G LO B A L E D U C AT I O N M O N I TO R I N G R E P O R T 2 0 1 6 SUMMARY Education and sustainable development: how they are linked and why these links are important Planet: environmental sustainability I ndividual and collective human actions have put immense strain on the planet and the life forms it supports. Since humanity is clearly contributing to environmental degradation, rapid biodiversity loss and climate change, its actions must also provide the solutions to these challenges. Education can play a major part in the required transformation into more environmentally sustainable societies, in concert with initiatives from government, civil society and the private sector. Education shapes values and perspectives. It also contributes to the development of skills, concepts and tools that can be used to reduce or stop unsustainable practices. Education’s multifaceted role in sustainability is not always positive. It can contribute to unsustainable practices, including overconsumption of resources, and exacerbate the loss of relatively sustainable indigenous knowledge and ways of living. Education may need to be shaped and transformed to ensure its impact is positive. HUMAN BEHAVIOUR HAS LED TO AN ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS Three of the most common understandings of how human behaviour leads to environmental degradation involve demography, modern lifestyles and individual behaviour. The demographic explanation is that there are simply too many people on the planet: the global population tripled between 1950 and 2015, and is expected to grow by another billion to 8.5 billion by 2030. The modern lifestyles concept focuses on higher per capita resource consumption by people in urban areas and wealthier countries. Countries where living standards have rapidly increased have seen a near doubling of their ecological footprint in the past two decades. In 2012, most high income countries had an unsustainable ecological footprint. The individual behaviour explanation sees individuals as both the source of environmental problems and their potential solution through, for example, policies that encourage recycling, bicycle use and fuel-efficient cars. LEARNING IS ESSENTIAL TO OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES Education has a key role to play in addressing environmental challenges. Education, especially of girls and women, is the most effective means of curtailing population growth, increasing women’s autonomy over fertility-related decisions and the timing of pregnancies. Education can improve livelihoods by increasing earnings, and skilled people are essential to the transformation of economies and food systems. Education can influence individual and collective environmental behaviour through contemporary, traditional and lifelong approaches to learning. Analysis of 78 national curricula show that 55% use the term ‘ecology’ and 47% ‘environmental education’ CONTEMPORARY APPROACH: LEARNING THROUGH SCHOOLING Schools help students understand a given environmental problem, its consequences and the types of action required to address it. Knowledge about the environment is increasingly incorporated into formal school curricula. Analysis of 78 national curricula shows that 55% use the term ‘ecology’ and 47% ‘environmental education’. 11