Take Action for Climate Justice: A Guide for Teachers and Educators Working With Young People Aged 9-16

Aimed at teachers and educators, this short guide contains practical advice, classroom activities and helpful planning tools to inspire and motivate young people aged 9-16 to take action for our planet and its people.

There are many ways in which we can all take climate action, from making individual lifestyle changes to participating in collective community responses that target the systemic causes of the climate emergency, and all are important. Taking action can develop young people’s sense of agency, build skills such as leadership and decision-making, and help them to build empathy and manage eco-anxiety. This guide supports young people to take action by sharing the message about climate justice, raising awareness and influencing others to help make change happen.

A recent survey by Inter Climate Network found that more than 80 per cent of young people aged 11–18 were concerned about climate change, with half of them already choosing to take climate action. Almost all of those taking action are doing so at home, with only a third acting on climate change in school. Another key finding was that many young people do not feel they have the power to effect change, citing barriers such as a lack of knowledge about what they can do, insufficient time provided in school for positive climate action, and a sense that individual actions have little impact without wider structural change.