Education as a Climate Mitigation Agent: Reimagining Education Policy for Climate Resilience, Sustainable Economies, and Environmental Futures

Abstract

Climate change represents one of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century, with increasingly interconnected consequences for human wellbeing, economic security, social equity, ecosystems, and sustainable development. While education is widely recognised as essential for developing climate awareness and environmental responsibility, its potential as a strategic agent of climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience remains insufficiently embedded within education policy and wider climate-governance frameworks. This paper argues for a fundamental repositioning of education from a predominantly knowledge-transmission function to an active component of climate action. It examines how education policy can strengthen climate literacy, influence sustainable behaviour, develop green skills, support community preparedness, promote climate justice, and enable learners to participate meaningfully in the transition towards low-carbon and climate-resilient societies. Particular attention is given to the interconnected impacts of climate change on people, economies, and the environment, and to the need for policy coherence across education, climate action, economic development, disaster-risk reduction, and environmental sustainability. The paper further argues that effective climate-responsive education requires curriculum transformation, strengthened teacher capability, interdisciplinary learning, community engagement, locally relevant knowledge, and meaningful integration of Indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge alongside scientific and technological approaches. These priorities are particularly significant for climate-vulnerable communities and Small Island Developing States, where environmental disruption, economic vulnerability, displacement risks, and inequalities can intensify the consequences of climate change. The paper proposes a policy-oriented framework that conceptualises education as a pathway connecting climate knowledge with agency, behavioural transformation, mitigation, adaptation, resilience, and sustainable development. It concludes that education should no longer be regarded merely as a sector that must adapt to climate change; rather, it should be recognised and strategically mobilised as a transformative climate-action institution capable of empowering people, strengthening economies, protecting environments, and contributing to more equitable and resilient futures.