Amidst an aggressively heating world, a just transition for educators has become a matter of urgency. Educators are already on the frontlines of climate change: every day, they are contending with the worst consequences of changes to the world’s climate. From extreme hurricanes and storms to massive flooding, prolonged droughts, severe heatwaves, and sinking islands, climate change is already altering the education sector in indirect yet profound ways. Thus, educators are stakeholders in the discussions surrounding climate action and the crucial project of shifting to a low-carbon world.

The goal of averting irreversible climate change can only be achieved through a fundamental reorganisation of society. Decarbonising the global economy is imperative to this end, which means phasing out fossil fuel dependence and reconfiguring societal development to adhere to planetary boundaries. However, the necessary task of decarbonisation has also stoked fears across the globe of potential economic collapse.