Climate change education and communication in global review: tracking progress through national submissions to the UNFCCC Secretariat

Abstract

Despite recent intergovernmental commitments to advancing climate change education and communication (CCEC) internationally, there remains a lack of global data to enable tracking or target-setting on country progress. This article shares findings from an analysis of CCEC content in 377 submissions to the UNFCCC Secretariat. Submission types analyzed included National Communications reporting on recent activities, and Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans outlining future plans. Key findings about CCEC in primary to tertiary education, government, media, civil society, business, and public communications sectors are that: (a) while CCEC content appeared in submissions, little is currently suitable for monitoring purposes; and (b) there were notable gaps in CCEC activities, given a pronounced emphasis on cognitive knowledge over affective and action-oriented approaches. Regional variations were also found, with European countries on average including more content in relation to both Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) elements and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator components. Recommendations for future UNFCCC submissions on the quantity and quality of CCEC are highlighted, as well as for research and research-policy collaboration to further monitoring of CCEC implementation and progress globally.