Transformative Climate and Environmental Education for a Just Future

Abstract

This commentary highlights the urgent need to re-envision climate and environmental education in response to the escalating climate crisis and its far-reaching social, ecological, and political implications. As young people increasingly express concern for their futures, the authors call for a transformational change in science education that engages with climate change as a complex and pressing issue. To support such transformation, the commentary introduces a new section in the journal Science Education titled “Climate Change and Environmental Education,” providing a platform for empirical research, conceptual inquiries, and policy discourse on education's role in addressing planetary change. This section invites scholarship that expands our understanding of climate change and environmental education through transdisciplinary and justice-oriented approaches. Key areas of inquiry include learning across spaces, disciplines, and epistemologies, action-oriented learning through community-based and participatory approaches, and attending to emotional well-being while using action to cultivate hope. By advancing these conversations, researchers can critically examine how education fosters the knowledge, agency, and ethical commitments necessary for engaging with the complexities of climate change.