CRI supports the initiative of many school leaders, teachers and researchers to train all students in climate and ecological issues.
“The stakes raised by climate change and the depletion of resources and biodiversity have never been higher, and the role played by human civilization is no longer open to debate. Our economy's dependence on fossil fuels and a range of exhaustible resources puts us at risk of serious shortages. A profound and rapid change in the way our societies live, consume and produce is essential.
Today's young people are eager to play their part in the energy and ecological transition, but they will be unable to do so if their training does not equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills. Future political decision-makers, future business leaders, future elected representatives, future voters, future parents, future civil servants, future teachers... they all need to be made aware, informed and trained.
In a context where «fake news» is commonplace and the scientific rigor of the information circulating on social networks is often questionable, we have a responsibility to provide our students with the knowledge base they need to develop a critical mind.
The recent massive and unprecedented student mobilization calls for a profound academic response. Their concern is immense, and legitimate. Meeting France's climate commitments and coping with the galloping depletion of resources requires training the entire next generation: taking up this challenge calls for new skills, across all sectors, fields of knowledge and professions. Energy is everywhere, and we only have one planet, so moving away from fossil fuels at every level of our society concerns and must involve everyone in building a low-carbon, sober, circular and resilient economy.
More than any other issue, climate change is the world's most pressing concern, yet the teaching of climate and energy issues in French higher education is still far from adequate - less than a quarter of courses address the subject, according to a Shift Project study of 34 higher education establishments. Only a fraction address the subject systematically.
No student, whatever their age, should be able to complete a course of higher education without having understood the causes and consequences of climate change, and having worked at their own level to identify possible solutions. Respecting the autonomy of institutions does not absolve the State from assuming its responsibility and supporting this effort by providing a favorable framework. For universities and schools, it is urgent to take note of the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
As teachers and school leaders, we are committed to taking action at our own level to meet the challenge of climate change and resource depletion, in our lecture halls and in our schools. It's up to us to provide our students with the knowledge and understanding they need to face up to these challenges. Many teachers and administrators who are concerned about these issues are now taking the lead, but find themselves up against administrative and disciplinary obstacles. Without impetus from the State, the scope of mobilization in higher education will remain limited, and dependent on the goodwill of isolated and often powerless players.
We are committed to taking action, and call on the French government, and in particular the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, to do the same: initiate a transition strategy for higher education that positions climate as the primary emergency, and allocate the necessary resources. It is imperative to rapidly transform the current momentum into a general mobilization of the entire higher education sector.
Putting training at the service of this social project also means giving young people the ability to project themselves into the future.
To support the initiative : https://bit.ly/2Jv1oZB
