Progress of the Climate Change Education Research Group

BackgroundThe emergency posed by the climate change has become evident and the realization of a decarbonized society by 2050 has become a common goal for all humankind.Achieving this goal requires the transformation of socioeconomic systems, technology, infrastructure, and lifestyles.Additionally, to address the impacts of climate change, it is important to promote not only "mitigation" to limit emissions of greenhouse gases, but also "adaptation" to impacts that are already evident, as well as to those that cannot be avoided in the medium-and long-terms.A movement to integrate Climate Change Education (CCE) has been slowly growing in Japan in the 2020s.The direction for CCE has been indicated to be crosscutting and integrated into comprehensive learning time in national curriculum guidelines.Following the amendment to the Act on the Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures in 2021, a joint notification from the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology was issued to education boards nationwide, emphasizing the need to further enhance practical and collaborative CCE.The ESD Promotion Network is strategically promoting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) with a focus on climate change as part of its efforts in the education sector toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).In this context, a concept paper summarizing the background, direction, and initiatives related to ESD activity support centers was released in March 2023.In July 2021, the University Coalition Contributing to Carbon Neutrality Achievement was established as a platform for information sharing and dissemination to advance the decarbonization of local communities through collaboration between universities and regions.Currently, approximately 200 universities participate in this coalition.Within this initiative, a Talent Development Working Group (WG) was established alongside the Zero-Carbon Campus, Regional Zero Carbon, International Collaboration and Cooperation, and Innovation WGs.The Talent Development WG focuses on sharing initiatives categorized as general education, specialized training, specific challenges, and the general public.It aims to organize the profile of talents to be cultivated as well as to develop teaching materials and educational programs.CCE development is progressing at this turning point in climate change policy.It is necessary to collaborate in creating and sharing norms for CCE as well as in terms of the development, trial, and evaluation of specific education programs.