working document b_cross-national analysis on esd and cce policy development

7/30/2019 Working Document B_Cross-National Analysis on ESD and CCE Policy Development

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN CCE AND ESD

POLICYACROSS-NATIONAL DESK STUDY BASED ON NATIONAL CASE STUDIES OF POLICY

DOCUMENTS SINCE2008

Jeppe Lsse March 2013

Working Document B


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CONTENTS

Contents ..................................................................................................................................................................................2Abbreviations........................................................................................................................................................................3Summary.................................................................................................................................................................................41. Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................72. Research Framework....................................................................................................................................................8

2.1. Research Approach, Objectives and Scope..................................................................................................82.2. Country Selection...................................................................................................................................................92.3. Research Questions............................................................................................................................................102.4. Strengths and Limitations of the Study......................................................................................................11

3. Findings ...........................................................................................................................................................................123.1. What is the state-of-the-art of ESD and CCE policy across the countries covered by this

study? ...............................................................................................................................................................................13Key findings...............................................................................................................................................................13Analysis and examples .........................................................................................................................................13

3.2. What characterizes the ways in which ESD and CCE policies are shaped?.................................25Key findings: .............................................................................................................................................................25Analysis and examples: ........................................................................................................................................25

3.3. How do current national policies interpret and operationalize ESD and CCE? ........................29Key findings: .............................................................................................................................................................29Analysis and examples: ........................................................................................................................................30

4. Discussion and recommendations........................................................................................................................37References...........................................................................................................................................................................40


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ABBREVIATIONS

CC: Climate Change

CCA: Climate Change Adaptation

CCE: Climate Change Education

CCESD: Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development

DESD: Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

DRR: Disaster Risk Reduction

DRRE: Disaster Risk Reduction Education

EE: Environmental Education

EfS: Education for Sustainability

ESD: Education for Sustainable Development

IALEI: International Alliance of Leading Education Institutes

ILO: International Labour Organisation

SD: Sustainable Development

TVET: Technical and Vocational Education and Training

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNICEF: United Nations Childrens Fund


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SUMMARY

This desk study is conducted at the request of UNESCO in order to provide a knowledge

base to inform the preparation of policy guidelines on Climate Change Education in the

overall context of Education for Sustainable Development. There is a wealth of academic

and policy literature on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), often in

conjunction with the United Nations Decade for ESD (2005-2014), for which UNESCO

serves as the lead agency. Compared to this, Climate Change Education (CCE) is a new and

poorly researched phenomenon. Furthermore, if we look more specifically at the

development of CCE policy, only one international study has previously been conducted

(Lsse et al. 2009). According to this study, which looked at developments until 2009,

CCE had been identified as an important task in many countries, but it was still at a very

early stage and not yet included in national policies. However, four years have passed

since then and it therefore seems reasonable to take a closer look at the recent policy

developments regarding CCE, ESD and the relation between them before developing

guidelines to support further developments in the area.

The purpose of this desk study has been to conduct a cross-national analysis of policy

documents in 14 countries with the specific aims of: 1) providing an overview of emerging

approaches, strategies and priorities in climate change (CC) and sustainable development

(SD) policy on education as well as in educational policy on CC and SD; and 2) identifying

key challenges as well as potentials for an integrated approach to CCESD at the national

policy level.

The key research questions for the overall study, as well as for the national case studies,

have been as follows:

1. What has happened at the national policy level regarding ESD and CCE since 2008?2. Which discourses and educational approaches are expressed by the policy

documents?

3. Which generic and/or specific knowledge, skills, dispositions (attitudes and values)or competencies are highlighted?

4. What has been done to implement the intentions of the ESD and CCE policies inpractice?

5. Which obstacles and potentials are identified and addressed in the policy documents?6. To which extent are the national policies on ESD and CCE coherent or fragmented?

The research approach has been semi-structured, allowing the authors of the national case

studies to explore the unique history and character of ESD and CCE policy developments in

their countries while simultaneously maintaining a focus on the six key issues mentioned

above, each with a large number of sub-questions that might be covered. The advantage of

this approach is that it is more context-sensitive and thus should lead to more valid results

than if the study was conducted on the basis of a rigid general research frame. The

drawback is that the national case studies are not directly and strictly comparable.


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However, they still include a large amount of factual information regarding what has

happened, as well as knowledge-based interpretations of the state-of-the-art.

Fourteen countries have been included in the study, chosen partly on the basis of ideal

criteria of representing different world regions, and national differences in terms of

economy, size, impact of CC and ESD activity level, and partly of pragmatic considerationsregarding where national case studies were possible. This has led to the inclusion of the

following countries:

Canada/Manitoba, Costa Rica, Brazil, Tuvalu, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia,

Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, China, Bangladesh, Denmark, United Kingdom.

The analysis, presenting the findings of the study, is structured in three sub-chapters:

1. What is the state-of-the-art of ESD and CCE policy across the countries covered by this

study?;

2. What characterizes the ways in which ESD and CCE policies are shaped?; and

3. How do current national policies interpret and operationalize ESD and CCE?

For the first of these sub-chapters What is the state-of-the-art of ESD and CCE policy

across the countries covered by this study? the key findings are the following:

(1) Since 2008, many national governments have passed CC policies that alsoinclude CCE.

(2) CCE initiated by CC policy has been linked to education policy, while there are

exceptional cases where CC policy and education policy are completely

disconnected with regard to CCE. Linking CCE to education policy, however,

does not guarantee that CCE is promoted with reference to ESD. The degree of

connectedness between CCE and ESD varies according to the national context.

(3) ESD policy development is most clearly in evidence among those countriesincluded in the study with the most rapidly expanding economies with fewer

new policy initiatives elsewhere.(4) DRR is a key driver of CCE in countries strongly impacted by the effects ofclimate change. In some of these countries DRR is integrated into broader CCE

and ESD policies. Green economy and the need for TVET innovation towards

green skills is another driver of CCE.

(5) Although CC, in recent years, has been a subject for policy making at thenational level, CCE is in general still at a very premature stage, and CCE, as well

as ESD, is faced with a number of roadblocks for implementation.

For the second sub-chapter - What characterizes the ways in which ESD and CCE

policies are shaped? the key findings can be summarized as below:

(1) In general, national governments do not apply regulatory policy instrumentsto implement ESD and CCE. National curriculum frameworks are an exception

in many of the countries.(2) National ESD and CCE policies tend instead to apply softer governance

instruments such as consultations, coordination, facilitation and guidance.

(3) However, these governance instruments seem, so far, too weak to ensure amainstreaming of ESD and CCE.

Finally for the third sub-chapter - How do current national policies interpret and

operationalize ESD and CCE? the key findings are:


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(1) ESD and CCE policies are linked to, or express, different concepts of andapproaches to SD. Some countries maintain the, until now, rather dominant

focus on the nature-society relationship and ecological sustainability, while

other countries have a broader focus on the future of society as a whole.

(2) There is an emerging trend towards focusing CC and SD policies on greeneconomy by interpreting CCE as a means for providing green skills. The

policies and discourses on ESD and green skills are in most countries

remarkably unconnected but there are also examples of efforts to integrate

them.

(3) DRR education is only addressed by some national policies. In some of these ithas a rather narrow focus on climate knowledge and operational instruction.

However, in several other countries the approach seems to be more

comprehensive.

(4) The national strategic policy papers on ESD neither interpret ESD asequivalent with science education nor restrict the educational approach to

prescriptive learning.

(5) The dominant approach to promote implementation of ESD and CCE is tointegrate it into the existing school subjects. There are, however, also examples

of extra- or cross-curricular strategies.

