6. Education, training, skills and apprenticeship policy

The 2019 conference of the teachers’ union NEU agreed to “lobby the government to press them on plans to carry out their obligation under the Paris Agreement (see pages 6-7) to educate the public about the scale of climate change and the measures to deal with it”, including through the schools’ curricula.

The headteachers’ union NAHT says there is a clear opportunity for schools to positively channel pupils’ energy and passion into environmental action and develop critical leadership, character, global citizenship and STEM skills along the way. It has produced a Climate Chaos Toolkit to help schools develop a positive response to the climate chaos. It can be found on the NAHT website.

Education unions are working together with the school students’ movement to organise an Education for Just Transition conference in October 2019.

Transport union TSSA has called for more public education, pointing out that “reports suggest that two-thirds of the UK public were unaware of the Paris talks whilst they were on”.