The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Save the Children have launched an unprecedented initiative to strengthen the resilience of education systems in the face of climate change. Scaling up in Cambodia, South Sudan and Tonga, this new Education and Climate Resilience project aims to protect learning for millions of children affected by climate-related disasters.
Climate change is now one of the greatest threats to every child’s right to a quality, safe education. Nearly one billion girls and boys – roughly half the world’s children – live in countries at extremely high risk for the harmful effects of climate change. Every year, climate disasters interrupt learning for about 40 million children, a figure likely to rise as the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events increase. Altogether, climate change is likely to displace more than 143 million people by 2050, disrupting the education and psychological wellbeing of millions of children.
To tackle this crisis, the world’s two largest funds for climate change and education have joined forces with Save the Children and partner governments on a ground-breaking initiative: Building the Climate Resilience of Children and Communities through the Education Sector (BRACE). This first major investment of climate finance in the education sector will help tens of millions of children continue to learn safely by supporting vulnerable countries to:
- construct and retrofit green, climate-resilient schools;
- integrate climate change education into national school curricula; and
- strengthen early warning systems so that schools and communities can prepare for disasters before they strike and ensure educational continuity in the face of climate extremes
“Our partnership testifies to the urgency of protecting children and their education from the impacts of extreme weather,” says Laura Frigenti, GPE Chief Executive Officer.
“To address this daunting challenge, we all need to come together to protect the most vulnerable children and give them the education they need so they can reinforce our fight against climate change.”
Starting in Cambodia, South Sudan and Tonga, the project will support these countries to scale up efforts to build the climate resilience of schools aligned with the international Comprehensive School Safety Framework. It will also strengthen national systems to deliver risk-based climate education at scale.
“The BRACE project is a groundbreaking systemic step integration of climate resilience within education systems,” says Henry Gonzalez, GCF Chief Investment Officer.
“We are happy to see the project will bridge the gap between climate action and education, ensuring that children in Cambodia, South Sudan, and Tonga understand climate risk and risk-based decision making. Education is the foundation of resilience.”
“With projects like BRACE, we are building a world where no child’s future is washed away by the storms of today. We also acknowledge partnership with the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) amplifies this impact, creating a scalable model for vulnerable nations worldwide.”
Informed by lessons from the initial scale up countries, BRACE will expand its investment pool of climate resilient education system projects, creating further opportunities for the GCF, GPE and other donors - including the private sector – to provide additional financing for greener and more climate-resilient education systems.
“Children are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, while being the least responsible for its causes,” says Mat Tinkler, Save the Children Australia Chief Executive Officer.
“This ground-breaking initiative embeds climate action directly into education systems in countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis – improving the lives of millions of children.”
“By strengthening the foundations of their education now, we can help children not only survive but thrive – and lead the charge toward a better, more resilient future.”
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT: Mala Darmadi on 0425 562 113 or media.team@savethechildren.org.au.
Notes to Editors:
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
- The Green Climate Fund is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund. GCF’s mandate is to foster a paradigm shift towards low emission, climate-resilient development pathways in developing countries. GCF has a portfolio of 314 projects with a value of $13.8 billion USD (over $51 billion USD including co-financing) delivering transformative climate action in more than 133 countries. It also has a readiness support program that builds capacity and helps countries develop long-term plans to fight climate change. GCF is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and serves the 2015 Paris Agreement, supporting the goal of keeping average global temperature rise well below 2°C.
- The Global Partnership for Education is a shared commitment to ending the world’s learning crisis. GPE mobilizes partners and funds to support nearly 90 lower-income countries to transform their education systems so that every girl and boy can get the quality education they need to unlock their full potential and contribute to building a better world.
- As the world’s leading child rights organisation, Save the Children works in 116 countries, tackling climate across everything we do. Through broad collaboration and robust investment, we are rapidly responding to climate related crises and helping build resilience across the world. We support farming families to grow food sustainably and for the long-term, even in the face of our climate crisis, and we provide cash grants, so families can buy food and other essentials. This helps them build basic safety nets, so they don’t have to take desperate measures like pulling children out of school or forcing their daughters into marriage. We also future-proof communities by providing tools to help them become more resilient to future climate emergencies such as cyclones, floods, droughts and heatwaves.