In the final chapter, a number of issues of importance for the compilation of policy

guidelines on CCESD are highlighted. In heading form, they concern:

The challenge of taking account of diversity in national challenges, capacities and

aspirations

The challenge of guiding national policies in times of new governance

The challenge of overcoming marginalization in the policy arena

The challenge of overcoming the gap between soft generic values and hardcore,

concrete economy

The challenge of bringing ESD and CCE together

The challenge of mediating science and local knowledge in CCESD

The challenge of political ideologies


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1.INTRODUCTION

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014) marked its

midpoint in 2009, and UNESCO developed its strategy for the second half of the DESD,

highlighting climate change, disaster risk reduction and biodiversity as priority themes.

Recognizing that the education sector offers an untapped strategic resource to mitigate

and adapt to climate change, UNESCO established the Climate Change Education for

Sustainable Development (CCESD) Programme in 20101.

The purpose of this desk study is to provide a knowledge base to inform the work of

UNESCO in providing policy advice to Member States on CCESD by exploring what has

actually happened at the national policy level regarding Education for Sustainable

Development (ESD) and Climate Change Education (CCE) since 2008. A cross-nationalstudy from 2009 concluded that, despite a call for CCE from several stakeholders, this call

had for the most part not yet resulted in widespread policy initiatives (Lsse et al.

2009). 2 UNESCOs new focus on CCE in the context of ESD, as well as the increasing

international recognition of the importance of CCE (as evidenced, for example, by the

recent launch of the UN Alliance on Climate Change Education, Training and Public

Awareness), provide the impetus for taking a closer look at global developments within

CCE and ESD policy during the last four years.

Since the beginning of the DESD, a large number of reports, articles and conferences have

discussed the concept and principles of ESD, as well as different educational approaches to

implement ESD in practice. However, education does not exist in a vacuum, but is

embedded in societal realities with challenges and opportunities that have to be taken into

account when clarifying potential ways to further advance CCE and ESD. This study can be

interpreted as an integral part of larger ongoing efforts to explore, document and learn

from these challenges and opportunities. This report presents the outcomes of the desk

study of policy documents in 14 countries with the specific aims of:

1. providing an overview of emerging approaches, strategies and priorities in climate

change (CC) and sustainable development (SD) policy on education as well as in

educational policy on CC and SD; and

1 CCESD is by UNESCO interpreted as CCE in the overall context ofESD.

2 The International Alliance of Leading Education Institutes (IALEI) produced a series of reports entitled

Climate Change and Sustainable Development: The Response from Education in 2009. The IALEI study covered

ten countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, UK, and

USA. The 2009 IALEI study did not include any question on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction

and technical and vocational education and training.


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2. identifying key challenges as well as potentials for an integrated approach to

CCESD at the national policy level.

The study is conducted primarily to inform the work of UNESCO to produce a set of

guidelines to support the development of CCE and ESD at the national level. However,

hopefully, a wider dissemination of the cross-national analysis as well as the nationalcase-studies will also inspire ongoing reflection, from the global to the local level, on the

roles, challenges and potentials of education in relation to climate change and sustainable

development.

After the executive summary, the report is structured in three chapters. In the next

chapter, the research questions, methodology and design of the study are presented,

including reflections on its strengths and limitations. The third chapter contains the

findings of the cross-national analysis regarding the six research questions that have

guided the study. Finally, in the fourth chapter, a number of general issues, identified in

the cross-national analysis, are discussed, and recommendations concerning the

development of UNESCO guidelines on CCESD are presented.

2.RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

The study has been conducted as a desk study consisting of: 1) 14 case studies of national

policies on CCESD based on identification and analysis of strategic policy documents; and

2) a cross-national analysis based on these national case studies.

Sustainable development is an essentially contested concept open to different

interpretations. Furthermore, it is a generic concept including many different areas and

issues. Education is also a complex concept referring to different types and levels of

learning efforts. CCE is a new area that might either be interpreted and approached within

the scope of what, until now, has been perceived as ESD, or outside the framework of ESD.

For this reason, researching how ESD and CCE are expressed and related in policy might

easily become a huge and highly challenging task.

2.1.RESEARCH APPROACH,OBJECTIVES AND SCOPEOn the one hand, this study approaches data collection and analysis in an explorative

manner in order to identify how ESD and CCE are interpreted and approached in national

policy. On the other hand, it cannot examine in detail all policies related to every aspect of

SD and every area of education. In order to adapt the study to the available time and

resources, the data collection has been focused on general strategies from 2008 and

onwards addressing ESD and CCE from the national ministries responsible for (i) SD

policy, including CC policy and (ii) education policy, respectively.3

3 The narrowing of the scope to the period from 2008 and onward was also motivated by the conclusion from

an earlier cross-national study on Climate Change and Sustainable Development: The Role of Education,


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studies individually contracted by UNESCO. Through this selection process, the desk study

has covered the following 14 countries:

Europe and North America

- Canada/Manitoba

- Denmark- United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

- Brazil- Costa Rica

Asia and the Pacific

- Australia- Bangladesh- China- Indonesia- Philippines

- South Korea- Tuvalu- Vietnam

Africa

- South Africa

National case studies are being developed for Dominican Republic and Chile, and will be

included in a cross-national analysis in the future.

2.3.RESEARCH QUESTIONSThe key research questions guiding the study in general as well as the national case

studies were as follows:

1. What has happened at the national policy level regarding ESD and CCE since 2008?2. Which discourses and educational approaches are expressed by the policy

documents?

3. Which generic and/or specific knowledge, skills, dispositions (attitudes and values)or competencies are highlighted?

4. What is done to implement the intentions of the ESD and CCE policies in practice?5. Which obstacles and potentials are identified and addressed in the policy documents?6. To which extent are the national policies on ESD and CCE coherent or fragmented?

A framework for the national case studies included a large number of questions to each ofthe key questions (Lsse, 2012). Due to the restricted time and resources, responses

were not expected to all these questions but only to those that made sense when analyzing


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the collected national policy documents. Furthermore, the framework also proposed a

structure for the national reports (ibid). 5

During the study it was decided to supplement this framework with a request to structure

the national analyses in a way that made it clear how, on the one hand, SD and CC policies

have addressed education and skill development and, on the other hand, how education

and skill policies have addressed SD and CC. This was due to an interest in supporting the

cross-national analysis of the sixth research question. Furthermore, to support the cross-

national analysis, each of the national reports was condensed in a single-page national

sheet with one column for the context and one for each of the six key research questions.

2.4.STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDYObviously the applied approach has consequences for the cross-national analysis. The aim

has not been to generalize the recent global development of CCE and ESD from a limited

number of cases but rather to gain a robust knowledge on and contexualized

understanding of the processes, dynamics, challenges and potentials in a diverse array of

countries that might provide helpful insight to reflect on and conceptualize as part of the

preparatory work on CCESD guidelines.

The strengths of this study lie in its scope. It provides a broad overview of the current

situation and developments regarding ESD and CCE in countries of varying size and

representing each and every continent. Despite the breadth of the study, attention must be

drawn to the limitations regarding the global perspective. A number of areas and cultures

are notably missing, not least USA, Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Japan the Middle East

and huge parts of Africa. It is therefore important to be aware that there might be other

approaches to ESD and CCE policy than those covered by this study.

Furthermore, it is important to stress that breadth usually stands in opposition to depth,

and indeed, a relatively wide-reaching short-term study such as this cannot fully take into

account complexity and depth of the field it covers. Firstly, focusing solely on national

policies only provides a certain degree of insight into the governance character of the

policy processes. We have chosen this limitation because the aim is to inform guidance of

national policies and the governance perspective is therefore included, but only in terms

of the role of the national state. However, it is important to be aware that policy today in

this area includes activities between many stakeholders. Secondly, even national policies

are not single-layered but include processes from overall policies, to strategic documents

and action plans for specific areas, to guiding documents and activities. Quite different

interpretations of issues can very well exist between these levels. We have chosen to focus

on strategic documents but have also tried to identify and include official documents fromthe lower levels of the policy hierarchy. Thirdly, by applying a semi-structured

methodology we have tried to prevent overly rigid frameworks for the national case

studies in order to explore the specific character of the ESD and CCE policy developments.

