Dubai Cares, a civil society organisation formally associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC), today unveiled its latest report titled “Rewiring Education: The Climate Education Nexus”, advocating for the critical integration of education and climate action. The report is the culmination of two years of extensive consultations and dialogue at the RewirEd Summit 2023 at COP28 UAE and beyond, synthesising insights from stakeholders across both the education and climate sectors.
Unveiled during the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) week, the report builds on the first RewirEd Summit outcomes report launched at the Transforming Education Summit (TES) in New York in 2022. The inaugural report, titled “Rewiring Education for People and Planet”, presented six “win-win” solutions designed to align thinking and actions across sectors and stakeholders. The new edition builds on these solutions, focusing more strongly on the critical role of education transformation for climate action from an ecosystem perspective, and the need for cross-sectoral collaboration to achieve solutions for people and planet.
At the heart of the report is the recognition that climate action and education transformation agendas cannot be addressed in isolation. The climate-education nexus holds immense potential to drive the systemic change required to tackle global challenges, but it remains underutilised. The report emphasises that collaboration between these sectors will help each achieve its own goals and enable far greater impact when combined. It offers a blueprint for uniting education and climate efforts under a cohesive strategy, providing concrete recommendations and issuing a bold call to action: collaboration across sectors is essential for achieving both educational and environmental goals.
As Charles North, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), stated at the RewirEd Summit 2023, “Governments around the world are asking: Where do we begin? What works? How do we design this?” This report provides the much-needed guidance to help not only governments but also policymakers, civil society, academia, educators, practitioners, youth, and the private sector navigate the complexity of integrating education and climate action, delivering practical solutions to design effective strategies that align with both educational and environmental objectives.
Commenting on the launch of the report, Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of Dubai Cares, said, “Throughout history, humanity has overcome monumental challenges, and today, climate change stands as the defining crisis of our time. Education is key to confronting this crisis head-on. Real progress on global issues – whether poverty, health, or climate change – depends on a fundamental transformation of education systems. The ‘Rewiring Education: The Climate Education Nexus’ report offers a clear, actionable blueprint to integrate education into the climate agenda, while also ensuring climate solutions are embedded in education.”
Al Gurg added, “This report is a powerful call to action for all stakeholders, urging them to place education transformation at the core of climate solutions. As we approach COP29, I call on global leaders to prioritise education in their climate negotiations and consider the vital recommendations outlined in this report. The time to act is now, to ensure that every individual is equipped with the knowledge, experience, skills, and values needed to build a prosperous and sustainable future for all.”
RewirEd Summit 2023 at COP28 UAE was the first-ever global education convening on climate, bringing together more than 1,000 participants, including 2 heads of state, 22 ministers, and 28 CEOs, along with 260 speakers representing 209 entities and 76 countries.