Education International Asia-Pacific (EIAP) Region recognises the urgent need for quality climate change education (CCE) for all, within the framework of education for sustainable development. Crucially, EIAP also recognises that Asia-Pacific educators are on the frontlines of climate change, grappling with the ground realities of the climate crisis in their daily lives. More importantly, EIAP understands that the education sector risks failing to prepare students for a future increasingly shaped by climate change if it does not act today. Thus, the Educators for Sustainable Development (E4SD) programme was born out of the growing demand from education unionists to harness the power of education in averting the worst consequences of climate change, demand that climate justice be at the core of climate action and accelerate a just transition into sustainable pathways for our societies.

The programme was initiated in 2021, through the publication of Teach for Climate Action, an advocacy toolkit on CCE for educators and their unions. In the lead-up to COP26, EIAP launched the toolkit in a conference where educators and union leaders engaged in breakout discussions on how to organise for climate justice; the power and know-how of traditional or Indigenous knowledge of the environment; building a better and greener economy; innovative and effective educational approaches to teaching CCE.

The programme has since grown remarkably, hosting several capacity-building activities such as the yearly “Educators Stand for Climate Justice and Just Transition” conference, Climate Justice series webinar, KLIMA newsletter, and the publication of several research reports. More importantly, union affiliates in New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, just to name a few, have led training programmes and advocacy efforts related to E4SD in their respective countries.

Recognising that educators are agents of change, EIAP invites education unionists in Asia-Pacific to join the E4SD movement in taking concrete steps towards climate justice, a just transition and quality climate education for all. It is more important than ever to build greater solidarity in the fight for a just and climate-resilient world for educators, students, and their communities.