5 The pilot studies of CCESD in South Africa and Tuvalu were conducted before this desk study and have, for

that reason, been designed differently. However, they include information of relevance for this study.


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However, this allows bias regarding how the involved researchers interpret and apply the

guidelines, collect documents and conduct their analysis. Furthermore, the cross-national

analysis implies another layer of selection and interpretation of the material included in

the national reports which may also influence the validity of the outcome. In order to

counter-act this, the authors of the national reports have received and commented upon

an earlier draft of this report. It will also be discussed at an Expert Consultation on

Guidelines on Climate Change Education in the context of ESD, 8-9 April 2013, at UNESCO

Paris and reviewed by researchers from the involved countries.

When presenting the findings in the next chapter, references will primarily be made to the

national reports in order to make the links between these reports and the cross-national

analysis transparent and also to faciliate the reader to access a more comprehensive

explanation of the often rather brief passages based on these reports. While the reference

list for this report is kept rather short. by consulting the national reports, it is possible to

find extensive references on which the findings of this report are based.

3.FINDINGS

This chapter presents the findings of the cross-national analysis. It addresses the six key

research questions originally posed, but the logic of the presentation does not simply

correspond to each of these questions. The findings will be presented in three sections in

order to inform and guide the deliberations on the draft guidelines on enhancing climate

responses through education.

The three sub-chapters answer the following questions:

1. What is the state-of-the-art of ESD and CCE policy across the countries covered

by this study?Have there been new developments during the last four years? Is

education addressed in CC/SD policy, and, if so, how is it addressed? Is CC/SD

addressed in education policy, and, if so, how is it addressed? Are there linkages

between CCE/ESD policy making in the education community and CC/SD

community?

2. What characterizes the ways in which ESD and CCE policies are shaped? Do

national policy efforts promote a mainstreaming of ESD and/or CCE, or do they let

ESD and/or CCE remain marginal? What roles does the national policy play? What

kinds of policy instruments are applied? Is ESD and CCE policy developed

and conducted by the national government as top-down processes, or does itinclude interaction and cooperation with stakeholders? In the latter case, what

roles do the governmental institutions play as part of such multi-stakeholder

policy processes (governance)?

3. How do current national policies interpret and operationalize ESD and CCE? Is

CCE incorporated into ESD and/or ESD transformed by CCE? To what extent is

CCE, and perhaps ESD, influenced by recent trends towards aligning climate


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change adaptation with DRR and recent emphasis on the transition to a green

economy as a means to achieving SD (particularly in the context of Rio+20)?

3.1. WHAT IS THE STATE-OF-THE-ART OF ESD AND CCE POLICY ACROSS THE

COUNTRIES COVERED BY THIS STUDY?The IALEI cross-national study from 2009 concluded that CCE up to this point was in a

very premature state with almost no policies or clarifications of the relation between ESD

and CCE (Lsse et al. 2009). What has happened since then? We have looked at some of

the same countries, but also at a number of other countries, to clarify whether there have

been formulated new policies on CCE and ESD in these countries since 2008. To this end,

we have deliberately looked for SD and CC policies on education as well as education

policies including SD and CC.

KEY FINDINGS

1. Since 2008, many national governments have passed CC policies that also include CCE.2. CCE initiated by CC policy has been linked to education policy, while there are

exceptional cases where CC policy and education policy are completely disconnected

with regard to CCE. Linking CCE to education policy, however, does not guarantee that

CCE is promoted with reference to ESD. The degree of connectedness between CCE and

ESD varies according to the national context.

3. ESD policy development is most clearly in evidence among those countries included inthe study with the most rapidly expanding economies with fewer new policy initiatives

elsewhere.

4. DRR is a key driver of CCE in countries strongly impacted by the effects of climatechange. In some of these countries DRR is integrated into broader CCE and ESD

policies. Green economy and the need for TVET innovation towards green skills is

another driver of CCE.

5. Although CC, in recent years, has been a subject for policy making at the national level,CCE is in general still at a very premature stage, and CCE, as well as ESD, is faced with

a number of roadblocks for implementation.

ANALYSIS AND EXAMPLES

3.1.1. Since 2008, many national governments have passed CC policies that also

include CCE:

According to the IALEI study, CCE policy until 2008 was requested but not incorporated

into regular strategic policy documents (Lsse et al. 2009). This is not the case anymore.


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The increased awareness of CC-risks has pushed several governments to develop policy

strategies in order to cope with CC. And this, in turn, has driven the development of CCE.

Two examples:

The Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009 explicitly directs the Department of

Education to integrate climate change into the primary and secondary education

curricula and/or subjects, such as, but not limited to, science, biology, civics,

history, including textbooks, primers, and other educational materials, basic climate

change principles and concepts (Fernandez & Shaw, 2013: 1). In response, the

Department of Education issued a standing order entitled Reiteration of Related

Implementing Guidelines on Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk

Reduction at the School Levels, directing schools to revitalize the various programs

and projects on DRR and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) (ibid: 7). Various

memorandums have also been released to support the standing order, such as

Department of Education Memo 276 series of 2010 which orders the integration of

CCA and DRR with Environmental Education into elementary and high school

curricula. (ibid: 7) This introduction of CCE into the school curriculum is one of the

activities under the Knowledge and Capacity Development strategic priority in the

National Climate Change Action Plan 2011-2028 prepared by the Climate Change

Commission. The national report on CCESD in the Philippines concludes that the

outlook for CCE here is promising due to a very conducive enabling environment

in terms of legal and policy bases and institutional frameworks at the national,

regional and local level (ibid: 12-13).

The Bangladesh CC Strategy and Action Plan was compiled in 2008 and revised in

2009. It has six pillars among which one concerns research and knowledge

management. Actions in relation to this pillar are about Establishment of a centrefor research, knowledge management and training on CC which, among other

things, should develop training programs for high and mid-level officials of the

Government, NGOs and private organizations/associations and provide training in

collaboration with research centres and universities. CCE policy is at a very early

stage in Bangladesh and this centre should be seen as a first step towards building

the capacity for it (Habiba et al., 2013: 12). Furthermore, in 2010 the Government of

Bangladesh finalized the National Plan for Disaster Management, which also

includes an action agenda for 2010-2015: Design and implement a national training

strategy aimed at building knowledge and understanding of CC and disaster

management roles and responsibilities of key players at all levels as per standing

orders (ibid).

CCE in CC policies in other countries:

Costa Rica: A National Strategy on CC was decided in 2009 and a national

organization was established to be responsible for the implementation. It is

coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications, but


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the Ministry of Public Education is part of it as well in order to implement ESD and

CCE (Hori & Shaw 2013: 7).

Brazil: In 2009 a joint forum entitled Sustainability, Energy Efficiency and

Environmental Education: a challenge for educational institutions and society

was co-organized by the Ministry of Education and the Council for Economic and

Social Development of the Presidency of the Republic. The following year, the

Ministry of Environment launched a special document on Environmental

Education (EE) and Climate Change (Trajber, 2013: 12).

China: In 2012 Chinas State Council released the 12th Five-Year Plan for Energy-

Saving and Emission Reduction and in the same year Chinas National Report on

Sustainable Development was published. Education is included in these CC and

SD policies, although the concepts of CCE are not explicitly used in any national

policy or plans (Han 2013: 11-13).

South Africa: A White Paper, setting the parameters on how CC should be

addressed, was approved in 2011. It includes CCE as one of these parameters

(Lsse, 2013b: 1).

Indonesia: The National Action Plan for DRR 2010-2012 acknowledges education

as one of the priorities (Mulyasari & Shaw, 2013: 10).

Vietnam: Since the National Target Program in Response to CC was approved by

the government in 2007, a number of other CC policy documents have been

approved and included educational aspects. In 2011 The Ministry of Education

and Training launched an Action Plan of Education Sector in Response to CC (Tong

& Shaw, 2013:2-4). Furthermore, in 2012 a National Action Plan for DRR

education was issued (ibid: 11).

