Teaching climate change in every classroom
Today’s students aren’t waiting for climate change—they’re experiencing it firsthand. School closures due to extreme heat, wildfire smoke that keeps kids indoors, and catastrophic storms that displace families are now annual realities. This constant exposure shapes their worldview, fuels anxiety, and sparks urgent questions. Yet, even as climate impacts become more visible, the way we address climate change in US schools remains fragmented and inconsistent. Too often, climate education is confined to science class or omitted entirely. Adding a recycling club won’t solve anything; what we need is a broader vision: Climate education must be woven into every classroom, across every subject, and must equip every student with the knowledge, skills, and agency to understand and respond to a rapidly changing world.
According to recent data, 71% of American teens learn about climate change from teachers, but only 39% truly understand its causes, and just 31% feel confident about solutions. This gap between lived experience and classroom understanding is a critical weakness that leaves students unprepared for the challenges in their communities. For young people, climate change is personal. Over half believe it will affect them in their lifetime, and a third already see major impacts on their own lives—from damaged homes to disrupted routines. These experiences make climate education not just relevant, but essential.
Climate anxiety: The new mental health challenge
The psychological toll is real and growing. Young people are experiencing significant climate anxiety—worry, frustration, and even a sense of betrayal by adults and institutions perceived as slow to act. This anxiety can lead to disengagement, panic attacks, insomnia, and hopelessness. In one recent study, nearly 60% of young people said climate change worries affect their daily functioning, and over 40% said it impacts their mental health.
But there is hope. Research shows that when students are empowered with knowledge and opportunities to act, their mental health improves. Climate education is not just about teaching facts—it’s about building hope, agency, and resilience.
Why we need climate education in every classroom
Close the knowledge gap
Despite their deep concern, too many students don’t fully understand the science, causes, or solutions to climate change. Only about half can identify human activity as the main driver, and just 42% recognize the scientific consensus that climate change is real. By integrating climate education across all subjects—science, social studies, language arts, mathematics, and beyond—we ensure every student receives accurate, up-to-date information and develops a holistic understanding.
We also know from educational research that students internalize information when it’s connected to their lived experience and discussed using real-world examples. Our changing climate provides some of the clearest real-world examples for topics ranging from media bias to supply-and-demand curves, from chemical processes to CAD drawings, and everything in between.
Build skills and agency
Students want to make a difference. They see value in recycling, renewable energy, and advocacy—but they need more. They must develop the necessary skills to analyze problems, communicate solutions, and collaborate. Many are uncertain which solutions have the biggest impact and don’t have the schema needed to make reasonable judgements. By embedding climate learning throughout the curriculum, we equip students to become creative problem-solvers and leaders, no matter their interests or future careers.
Advance equity and justice
Climate change disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable populations. From subsistence farmers to communities facing air- and water-quality issues, equitable access to climate knowledge and tools is essential. Connecting climate learning to social justice and community challenges further engages students and encourages them to become active problem-solvers. Interdisciplinary climate education can bridge economic and racial divides and prepare all students to advocate for a fair, decarbonized future.
Reduce anxiety and support resilience
Schools can help students process climate anxiety in healthy ways. By integrating climate learning across disciplines, educators foster resilience and agency. Students see that climate change is a critical issue that touches all aspects of learning. In classrooms, the causes of climate change can be demystified, misconceptions addressed, and conversations can focus on solutions. Exposure to real-world innovations inspires optimism and gives students ideas about what they can do to be part of a solution now and in the future. These discussions also open up possibilities of career pathways for students who are facing increasing narratives about the increased cost and diminishing returns of a college education.
Prepare for the green economy
Climate literacy is as essential as digital literacy for tomorrow’s workforce. From renewable energy to sustainable agriculture, students need to see climate education as a pathway to innovative careers and civic leadership. Even those who don’t work directly in climate-related fields will be voters and citizens in a society shaped by the impacts of a warming planet.
What does effective classroom climate education look like?
Truly effective climate education is not confined to a single subject or set of standards. It is:
- Interdisciplinary: Climate change is addressed in science, social studies, language arts, mathematics, and more—helping students see its relevance across all areas of life. This reinforces the idea that complex problems require complex solutions.
- Real-world focused: Classroom lessons connect to local and global issues, empowering students to take action in their communities and beyond.
- Supportive of educators: Teachers receive resources, training, and support to address climate anxiety and foster agency in their students. They provide credible resources and tools needed to effectively and accurately support student learning.
- Critical-thinking driven: Students learn to evaluate information, analyze solutions, and communicate effectively about climate challenges.
The cost of inaction
Ignoring the need for comprehensive, classroom-based climate education leaves students unprepared for the realities ahead. It risks their mental health, limits opportunity, and abdicates our responsibility as educators and adults. We risk failing to equip the next generation with the skills and knowledge to tackle this crisis.
Moving forward: A classroom-centered call to action
We need leadership—not just at the policy level, but in every classroom, every school, and every community. This means:
- Empowering teachers: Supporting educators with the tools, resources, and professional development to confidently teach about climate change in any subject.
- Fostering collaboration: Encouraging collaboration among teachers, students, families, and community organizations to make climate education relevant and actionable.
- Highlighting success stories: Sharing examples of schools and teachers who are already integrating climate education across the curriculum, inspiring others to follow.
- Policy alone is not enough. We need a cultural shift: Climate literacy must become as fundamental as reading, writing, and math.
Empowering the next generation
The climate crisis is the challenge of our time—and an unprecedented opportunity to rethink what and how we teach. Young people are worried, but they’re also ready to lead. Let’s give them the tools, knowledge, and hope they need by making climate education a vibrant part of every classroom, every day. Let’s ensure every student in every community is prepared to meet this moment—not by waiting for new standards or legislation, but by acting now, together, in the classrooms, where learning happens.
About the author: Angelina Meadows Comb serves as Director of OER Project, where she leads the development of innovative K-12 social studies curriculum and educator resources. Her leadership advances collaboration and empowers educators to strengthen teaching and learning nationwide.