it borrows from the potential to safeguard the future generations and make this space a safer one to live in.
The concept of sustainable development has steadily gained traction in the twenty-first century, drawing interest from people from all walks of life. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) adopted Agenda 21, emphasising the value of environmental education in improving people's ability to solve environmental issues and introducing the concept of "sustainable development". This involved participation, communication and partnership amongst various stakeholders.
Developing strategies that inculcate practices of environment literacy across various age groups. Education system becomes the most cost effective and genuine way of training and makes children become empathetic to their environment. The value of giving students opportunities to learn these skills is recognised as an important component of educational reform. It is possible to build the skills students will need to resolve potential challenges by designing a curriculum that emphasises engagement and inquiry with a community's human and natural resources. Increased student ownership and empowerment in the learning process, both of which are vital to student ability achievement, can be aided by environmental education that focuses on these community resources.
Environmental education initiatives that relate to educational change and sustainability have a wide range of variables that vary according to place, cultural contexts, and community concerns. Four factors are required for educational reform and programme success: an established need, a strong focus on natural and human capital found within the community, programme structure, and a long-term commitment to improving students' skills.
Conclusion
Environmental conservation is widely recognised as a primary goal of education. The current state of Environmental Education (EE) in Indian schools can be traced back to the National Policy of Education (NPE) 1986 (as amended in 1992 and 2020) in India, which declares "environmental protection" as a common core around which a National Curriculum Framework (NCF) will be woven. The main goal of EE is to introduce students to the real-life world, both natural and social, in which they live; to allow them to analyse, assess, and draw conclusions about environmental problems and concerns; to add to our understanding of environmental issues, where possible; and to encourage positive environmental behaviour in order to facilitate the transition to sustainable growth.
In order to respond to the climate crisis and the environmental catastrophe that we go through, it will take collective action. And collective action requires people in large numbers who are aware of the intent and emerging need of sustainability, especially in the context of climate change and environmental crisis. Hence, by breaking down the components and sub-components of environmental literacy, we engage with its effective nature in raising awareness. Furthermore, it fastens the process of comprehending our responsibility towards the environment and the future generations.
Hence, the vision of sustainable development is greatly based on the potential of this climate and environmental literacy that develops perspectives in people that are aware, mindful and find its roots in the hope to insure the years to come.
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