Tuvalu: After extensive consultations and a national symposium on CC in 2011,

seven thematic goals were developed. It was followed by the Tuvalu CC policy plan

in July 2012. In this plan, goal 2 concerns CCA and DRR: Improving understanding

and application of CC data, information and site specific impact assessment to

inform adaptation and DRR programmes (Young, 2012).

UK: Especially after the change of government in 2010, SD policy has shifted

towards a strong focus on CC and transition towards a low carbon society and a

green economy. This overall strategy has resulted in a number of policy

documents on CCE or with CCE as an integrated part. These have been issued by

the CC and SD departments as well as by departments responsible for education

and skill development (Lsse, 2013c: 2-3).

South Korea: In 2010 the government passed The Framework Act on Low Carbon,

Green Growth and released The National Strategy for Green Growth and Five

Year plan for Green Growth. In 2012 The Presidential Committee on Green Growthsigned a joint memorandum of understanding on Green Growth Education (GGE)

with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and thirteen other public

agencies (Sung 2013).

Australia: While education at the national policy level is largely absent from

broader policy on climate change issues, the Council of Australian Governments

National Strategy for Disaster Resilience from 2011 offers education a more


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central role. Education is here highlighted as one of the six key roles of

governments in strengthening the nations resilience to disasters (Rolls, 2013a: 6).

Denmark: CC policy contains a minor initiative on raising public awareness

(Lsse, 2013a: 2).

3.1.2. CCE initiated by CC policy has been linked to education policy, while there are

exceptional cases where CC policy and education policy are completely

disconnected with regard to CCE. Linking CCE to education policy, however, does

not guarantee that CCE is promoted with reference to ESD. The degree of

connectedness between CCE and ESD varies according to the national context.

In some countries, the push from CC policy has led to the development of CCE without any

connection to ESD. Examples of this can be found in Bangladesh and Tuvalu, both

countries characterised by not yet having established ESD policies or structures. This can

be partly attributed to the fact that Bangladesh and Tuvalu are least developed countries

(LDCs) which need to prioritize Education for All (EFA) goals rather than ESD agendas.

Furthermore there might be cases of CCE policies within non-formal education that are

disconnected from educational policy. The data only sporadically covers non-formal

education. An example of disconnectedness in this area can be found in Denmark, where

the CC policy includes an initiative on raising public awareness about CC without any

relation to the Ministry of Education and ESD (Lsse, 2013a).

In most of the countries, some kind of cooperation has been established on CCE between

the SD/CC policy and the educational policy. This trend has two strands: (i) a delegation of

responsibility on CCE to an educational ministry/department, or (ii) embedding of CCE

within an existing ESD policy.

In some cases this takes place as a delegation of responsibility. The CC policies and

strategies cover all policy areas, including education, but delegate the responsibility to

develop and implement the CCE policy to ministries of education. In the Philippines, a

national CC Act has led to a number of CCE promoting initiatives from the Department of

Education, In the UK a governmental shift caused a change of SD policy towards CC and

green economy, and the subsequent CC policy has delegated responsibility to

governmental departments responsible for education and skills policy to play their parts

to support this overall CC policy (see 3.1.2).

In other countries, the connection between the sectors has been established on the basis

of an already established ESD policy to which CCE has been related. Examples of such

explicit relations can be found in Costa Rica, Canada/Manitoba, South Africa, China, Brazil

and Vietnam. These cases also show that the relations between CCE and ESD can be

stronger or weaker depending on the national context.


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In Costa Rica, policy and structures for implementation of EE, and later ESD, were

established before 2009. When the Costa Rican government passed its National Strategy

on CC in 2009, the responsibility for CCE was assigned to the Ministry of Education which

integrated CCE in its strategic framework for implementing EE and ESD (Hori & Shaw

2013: 8). In a similar way, CCE is not highlighted as a specific area, but is included as a key

theme of ESD in Canada/Manitoba (Rolls, 2013b: 4; 13).6

In South Africa, the governmental White Paper on CC Policy is explicit on the relation

between ESD and CCE: CCE should be part of the broader framework of ESD and should

equip South African citizens to reorient society towards social, economic and ecological

sustainability (Government of the Republic of South Africa, 2011). The South African

case, however, also shows that the integration is still at the level of intent as the cross-

departmental organizational structures have not yet been established (Lsse, 2013b: 1).

The situation is rather similar in China. Although CCE on the strategic level is expected to

be carried out under the umbrella of ESD (Han 2013: 13), and the CC/SD and educational

area of policy share the overall focus on socio-economic development (Han, 2013: 25),

there remains a gap when it comes to the more specific action plans. The gap is not only

organizational but also discursive. While the national SD and CC policies focus on

improving public understanding and behaviour on CC and SD issues, the educational

policy targets innovation towards quality education, approaching ESD and CCE as

integrated parts of the quality education agenda (ibid).

In Brazil a National Plan on Climate Change from 2008 was intended to make the Ministry

of Education responsible for the promotion of sustainable educating spaces and

sustainable schools. However, in a later version of this plan, clear links to EE and ESD

were replaced by a general request for promoting the dissemination of information,

education, training and public awareness of climate change (Trajber, 2013: 10; 17).

Vietnam deviates from the above mentioned examples in that there exist good

organizational structures to coordinate CCE and ESD efforts. At the same time, CCE is not

simply integrated into ESD. The overall Vietnamese SD strategy and the Vietnam Agenda

21 policy are coordinated with the national ESD policy (Tong & Shaw, 2013: 6-7). In a

similar way, the National Target Program in Response to CC has involved the Ministry of

Education and Training (MOET) and delegated the responsibility for the CCE approach

and action plan to MOET (ibid: 8). Furthermore, the Action Plan for DRR education from

2012 emphasizes that the implementation of DRR education will be carried out in

6A quote from the website of Manitoba Education illustrates how it is perceived as one ESD theme among

others: Education for Sustainable Development involves incorporating key themes of sustainable

development such as poverty alleviation, human rights, health and environmental protection, climate

change into the education system. ESD is a complex and evolving concept and requires learning about key

themes from a social, cultural, environmental and economic perspective and explores how those factors are

inter-related and inter-dependent (http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/esd/).


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accordance with CCE and ESD (Tong & Shaw, 2013:11). MOET promotes ESD and CCE in

an interlinked manner, yet CCE is not embedded within ESD. Rather, ESD and CCE are

conceived as mutually supportive and complementary strands (ibid: 14).

3.1.3 ESD policy development is most clearly in evidence among those countriesincluded in the study with the most rapidly expanding economies with fewer new

policy initiatives elsewhere.

While CCE, in almost all countries, has been addressed in national policies since 2008, ESD

has not had the same attention at the policy level. One plausible explanation for this might

be that CCE is a new area of policy while ESD policies, at least in some countries, have

been the subject of policy initiatives in the previous years. An example of this is Costa

Rica, where the Ministry of Public Education, in coordination with the Ministry of

Environment, Energy and Telecommunications, developed a strategic framework for

environmental education back in 1994 that later became the platform for implementation

of ESD. In relation to the DESD, a national commitment was established in 2006 (Hori &Shaw 2013: 2-4). Today CCE is incorporated into these already existing policy

frameworks. Other countries involved in this study with a similarly long tradition for EE

and/or ESD are South Africa: (cf. Feinstein et al. forthcoming; Lsse, 2013b: 1),

Denmark (cf. Lsse et al. 2009; Lsse, 2013a), Brazil (Trajber, 2013: 4), Canada (Nazir

et al., 2009), Australia (Chambers, 2009; Rolls, 2013a: 1-2) and the UK (Lsse, 2013c: 1).

In Bangladesh (Habiba et al., 2013) and Tuvalu (Young, 2012), meanwhile, ESD and CCE

have only recently become a subject for policy.

