Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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569. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way that the Government intends to further promote education on climate change and climate action in primary and post primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54715/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), as set out under target 4.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aims to ensure that by 2030 “all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development”.

Agenda 2030, The European Education Area, the European Green Deal and other key initiatives recognise the crucial role of education and training for the green transition. Learners of all ages need to be able to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to live more sustainably, change patterns of consumption and production, embrace healthier lifestyles and contribute – both individually and collectively – to the transformation of our societies. The European Council recently adopted a recommendation for member states to stimulate and support policies and programmes about learning for the green transition and sustainable development and said it was crucial to ensure that learners of all ages acquire the knowledge to live more sustainably, obtain the skills needed in a changing labour marked and take action for a sustainable future.

SDG 4.7/ ESD, is a target in itself but also acknowledged as a key enabler for all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including SDG 13 – Climate Action.

ESD has three strands;

- environmental (climate change; disaster risk reduction; biodiversity; environmental protection; natural resource management; urban decay; water security)

- socio-economic (economic growth; poverty; food prices; child labour; social exclusion; justice; debt-security; human rights; health; gender equity; cultural diversity; production and consumption patterns; corporate responsibility; population growth; migration)

- political(citizenship; peace; ethics; human rights; democracy and governance)

- 1^stNational Strategy for ESD 2014 – 202

- Ireland's 1^stESD strategy predates the UN SDGs (2015) but nevertheless they were closely aligned. Under the 1^ststrategy, the following were the key achievements;

- An interim review of the strategy published in 2018 identified significant progress in terms of: integrating ESD principles and themes across the curriculum from Early Years to post primary education; integrating ESD into the inspection and assessment process and integrating ESD into Initial Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development for Teachers.

- An Audit of the Curriculum for opportunities and linkages to ESD was published by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in 2018 and found significant linkages to sustainable development across the curriculum.

- The introduction of the new Leaving Certificate Politics and Society curriculum. This covers a wide range of ESD related themes and incorporates a Citizenship Project (20% of the total marks), the titles of which are ESD related and which requires the student to for example give a presentation to their peers, present a summary report/ detailed analysis to government, relevant authority, media or political representative.

- A wide range of resources are available to schools to assist them to deliver ESD including for example the Green Schools programme which engages with 94% of schools and ECO UNESCO. A range of organisations also contribute to the provision of CPD for teachers. These resources are available on a central portal.

- The Teaching Council published Ceim - Standards for Initial Teacher Education.

- The standards state that all ITE programs must include Global Citizenship Education: to include Education for Sustainable Development; Well-being (personal and community); Social Justice, Interculturalism. There should be demonstrable integration between Inclusive Education and Global Citizenship Education rooted in the principle of care for others.

- Research at 3^rdlevel has been orientated towards sustainability and the Systems Performance Framework for 3^rdlevel HEIs includes requirements in relation to sustainable development.

- Implementation of the 1^ststrategy was overseen by an ESD Advisory Group chaired by the Department of Education and Skills which included representation from the Irish Second level Students Union (ISSU) and the National Youth Council of Ireland as well as some other Government Departments, agencies and NGOs such as Green Schools, ECO UNESCO and the Irish Development Education Association (IDEA).

2^ndNational Strategy - ESD to 2030

- The 2^ndNational Strategy for ESD to 2030, published in June 2022, is co-sponsored by the Department of Education, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth – all sectors of the education system.

- ESD to 2030 is built on the 5 pillars identified by UNESCO in their roadmap for ESD for 2030:

Policy Alignment

- Ensuring that Department and wider government policies are aligned where relevant (e.g.: the Climate Action Plan (D.ECC), the SDG National Implementation Plan (D.ECC), the Global Citizenship Education Strategy (D.FA), Biodiversity Strategy (D.HLGH) and so on).

Transforming Learning Environments

- Ensuring that students are learning in sustainable environments, “living what they learn and learning what they live”. This links for example to the school building and school transport programmes.

Building Capacity

- Ensuring that our educators have the necessary training to deliver ESD

Empowering and mobilising youth

- Not only giving our young people the knowledge, but empowering them and giving them the opportunities to take action for sustainable development.

Community engagement

- Creating links between our education institutions and local communities to drive action locally.

- ESD to 2030 was informed by a public consultation process including 90 detailed written submissions 150 completed surveys and a number of bi-lateral meetings and forums.

ESD to 2030 – Actions for School Sector

- Some of the key actions in ESD to 2030 for the Department of Education in relation to schools include:

- Development of a new Leaving Certificate curriculum for Climate Action and Sustainable Development by September 2024.

- Continuing to integrate ESD themes and principles across all curricular areas

- A further Audit of the curriculum for ESD linkages and opportunities

- Inclusion of the ISSU on the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment

- The establishment of a working group to provide guidelines and templates for schools in developing their own sustainability policies.

- Raising awareness of Climate Action and Sustainable Development through the quarterly ESD Newsletter

- Working with partners to develop tools to monitor implementation and impact of ESD

- Creating opportunities for students to develop action orientated skills e.g. New ESD award in the B.T. Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition,

- Mapping ESD provision to identify and address gaps

- Engaging with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on Climate Literacy

- Promoting programmes that support ESD such as the Green Schools programme, ECO UNESCO, World Wise Global Schools, Picker Pals etc.

- Promoting the use of the ESD webpage on Scoilnet: www.scoilnet.ie/esd/.

- Engaging with UN and EU partners on ESD e.g. the Department is represented on the European Education Area Working Group on Schools: Learning for Sustainability, the three co-sponsoring Departments recently submitted ESD to 2030 to UNESCO as Ireland’s ESD for 2030 Country Initiative: www.unesco.org/en/education/sustainable-development/country-initiatives.

A Steering Group comprising relevant Government Departments and key funding agencies has been established to oversee implementation and to ensure cohesion in terms of policy and funding for ESD across government.

The Department of Education has also established an ESD Advisory Group for Schools which will progress implementation of ESD across the school sector.

The Strategy and Implementation Plan are all available on the ESD webpage: www.gov.ie/en/publication/02952d-national-strategy-on-education-for-sustainable-development-in-irelan/.

As part of the redevelopment of Senior Cycle, on 29 March 2022 I announced the development of a new subject, Climate Action and Sustainable Development, which will be introduced for Leaving Certificate students starting in September 2024 in network schools.

A subject background paper has been prepared, and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has carried out a public consultation on this subject, which closed at the end of October. The Subject Development Group within the NCCA, through which the curriculum will be developed, has been convened and the first meetings have been held.