With the Biden administration rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, the topic of climate change is once again making headlines. Many environmentalists, including myself, are hopeful that the issues related to climate change will be attacked head-on and legislative action will be taken. The issue I seek to address in my brief is one relating to the topic of climate change and the education that is given about it. I hope to talk about incorporating educational classes of all levels within schools. Things such as health class or gym are made mandatory for students, presentations on bullying and sexual assault are given, and posters around campuses given info about the latest covid rules and regulations. Why can similar things not be done about climate change issues? 

The cause of this problem is inadvertent in that there is unawareness about the urgency of climate change and an unwillingness to act due to ignorance. Many adults are now misinformed, disinformed, or uninformed about climate change and therefore do not take action, seek action, or teach others to act because they do not consider it to be an issue. If we can make individuals informed about environmental issues from a young age, then they will grow to be adults who are at the very least aware of a huge issue and rethink their actions.  

I think the main policy instruments I will use are capacity builders and system changes. The main purpose of this brief is to seek out giving more education on environmental topics such as climate age. This can be as simple as hanging posters in the classroom, having an environmental day, or inviting environmental activists to speak. However, I think it can be important to consider reforming the education system in the sense that teaching about climate change should be as much of a priority as learning about sexual education. I understand many do not think those two are on the same level of importance, but that is where the issue lies. Teaching kids about climate change is more than just teaching students about reduce, reuse, and recycling. It is about having a global perspective, having empathy, being informed about current events, and even about social injustices.