When looking at progress in ESD policy since 2009, it is important to be aware of these

different starting points. However, it is notable that the majority of the countries in this

study which have launched new ESD policies since 2008 are neither highly industrialized

countries like the UK and Denmark nor economically poor countries like Bangladesh or

Tuvalu, but some of the recently industrialized countries with strong economic growth.

Examples include China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brazil.

China:

In 2010 a new national education strategy The National Outline for Medium and

Long-term Education Reform and Development 2010-2020 underscored the

significance of ESD under the section stressing all-round development of students

(Han 2013: 13). Furthermore, The National Environmental Publicity and Education

Program (2011-2015) was developed jointly by six ministries and commissions in May

2011. Also in 2011, the National Committee of UNESCOs ESD Projects in China

produced ESD in China Experimental Manual, providing a comprehensive overview ofthe policy, theory, and implementation of ESD in the country (Han 2013: 13). ESD

policies are also integrated into some district-level education strategies and

action plans.7

7According to Han (2013:15), under the direction of the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Guidelines on ESD in Beijing, the

guidance of the National Committee of UNESCOs ESD Projects in China, and ESD-related policies have been


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Vietnam:

In connection to the DESD, the Vietnamese government established a National

ESD Committee in 2006. This has promoted substantial progress on ESD policy in

Vietnam (Tong and Shaw, 2013: 12). In 2010, The Ministry of Education and

Training approved the first National Action Plan of ESD which initiated several

projects, e.g. Integrating ESD into teacher education and training. Furthermore,

SD issues have been integrated into the National Target Program of Education

and Training in the period 2012-2015, the Action Plan of Education Sector in the

period 2011-2016, and the National Strategies on Education Development in the

period 2011-2020 (Tong & Shaw, 2013: 5, 12).

Indonesia:

The Indonesian governments strategy for educational development from 2010-

2014 emphasizes that education should foster an understanding of the

importance of sustainability and ecosystem balance and an awareness of humans

as members of the wider ecosystem. A joint agreement has been made between

the Ministry of National Education (MONE) and the Ministry of Environment

(MOE) that shifts responsibility for the implementation of ESD from the MOE to

MONE. Now all units of MONE are expected to implement the national policies in

relation to ESD (Mulyasari & Shaw, 2013: 5).

Brazil:

In 2010, the National Congress and the Ministry of Education launched the

Education Development Plan for the decade 2011-2020. One of the guidelines

here is to promote social and environmental sustainability. The same year, the

Ministry of Education launched the Sustainable Schools Program, inspired by a

similar program in the UK (Trajber, 2013: 11, 13).

The identified trend above should be perceived as an indication rather than as firm

evidence. Some wealthy countries have actually passed new ESD-related policies in recent

years. While keeping a holistic ESD framework, these countries seem to come to

simultaneously emphasize skills development in the context of making a transition to

sustainable economic development.

Australia launched a new national action plan for Education for Sustainability

(EfS) in 2009. Although, as something new compared to earlier plans, it stresses

the importance of CCE, the necessity of a holistic EfS approach remains as theframework into which CCE is interpreted. However, also in Australia, CC has

incorporated into some district-level educational strategies and action plans, e.g., Shijinshan District Educational

Development Plan during the 12th Five-Year Plan and Haidian District Educational Development Plan during the 12th

Five-Year Plan .


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moved the focus towards the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon society and

the need to provide the necessary skills for achieving such transition (Rolls,

2013b: 2-3).

In the Canadian province of Manitoba, a report published by the government in

2009, and related to their Sustainable Development Act, expressed a holistic andaction-oriented approach to ESD. Despite this, the focus is on an economic

perspective with indicators demonstrating a more traditional set of educational

values: school readiness, literacy and numeracy, high school and post-secondary

completion rates, and academic achievements and socio-economic status (Rolls,

2013b: 6).

3.1.4. DRR is a key driver of CCE in countries strongly impacted by the effects of

climate change. In some of these countries DRR is integrated into broader CCE and

ESD policies. Green economy and the need for TVET innovation towards green

skills is another driver of CCE.

In countries facing serious challenges from CC, DRR plays a dominant role as a driver of

CCE. The Philippines can serve as an illustrative example of this. Fernandez and Shaw

(2013) report on DRRE in the Philippines:

In its Strategic National Action Plan (SNAP) for DRR, the Philippines pinpoints Education

and Research as a priority program (Reyes, 2011). The program aims to integrate DRR

modules at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels as well as support the training of

teachers on DRR. The goal is to fully integrate DRR into both formal and informal

education in the country by 2015. (Fernandez & Shaw, 2013: 6)

Currently, the DepEd is continuing the implementation of the project on Prioritizing the

Mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction Management in the School System and

Implementation of Programs and Projects as mandated by Department Order 55 series of

2007, which endorses and facilitates the integration of DRR in both structural (i.e., safe

schools) and non-structural (i.e., curriculum) components of the school system. (ibid)

After targeted integration of DRR into Natural Science and Social Studies subjects in one

secondary grade level (i.e., grade 7, first year high school), further integration of DRR into

other grade levels is currently ongoing (Selby & Kagawa, 2012). So, as the example shows,

DRRE is subject for specific policy efforts in the Philippines. Bangladesh and Tuvalu are

other examples, although DRRE is only at a very early stage here (cf. 3.1.1).

There are, however, other countries challenged by CC where DRRE is not approached

independently from other policy efforts, but incorporated into the already establishedframeworks of ESD and CCE. Vietnam, South Africa and Australia can serve as examples of

this.

Vietnam:

The trajectory of CCE deviates from the above mentioned countries in that DRR

has not been a vehicle for CCE; it has instead developed the other way round. The


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World Bank has listed Vietnam as one of the five countries in the world

potentially most affected by CC. The Government of Vietnam has in recent years

approached this actively and, among other things, developed strategic policies on

CCE. In the National CC Strategy from 2011 the role of education is described as

bringing CC sciences into educational programmes; cultivating human resources

in the relevant fields to climate change adaptation and GHG emission reduction;

raising community awareness and involvement in preventive and recovery

activities to disaster; promoting a climate-friendly ways of life and behaviours for

communities; and encouraging people to adopt climate change response activities

(Tong & Shaw, 2013: 9).

Also in the National Climate Change Strategy, the National Target

Program on Energy Efficiency and Conservation from 2012-2015

and in The Action Plan of Education Sector Response to Climate

Change from 2011- 2015, the approach to CCE is described in more

comprehensive ways than as DRR education (ibid: 7-9). However,

this does not mean that DRR is not an issue and addressed by

targeted policies including education. A year after the Action Plan of

Education Sector Response to CC from 2011-2015 was approved; a

National Action Plan for DRRE was issued. Here it is emphasized

that the implementation of DRRE will be carried out in accordance

with CCE and in attaining a sustainable educational development

(Tong and Shaw, 2013: 12).

South Africa:

With the effects of CC, South Africa faces increasingly serious challenges from

water shortages. However, the White Paper on CC policy from 2011 makes CCE an

integrated part of ESD, and DRR an integrated part of the CC strategy. Probably

due to a strong emphasis on ESD as a way of facilitating action oriented social

learning and change, the governmental approach to DRR is not simply about

dissemination of technical instructions, but stresses the importance of

cooperation with existing social agents:

Collaborate with social networks such as community organisations,

NGOs, women and farmers organisations, and the Adaptation Network to

help raise awareness and to transfer technology and build capacity.

(Government of the Republic of South Africa, 2011, p. 24)

Australia:A similar approach to DRRE has been taken by the Council of Australian

Governments in their National Strategy for Disaster Resilience from 2011. Here it

is stated that Knowledge, innovation and education can enhance a culture of

resilience at all levels of the community should contribute to a continual cycle of

learning (Council of Australian Governments, 2011: 8).


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Another driver of CCE is the vision of green economy/growth as an innovative response to

climate change as well as to economic crisis. This involves a focus on innovation of TVET

towards providing the necessary green skills. The UK and Australia offer good examples.

