The Daily Star- Introducing climate change education in Lebanon is key to assessing its impacts and building more sustainable communities, experts agreed Tuesday, amid a regional conference dedicated to the issue. Schools and universities are considered a starting point for climate change education, and the participants of the Regional Experts Meeting on Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development in the Arab States, an event organized by UNESCO, agreed that its integration into the Lebanese curriculum was required to build awareness and climate disaster prevention skills among citizens.

 

“Climate change education develops people’s knowledge and skills about how to manage the rising challenges of climate change in terms of its impact on the natural environment, social environment and its impact on people’s lives,” said Mona Zoghbi, an expert in sustainability education and UNESCO consultant. “The important thing in climate change education is critical thinking and thinking for the future.”

 

Schools tackle environmental issues such as biodiversity, water and air pollution but rarely focus on climate change.

 

Through climate change education, young people will be able to understand what has contributed to climate change as well as its impacts on the future. Students would also learn how individual practices as well as those of industry contribute to the problem.

 

Recommendations were made to the Education Ministry to develop policies and integrate a holistic approach and include climate change education in schools and universities.

 

Developing partnerships between universities and the private sector was another recommendation provided by Zoghbi. Students can then train in certain sustainability focused companies, something that would help them combine acquired lessons about climate change to work on the ground.

 

Implementing climate change education doesn’t only focus on youth, but also on teachers who would play an important role imparting information, she said. If teachers don’t know anything about climate change, it will be difficult to relay the idea to the students. So teachers will have to be trained on the issue as well.

 

 

PHOTO: Experts at UNESCO regional conference speak about climate change, Tuesday, May 5, 2015.

CREDIT: The Daily Star/Hasan Shaaban.