Education has the potential to improve young people’s ability to adapt to the severe effects of climate change by fostering critical thinking and a variety of “green skills.” Young people, for instance, require both- a solid understanding of the factors that contribute to global warming, and a strong set of transferable skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, the ability to deal with uncertainty, empathy, and negotiation, that will allow them to use their knowledge in the real world.
Student-driven and student-led community-based climate action initiatives would be a quick win for enhancing the overall quality of education for a 21st century replete with crises. This would be accomplished by releasing the creativity and inspiring efforts of teachers and students to combat climate change and corporate social responsibility.
We might be well on our way to attaining net-zero emissions by 2070 and ensuring the quality of life for future generations if done at scale throughout the millions of school/colleges across the length and breadth of India.
Institutions must emerge responsible
According to Lalita Thaldi, a teacher in one of the Delhi Public Schools, “Talking everything together will lead us nowhere. We need to take baby steps towards achieving Net Zero by 2070. Academic institutions across the country will need to work individually to reduce their school’s greenhouse gas emissions perhaps by developing an inventory exit of their school’s/college’s emissions and developing a system that captures and calculates the GHG emissions. Besides reuse and recycling of papers, beverage containers, and batteries, usage of Solar panels for power and energy efficient electronic equipment, can unquestionably contribute to the environmental mission.”
Besides, to account for some of their emissions, the academic institutions can start investing in carbon offsets with regional impacts, and in renewable energy credits associated with solar panels or wind farms etc.
Inspiring Examples
The UN Environment has produced the Greening Universities Toolkit, worldwide, to inspire universities to develop strategies for green, resource-efficient, and low-carbon campuses. However, and yet every institution needs to take full responsibility for its contribution to bettering the environment.
There are various examples to follow the suit. Notably, Fifty percent of American University’s power needs come from a solar panel farm it established in North Carolina in partnership with George Washington University and George Washington University Hospital. The remaining 50 percent comes from renewable energy credits. Similarly, Charles Sturt University in Australia was certified as the country’s first carbon-neutral university in the year 2016.
In India, WOCE- World of Circular Economy, a climate-solutions start-up, which captures-calculates-offsets carbon emissions, recently launched an App called Carbon Book, and offers it free to the academic institution under its social initiative, to promote green living.
Carbon Book App on any mobile can be downloaded for free- Every individual can keep a check on his/her emissions- when he travels (air, rail, bus, car, bike), cooks/eats, utilises energy (gas, power), and disposes of waste, etc. daily. This way, an individual whether a student or any other member of the institution can account for his/her emission, and the institution can cumulatively account for its carbon footprint. This way, any school or college can measure, reduce and neutralize emissions by offsetting methods (by investing time and money in green initiatives).
“We are being applauded worldwide for making our pledges and efforts around environmental change– our PM said, this in his Independence Day speech, while adding that the next 25 years are important for all of us to stay determined and take actions being one with the nation. Aligning with the country’s environment mission, WOCE has launched Carbon Book app, which captures, calculates, and offsets carbon footprint, and will help India gain momentum in the net-zero direction”, said Anup Garg, Founder, and Director, WOCE, in its latest press release.
Way Forward
All said and done, such initiatives will bear fruit only if our Government both at the central and state level communicates the urgency of the situation and mandates every institution to turn green with a capture-calculate-offset GHS emissions tool in hand.
Undoubtedly both schools and higher education institutions are critical players in the race to net-zero emissions regardless of their operations. Through their research, deliberations, courses, and community outreach, they can have a transformational impact in solving humanity’s greatest challenges – both now and in the future.
The crux here is to harness the enthusiasm of youth in three simple ways. First, institutions must aim to become “carbon neutral” institutions by adopting low-carbon operational practices. Second, they must develop curricula and pedagogical approaches to educating students about the imperatives of carbon neutrality and climate change mitigation initiatives. Third, an impactful digital tool must be embraced by institutions to account for and offset carbon emissions by the institution.