UK:

The UK governments Low Carbon Transition Plan National Strategy for Climate

and Energy from 2009 - was followed up by the Department of Energy and

Climate Change, who published Meeting the Low Carbon Skills Challenge a

Government response in December 2010. The following quotes express the

approach to CCE:

A skilled workforce is essential if we are to meet our carbon targets and

realise the significant economic opportunities of the transition to a low

carbon and resource efficient world.

For businesses to succeed in this green economy they will need peoplewith the technical and managerial and leadership skills to develop and

exploit both existing and new markets. We need to equip people and

businesses to return the economy to sustainable growth, increasing

employment, raising incomes and supporting an improved quality of life.

(Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2010)

Australia:

The endorsement of the Green Skills Agreement by the Council of Australian

Governments in December 2009 and the publication of the National VET Sector

Sustainability Policy and Action Plan (2009-2012) by the Ministerial Council for

Vocational and Technical Education made green skills promotion a key part of

CCE at the same time as it applied a broader approach than the one applied in the

UK. The purpose of the Australian agreement is outlined as follows:

The Australian and state and territory governments understand that

decisive action is needed to support Australias transition to a sustainable,

low-carbon economy. Australia can continue to prosper while making the

changes required to reduce the impact of climate change. However, the

transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy will involve changes to

how we do things individually and collectively, the ways we live, work and

do business, and the mix of what we do in our economy. These changes

will require new skills, the application of existing skills to new

technologies and practices, and new ways of thinking, working and doingbusiness across all areas of the economy and society. (Council of

Australian Governments, 2009)

In China, ESD is regarded as the framework for CCE, but there are also CC policy

documents indicating a shift towards a green economy approach. In general, CC policy is

approached as part of a SD policy aimed at achieving a balance between economic


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development and sustainability of the environment and society (Han 2013; 13). The 12th

Five-year Plan approaches this by applying the concepts of green development and

green economy and The Guidance on Promoting the Development of the Secondary and

Higher Vocational Education, issued by the Ministry of Education, suggests that the

transformation of economic development to a green economy contains new missions for

the Chinese VET system (Han, 2013: 15).

As mentioned in 3.1.1., the government in South Korea has a strong focus on Green

Growth which also includes Green Growth Education (GGE). It seems that this initiative is

not restricted to TVET but for example also includes elective courses on Environment and

Green Growth in the middle and high school curriculum (Sung, 2013: 2). This new policy

on GGE has caused some confusion in relation to earlier policy initiatives on ESD (ibid: 3).

With the discursive turn in global policy towards green economy partly prompted by

Rio+20, a TVET-oriented green skills approach to CCE would not be surprising. However,

among the countries covered by this study, it is only in UK, Australia, China and South

Korea that this approach has gained a footing until now.

3.1.5. Although CC, in recent years, has been a subject for policy making at the

national level, CCE is in general still at a very premature stage, and CCE, as well as

ESD, is faced with a number of roadblocks for implementation.

As described in 3.1.1., CCE is on the policy agenda and has been made a part of general

climate as well as education strategies in several countries during the last years. As most

of the examples from the national studies show, CCE policies until now are at a very

general and intentional level. In some of the countries, CCE and ESD policy also includes

more concrete action plans, programs and initiatives (e.g. Vietnam, Philippines, SouthAfrica). However, there are several challenges ahead that need to be addressed if the

intentions are to be translated into practice. Like earlier studies of ESD (Wals, 2009; Gross

& Nakayama 2010), some of the national studies behind this study have identified a

number of roadblocks on the path from the level of good intentions towards

implementation of ESD and CCE.

Impediments to CCE and ESD implementation8:

Lack of elaboration of national policy to concrete national action plans, curricula

frameworks and guidelines: Cf. China (Han, 2013: 25), Costa Rica (Hori & Shaw

2013: 16), UK (Lsse 2013c: 4).

Fragmentation, lack of coordinating bodies (between national policy bodies;

between national and sub-national levels; and between agents at the regional and

local levels): Cf. Philippines (Fernandez and Shaw 2013: 12), Indonesia (Mulyasari

8 This issue is only covered by some of the national studies.


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& Shaw, 2013: 14-15), Costa Rica (Hori & Shaw, 2013: 16-17), Bangladesh (Habiba

et al., 2013), China (Han, 2013: 25), South Africa (Lsse, 2013b:1), Brazil

(Trajber 2013: 16; 18), South Korea (Sung, 2013: 3-6).

Lack of implementation mechanisms, division of work and responsibilities: Cf.

Vietnam (Tong & Shaw, 2013: 15)

Lack of systematic monitoring and evaluation, and lack of research support: Cf.

Philippines (OCD: 2011), Costa Rica (Hori & Shaw, 2013: 16), , Vietnam: (Tong &

Shaw, 2013: 15), Brazil (Trajber 2013: 14, 17)

Budgetary constraints, and capacity of the education sector to implement thepolicy: Cf. Philippines (Fernandez and Shaw 2013: 12), Indonesia (Mulyasari &

Shaw, 2013: 13), Vietnam: (Tong & Shaw, 2013: 15).

Tensions between ESD and the exam-oriented system: Cf. China (Han, 2013: 8).

Tensions between the multi-dimensional content of ESD and CCE and theexisting mono-disciplinary curricula: Cf. Vietnam (Tong & Shaw, 2013: 15).

Overloaded curricula: Cf. Bangladesh (Habiba et al., 2013: 15), Vietnam (Tong &Shaw, 2013: 15).

Lack of knowledge and engagement among key agents:

o General lack of understanding of ESD and CCE among stakeholders: Cf.China (Han, 2013: 25-26). South Africa has faced the same shortcomings,

but a new Teacher Education Development Programme represents a

concerted effort to stakeholder cooperation in order to address this

roadblock (Mosidi, 2012).

o Lack of ESD-related subjects or topics in teacher education: Cf. China(Han,

2013: 26), Philippines (Selby & Kagawa, 2012), Brazil (Trajber, 2013: 14)o Lack of knowledge among environmental officials: South Africa (Mosidi,

2012: 33)

o Lack of engagement to use TVET structures for green skills: Cf. SouthAfrica (Lsse, 2013b: 2).

o Lack of supporting curriculum document to assist teachers, guidelines andmaterials: Tuvalu (Young, 2012: 26), Bangladesh (Habiba et al., 2013: 15).

Uneven development of ESD and CCE: In China, differences between developed

and less developed regions of China, as well as between basic education and

higher levels of education are observed (Han, 2013: 26). In Brazil governmental

initiatives involve a large number of schools but still the school-based EE policies

do not reach the totality of schools, engagement is voluntary and dependent on

state, municipal and schools political will (Trajber, 2013: 14).

Necessity of exploring the use of new media: Philippines (Fernandez and Shaw

2013: 11).


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These barriers are still an important part of the state-of-the-art, not only for ESD but also

for CCE. Furthermore, they are obviously important to address in providing guidance for

national CCESD policies.

3.2. WHAT CHARACTERIZES THE WAYS IN WHICH ESD AND CCE POLICIES ARE

SHAPED?

While the first sub-chapter (3.1.) focused on whether something has happened in CCE and

ESD policy since 2008, this sub-chapter will look at what characterizes the CCESD policy

that has been developed in this period. What kinds of policy approaches and policy

instruments have been applied to promote CCE and ESD?

It is a premise of this study that national policies play a crucial part in the promotion of

CCESD. However, this assumption has been contested as some nations delegate theresponsibility to state, regional or local levels of policy, or approach policy as a

governance process together with a multiplicity of stakeholders rather than as a matter of

top-down regulation (Feinstein et al., forthcoming). For this reason it makes good sense to

take a closer look at the approaches taken in the national CCE and ESD policies. As already

indicated in the introduction to this chapter, the following questions will be answered in

this sub-chapter: Do national policy efforts promote a mainstreaming of ESD and/or CCE

or do they let ESD and/or CCE remain marginal? What roles does the national policy play?

