WSDS 2025 Thematic Track: Partnerships for a Greener Future: role of Environment Education in schools

Background: The World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) 2025 will take place on the theme, ‘Partnerships for Accelerating Sustainable Development and Climate Solutions’. The theme recognizes the world is off track to achieve climate goals, including current nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and the SDGs, underscoring the complex, interconnected nature of challenges in achieving sustainable development and the importance of collective action in working towards creating a sustainable future. The event will explore the role of partnerships in accelerating problem solving and implementation through shared responsibilities, collective action, and collaborative problem solving.

TERI takes a strategic approach to climate challenges and has considerable experience designing and initiating programs focusing on climate change impacts. TERI has been involved in the past with various government bodies at national, state, and local level to focus on both adaptation and mitigation efforts related to climate change. In addition to the above, TERI recognizes youth as an important constituency to support sustainable changes. Leading India's development journey for the past five decades by providing transformational solutions through policy research, technological innovation, and advocacy, TERI has been at the centre stage of understanding the ecological impact of climate change to drive sustainable development. TERI has been a resounding voice in India and the Global South on the need for raising ambition and pushing frontiers for meaningful climate action. Championing excellence in scientific and policy research and pushing for stronger cooperation between government and businesses, we eagerly anticipate the next 50 years of our mission, ever aligned with our founding values. The Environment Education and Awareness (EEA) division at TERI focuses on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) projects by engaging with students, youth and communities to support our future citizenry to adopt environmentally friendly behaviour. Work is aligned with existing social structures, cultural norms, economic realities, and global trends of the present times. Work at EEA is aligned towards:

• Promotion of environment literacy to transform citizens to become harbingers of change through lifestyle shifts
• Enhancing understanding of school community about sustainability education

The Green School project: With one out of every six voices belonging to youth in the age group of 15-24 years, it becomes imperative that we involve them in decision making processes. They are our young citizenry. A need of the hour is to trigger strong intergenerational conversations to facilitate bridging of gaps across generations and ushering a new paradigm of change. Young citizenry also aspires for new and novel opportunities to enhance their skills to play an active role in influencing society to move towards sustainable living. The environmental and societal challenges faced due to climate change will disproportionally impact the younger generations who have to live with the consequences of these changes. It is of utmost importance that students along with corporates and city administrators are educated to bring about awareness of the issues related to climate change. Impacts of climate change are all pervasive and education is an essential element for a concerted global response to counter issue of climate change. It helps society understand the changing trends of climate and foster adaptation and mitigation at all levels. It strives to enhance decision-making abilities and empower society to adopt sustainable lifestyles. These were some of the foundational principles that led to the 'The Green School' Initiative, launched in April 2017 by Tata Steel Foundation and TERI.

The project aims to promote behavioural change for environmental conservation and develop resilience among vulnerable communities through driving school ecosystems by exploring curriculum linkages, operationalizing action projects and capacity-building activities on four broad themes: Energy, Water, Forest & Biodiversity, and Waste and their interlinkages with Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030. To date, the program's direct beneficiaries have been students and teachers at the targeted schools of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab. The indirect beneficiaries are the school administration and local community members involved in the project. The initiative has focused on augmenting students through an activity-based teaching programme, which trains students and teachers to promote the message of climate change mitigation and adaptation to the broader society

In FY 25, 110 schools are covered through this initiative from 12 different locations covering 6 states. This project is dedicated to nurturing young minds aged 12 to 14 years, inspiring them to undertake awareness and action projects within their educational institutions and communities. The initiative emphasized mainstreaming climate change, INDCs, and Sustainable Development Goals, while enhancing the effectiveness of EMCs (Environment Management Committees) and promoting peer education and knowledge transfer systems. Schools covered through this initiative partner with other schools in their near vicinity and impart the learnings from the project to the teachers and students. Thus, spreading the awareness regarding environment conservation and protection. This way they are also imparting necessary environment education to the team.

An important milestone of the project is participation of students and teachers in the 'World Sustainable Summit 2025' in Delhi, where they will showcase initiatives for a greener future. Knowledge transfer is crucial for achieving behaviour change and extending learning to broader audiences, particularly the community, thus forming a sustainable cycle of progress.

Interconnected risks pose the greatest threat of a polycrisis, hence Integrated Solutions and Sustainable Partnerships need to be stepped up, for a ripple effect. Projects like Green School initiative embed environment awareness and innovative learning into DNA of school students through interdisciplinary approaches. Hence a pro-active youth movement through institutionalization and multi-stakeholders’ partnerships are being created and supported through the Green School project.