What proposal for a recommendation to educate on the environmental aspects of sustainable development has been published by the European Commission?
The European Commission has published a proposal for a Council Recommendation on education on the environmental aspects of sustainable development. The proposal aims to support Member States, schools, higher education institutions, NGOs and all education providers in providing learners with knowledge and skills related to environmental sustainability, climate change and environmental protection.
The new European Sustainable Development Competence Framework ( CMEF) published by the Joint Research Centre sets out the competences needed for the green transition. These include critical thinking, taking initiative, respecting nature, and understanding the impact that daily actions and decisions have on the environment and climate around the world.
„Across Europe, intensive efforts are being made to support children, young people and adults in learning about sustainable development, combating and taking action on climate change and biodiversity loss. We want to join these efforts and work with member states to put sustainable development at the heart of education and training systems. All learners should have the opportunity from an early age to better understand sustainability issues and to take steps to protect our planet and our future,” said Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.
The Commission proposal calls on Member States to:
- ensuring that learners of all ages have access to high-quality, inclusive education and training on climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development;
- recognise that learning about the environmental aspects of sustainable development is a priority in education and training policies and programmes; this will support the education sector and enable it to contribute to the ecological transition;
- promoting and supporting sustainable development approaches that include teaching and learning across institutions; vision shaping, planning and management; focus on the active participation of students and staff; managing buildings and resources and creating partnerships with local communities and at a wider level;
- mobilise national and EU funds to invest in sustainable and green infrastructure, training, tools and resources to increase the resilience and preparedness of the education and training sector for the ecological transition.
In the Eurobarometer survey, young people first pointed to environmental protection and the fight against climate change (67%) as a response to a question about the EU’s top priorities in the coming years, followed by improvements in education and training (56%). This shows how important it is to take action.
The Erasmus+ programme for 2021-2027 also places great emphasis on the ecological transition in the area of education and training. Programmes dedicated to the development of green skills and competences, forward-looking curricula and planned approaches will take precedence in the annual work programme for 2022. A dedicated call for proposals for large-scale projects will provide funding to identify, develop and test innovative approaches to education and the environmental aspects of sustainable development. The new Commission’s European Education Area web portal allows easy access to information on education and training in the EU, including detailed information on environmental education.
The Commission’s proposal will be discussed by the Member States and then adopted by EU Education Ministers. The Commission will support the implementation of the Recommendation through mutual learning and exchanges between Member States, stakeholders and partner countries.
During the preparation phase of the proposal, the Commission consulted extensively on the state of play regarding learning opportunities on environmental sustainability in the EU. In response to a public survey conducted between June and September 2021, more than 1300 responses and 95 additional positions were received. Feedback was also collected through a series of online consultation workshops with policy makers, teachers, researchers and other stakeholders and organisations. The consultation highlighted the crucial importance of education and training in supporting society’s understanding and action of environmental aspects of sustainable development.
In a public survey, 71% of respondents considered education and training to be the most important area in this context. In second place were public authorities and governments (56 per cent), followed by the media (34 per cent). The most urgent priority was to ensure that teachers, trainers, socio-educational instructors and academic staff have access to high-quality professional development and that sustainability is recognised as a cross-cutting issue in curricula and studies.
Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.