What kinds of policy instruments are applied? Is ESD and CCE policy developed

and conducted by the government as top-down processes, or does it include interaction

and cooperation with stakeholders? In the latter case, what roles do the governmental

institutions play as part of such multi-stakeholder policy processes (governance)?

KEY FINDINGS:

1. In general, national governments do not apply regulatory policy instruments toimplement ESD and CCE. National curriculum frameworks are an exception in many of

the countries.

2. National ESD and CCE tend to apply softer governance instruments such asconsultations, coordination, facilitation and guidance.

3. However, these governance instruments seem, up to now, too weak to ensure amainstreaming of ESD and CCE.

ANALYSIS AND EXAMPLES:

3.2.1. In general, national governments do not apply traditional regulatory policy

instruments to implement ESD and CCE. National curriculum frameworks are an

exception in many of the countries.


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Traditional normative and economic regulatory policy instruments are generally not

applied to implement ESD and CCE. There is one exception from this. Some of the

involved countries have integrated ESD and CCE in their national school curricula.

Examples of this can be found in Denmark (Lsse 2013a: 2-3), Costa Rica (Hori & Shaw

2013: 10), Philippines (Fernandez and Shaw 2013: 5), South Africa (Lsse, 2013b: 1),

Tuvalu (Young 2012)9, UK (Lsse, 2013c: 8), Vietnam (Tong & Shaw, 2013: 13-14),

China (Han, 2013: 19) and Brazil (Trajber 2013: 13; 17).

Vietnam deviates to some extent from this general picture as the government here has a

rather top-down regulatory approach to ESD and CCE. The Ministry of Education and

Training (MOET) has primary responsibility, collaborating with other ministries, local

departments of education and training and other organizations. Its activities are

supported by funding from the state budget and it monitors and evaluates the

implementation of ESD and CCE regularly (Tong & Shaw, 2013).

In the UK, CC policy is also partially implemented as top-down regulation with delegation

of responsibilities, including demands in terms of expected outcomes and evaluation(Lsse, 2013c: 4).

3.2.2. National ESD and CCE tend to apply softer governance instruments such as

consultations, coordination, facilitation and guidance.

The national ESD and CCE strategies are primarily interactive and process oriented. This

can take different forms.

One approach is to establish contact with relevant state and non-state agents, and invite

them to consultation. For instance, in Indonesia a planning workshop was organized to

discuss a new national strategy on CCE with participation of diverse government

departments, the private sector, education institutions, NGOs and UN organizations(Mulyasari & Shaw, 2013: 12). Similarly, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and

Training held a workshop in March 2011 on Sharing experiences and strengthening

cooperation on climate change education as an initiative to implement the action plan of

education sector response to climate change (Tong & Shaw, 2013: 4). Other examples can

be found in Denmark (Lsse et al. 2009) and UK (Lsse, 2013c: 6).

In a more comprehensive approach, not only do the national governments invite

stakeholders to participate in hearings or other types of meeting, they also either take the

role as mediators or coordinators of an ongoing dialogue and cooperation on promotion

of ESD and CCE, or provide structures for this. An example of this can be found in the

Philippines:

At the national level, there is a Coordinating Council for ESD made up of: 1)

Department of Education 2) CHED Teacher Education Institutions, 3) Technical

9 According to Young, a new curriculum framework including ESD and CCE was prepared and

should have been issued at the end of 2012.


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Education System Development Agency (TESDA), 4) Local Government Units, 5)

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and 6) NGOs.

(Fernandez and Shaw 2013: 5)

In Canada/Manitoba, ESD is a multi-stakeholder process involving government,

educational institutions, civil society and the private sector. Not least the NGO Learningfor a Sustainable Future (LFS) has played a significant role in the development of ESD in

Canada. In partnership with the federal Department of the Environment and Manitobas

Department of Education and Department of Advanced Education and Literacy, LSF has worked to

establish provincial and territorial ESD working groups. These working groups involve

representatives from regional and federal governments, educational institutions, non-formal and

informal learning organisations, NGOs, the private sector, teacher associations and other

stakeholders. Not only are these working groups active within their own jurisdictions, they also

cooperate under the leadership of the pan-Canadian ESD Canada network. (Rolls, 2013b: 10)

In Indonesia, the ministries for education and environment collaborate, and there is also

established collaboration with other agents, e.g. about teacher training. In addition, an

Education Consortium named Kalimamtan University Consortium is initiating theestablishment of regional networks for capacity and institutional building in relation to CC

as part of Indonesias participation as pilot country in UNITARs CC: Learn Pilot Projects

(2011-2013) (Mulyasari & Shaw 2013: 11-12).

In Denmark, economic support was in 2009 the year Denmark hosted UNFCCC COP15

given to the establishment and a three year running of a national network of agents

working with ESD. The network was approved as a Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) by

UNU-IAS and connected to the global RCE network. However, in this case, it was

governmental support to stakeholder knowledge sharing rather than a governance

network with governmental departments actively involved themselves (Lsse 2013a).

As a third type of governmental process support, several governments offer consultative

guidance, information, courses and materials to promote ESD and CCE. This role is

reflected in a positioning paper Adapting to Climate Change, published by the Australian

Government in 2010:

Individuals and businesses can only take effective action to adapt to climate change

if they are well informed about its potential impacts and risks. It is in the interests of

businesses and individuals to invest in the specific information they need to assess

and manage their risks from the impacts of climate change. However, there is little

incentive for them to invest in basic knowledge that may be of limited benefit to

them but of broader public benefit. Governments have a role to play in filling these

information gaps, including by providing better public information (such as high

quality climate projections) to build understanding and better inform decision

making across both the public and private sectors (Department of Climate Change,

2010: 8).

Another example, coming from Brazil, illustrates similar process supporting efforts, but in

this case targeted at the school education area. Here the Ministry of Education has

conducted initiatives to include EE and CCE in mainstream educational events. It has also

initiated the program Lets Take Care of Brazil through Schools which since 2003 has


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organized several National Children and Youth Conferences on EE and CCE issues with a

large number of schools as participants (Trajber, 2013: 4-7).

Other examples of this type of governmental process support are described in the reports

from the Philippines (Fernandez and Shaw 2013: 6), Costa Rica (Hori & Shaw 2013: 11),

UK (Lsse, 2013c: 6), Vietnam (Tong & Shaw, 2013: 4), China (Han, 2013: 12-15), andSouth Korea (Sung, 2013: 2).

3.2.3. However, these governance instruments seem, up to now, too weak to ensure

a mainstreaming of ESD and CCE.

The choice of policy instruments does not tell everything about how strong or weak the

national policy efforts are with regard to promoting the implementation of CCE and ESD.

It is not possible on the basis of this desk study to evaluate the governmental efforts.

However, the national reports include some examples indicating the strengths or

weaknesses of the governance activities. It has already been partly addressed in 3.1.5 on

roadblocks for implementation. Among them was fragmentation/a lack of coordinating

bodies.

In some countries, for example Bangladesh and Tuvalu, coordinating and supportive

structures have not yet been established. In other countries, such structures have been

established or supported by the government, but only on a minor scale with few

stakeholders involved and/or with few resources allocated. An example of this can be

found in Denmark where the government, as mentioned in 3.2.2., has supported a RCE-

network, but also a national homepage for ESD in schools as well as some science

extension institutions that also work with ESD. CCE is partly covered by these mediating

institutions, but they are too weak in the overall context of the whole educational system

and in terms of the ambition to mainstream ESD and CCE,. In China, the government

supports CCE and ESD projects at the lower levels and they are also to some extent indialogue with NGOs as well as the private sector. However, the involved national-level

institutions function within their own jurisdictions without any executive body taking

charge of planning, coordination or monitoring and evaluation of ESD and CCE as a whole

(Han, 2013: 22-23). In Costa Rica the Ministry of Public Education is part of cooperation

between national level and inter-institutional organizations involved as members of

sector councils, established by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and

Telecommunications. However structures for coordination and knowledge exchange

between ESD and CCE agents have not been established (see 3.1.5).

Although there are good examples of progress, both regarding development of national

school curricula with CCE and ESD elements and regarding coordination and other typesof governance and process facilitating structures, the overall impression from the national

reports is that the efforts seem too weak to ensure a mainstreaming of ESD. It should,

however, be stressed that this impression is still only based on the analyses of policy

documents and that a deeper study of the relationship between policy and CCE and ESD

practice is needed to evaluate the extent to which CCE and ESD are marginal or

approaching the mainstream.


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Whether CCE and ESD will remain marginal or will be mainstreamed is an issue that

relates to the next sub-section on how national policies interpret and approach ESD and

CCE, not least because these interpretations and approaches might, or might not, connect

to the current foci of global and national policies.

3.3.HOW DO CURRENT NATIONAL POLICIES INTERPRET AND OPERATIONALIZE ESD

AND CCE?

There are strong historical connections between EE and ESD at the same time as their

similarities and differences have been heavily discussed (see, for example, Jickling, 1992;

McKeown & Hopkins, 2003; Stevenson, 2006). As climate change, in a narrow sense, is an

environmental issue, but at the same time influences all other grand challenges of the

world, and thus also relates to sustainable development in a broader sense than

environmental sustainability, it is indeed interesting to look at how CCE policies relate, or

do not relate, CCE to ESD. The IALEI cross-national study from 2009 concluded that therelationship was still very open but also that, rather than CCE being incorporated into and

empowering ESD, it might instead revitalize an instrumental and behaviour modification-

oriented approach that ESD has otherwise gradually moved away from (Lsse et al.

2009). So what has happened since then?

For this part of the desk study, the questions raised were as follows: Are ESD and CCE

related to each other in national policies and, if yes, how? Is CCE incorporated into ESD

and/or ESD transformed by CCE? To what extent is CCE, and eventually ESD, influenced by

recent trends towards aligning climate change adaptation with DRR and recent emphasis

on making a transition to a green economy as a means to achieving SD?

KEY FINDINGS:

1. ESD and CCE policies are linked to, or express, different concepts of and approaches toSD. Some countries maintain the, until now, rather dominant focus on the nature-

society relationship and ecological sustainability, while other countries have a broader

focus on the future of society as a whole.

2. There is an emerging trend towards focusing CC and SD policies on green economy byinterpreting CCE as a means for providing green skills. The policies and discourses on

ESD and green skills are in most countries remarkably unconnected but there are also

examples of efforts to integrate them.

3. DRRE is only addressed by some national policies. In some of these it has a rathernarrow focus on climate knowledge and operational instruction. However, in several

other countries the approach seems to be more comprehensive.

4. The national strategic policy papers on ESD neither interpret ESD as equivalent withscience education nor restrict the educational approach to prescriptive learning.


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5. The dominant approach to promote implementation of ESD and CCE is to integrate itinto the existing school subjects. There are, however, also examples of extra- or cross-

curricular strategies.

ANALYSIS AND EXAMPLES:

3.3.1. ESD and CCE policies are linked to, or express, different concepts of and

approaches to SD. Some countries maintain the, until now, rather dominant focus

on the nature-society relationship and ecological sustainability, while other

countries have a broader focus on the future of society as a whole.

The concept of SD has been defined in several hundred ways (Dobson 1996). So which

discourses and approaches to SD are the national policies on ESD and CCE based on?

Although this study does not include a discourse analysis, one distinction in approaches

can be observed.

Only a few national ESD and CCE policies apply a narrow approach to SD with a focus on

the environment and ecological sustainability. In Indonesia, ESD has been developed in

cooperation between the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Environment,

and is aimed at creating change in the mindset, attitudes and behaviour of

environmentally cultured human (Mulyasari & Shaw, 2013: 12). Also in the Philippines,

the approach is focused on the environment. The strategy of the Department of Education

is to continue to strengthen CCE as part of the already established EE policy and by using

the existing language of EE (Fernandez and Shaw 2013: 8).

Also Canada/Manitoba belongs to this category of countries. However, strikingly, here abroad approach to SD is being set aside in favour of an environmentally-centred approach.

A public consultation process, currently underway towards updating 1997s Sustainable

Development Act with a new Green Prosperity Act, indicates this move towards

marginalizing the social dimension of ESD:

The new act will still encompass the three pillars of sustainable development (the

environment, society and the economy), but will shift focus towards environmental

sustainability. This will ensure the environment is recognized as the foundation of

society and the economy and is given due weight in all decisions. One proposed

name for the new act is the Green Prosperity Act. The name is proposed to take

the current use of the term sustainable development and bring it into a context that

reflects the current and future direction of government, which is to create a green

and prosperous society (Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship, 2012: 4).

Several of the other countries apply more comprehensive approaches that make SD, more

or less, an issue of coping with the grand societal future challenges. In Costa Rica, a

National Commitment on DESD has led to an elaboration of the already existing strategy

and structures for EE towards a trans-disciplinary approach that incorporates EE into


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poverty reduction, economic dynamism and gender equity (Hori & Shaw 2013: 4, 16).

Similarly, in Brazil, they have a long and strong tradition for EE approached as a

comprehensive, critical, participatory and emancipatory project aimed at promoting

ethics, aesthetics and citizenship towards a socially and environmentally sustainable

society (Trajber, 2013: 4; 13; 15). South Africa has for historical reasons a similar focus on

societal development as a whole, and SD and ESD are oriented towards social dimensions

of sustainable development (Lsse, 2013b).

Approaches to SD and ESD are also influenced by national development as measured by

Human Development Index (HDI). In very high HDI countries covered by this study

(South Korea, Australia, Canada/Manitoba, Denmark and the UK), CC encourages

strategies for a low carbon society, approached as green growth. (cf. 3.3.2). In China and

Vietnam, characterized as medium HDI countries, ESD is linked to the issue of access to

education and the Education for All/Quality Education agenda. In this context, in China

and Vietnam, as in many developing countries, ESD is connected to a reorientation of the

educational system under the heading of Quality Education (Han, 2013: 21; Tong & Shaw,

2013: 12). For example, in China, The National Education Outline 2010-2020 viewsquality education as a major strategic theme for Chinas educational reform and

development during the period 2010-2020. It identifies the goals of the education reform

in China as promoting equal access to education, improving education quality and

boosting SD capacity (Han, 2013: 21).

3.3.2. There is an emerging trend towards focusing CC and SD policies on green

economy by interpreting CCE as a means for providing green skills. The policies and

discourses on ESD and green skills are in most countries remarkably unconnected

but there are also examples of efforts to integrate them.

In the global policy arena, e.g., at the Rio+20 summit, the concepts of green growth and

green economy have come to be emphasized as a means to achieving SD. The global

financial crisis and pressure to find ways of coping with the effects of climate change are

probably some of the important dynamics behind this discursive shift. What does this

mean for the discourses on ESD and CCE? The ILO-Cedefop study on Skills for Green Jobs

from 2011 concludes that most countries still do not have a policy strategy for providing

the necessary skills for a green economy (Streitska-Ilina et al. 2011). This is also the case

in the countries involved in this study. If we look at those countries that have begun to

address the need for skills for green jobs, skills development policies tend to be decoupled

from ESD discourses, policies and practice.

In the UK, the ambition to respond to CC by creating a low carbon society hasresulted in several policy initiatives to promote green TVET. While the former

government placed emphasis on a programme for Sustainable Schools with a

broad ESD approach, the current government has its focus on green skills which it

approaches as a matter of providing the necessary Science, Technology,

Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) qualifications for the labour market

(Lsse, 2013c: 3-5).


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The same lack of policy integration can be found in Denmark, where TVET has

included green elements for many years. Nevertheless, TVET is conspicuous by its

absence from

working document b_cross-national analysis on esd and cce policy development

Documents