Opinion: climate resilience begins in education – but COP30 missed the mark

Global climate finance has expanded rapidly over the past decade, with countries agreeing at COP30 to triple global adaptation finance. Yet one critical sector remains largely overlooked: education. Less than 1.5% of all climate finance reaches schools, despite the fact that education equips societies to adapt to, mitigate against, and recover from climate change. 

Schools are more than buildings. They are hubs where climate awareness is shaped, green skills are developed, and child protection systems operate. In many communities, they double as evacuation centres and emergency shelters. Yet they continue to be treated as a peripheral concern in climate policy. 

Since 2022, more than 400 million young people have lost at least 28 days of learning due to climate-related disasters. Still, climate finance overwhelmingly favours large, visible infrastructure projects, while education is dismissed as a long-term “soft” investment — sidelined despite its clear resilience, equity, and development benefits. 

Education’s Absence at COP30 

This marginalisation was on full display at COP30 in Belém. Education was almost entirely absent from official negotiations. There was no dedicated agenda item for Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE), the UNFCCC framework that covers climate education, training, and public participation. 

While a handful of side events highlighted youth leadership, negotiators failed to deliver concrete commitments or funding. Education received just a single passing reference in the Just Transition Work Programme. Beyond that token acknowledgement, it remained peripheral. 

This represents a retreat from recent progress. At COP28 in Dubai, parties endorsed the Global Greening Education Initiative, calling for investment in climate-smart schools, resilient infrastructure, and teacher training. COP29 also featured education-focused discussions. COP30, by contrast, revealed a persistent gap between ambition and action. Despite repeated commitments to ACE under the Rio Conventions, education is still treated as an afterthought. 

Nepal Shows What’s Possible — and What’s Missing 

Nepal illustrates both the promise and the limits of current approaches. In recent years, the country has begun placing education at the centre of its climate agenda. Its latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) includes education-related climate targets for the first time. These include ensuring that 30% of new school buildings meet energy-efficiency standards by 2030, rising to 70% by 2035, and integrating green skills across all levels of education and training. 

Nepal has also embedded disaster risk reduction in its School Education Sector Plan and Comprehensive School Safety Master Plan, recognising that uninterrupted learning is itself a form of climate resilience. 

Yet major gaps remain. Climate budget frameworks rarely classify education initiatives as climate actions. Climate finance continues to flow primarily to energy, water, and agriculture, leaving schools outside national investment priorities. Although education appears in Nepal’s NDC, it is not identified as a priority sector in the country’s programme submissions to the UNFCCC – limiting its ability to access funding from mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund. 

These challenges are not unique to Nepal. Ministries of education are often excluded from climate planning, climate budgeting tools fail to capture education investments, and funders prioritise short-term infrastructure over systemic change. Education is still widely seen as a support activity rather than a core climate solution. 

From Rhetoric to Action 

Closing this gap requires a shift in priorities. Education must be embedded explicitly in national climate commitments – from NDCs and National Adaptation Plans to development strategies – with clear targets and dedicated budgets for climate-resilient schools, climate literacy, and green skills. 

Stronger coordination is also essential. Ministries of education must have a seat at the climate governance table, ensuring that education is integrated into national strategies rather than siloed. 

Equally important is building the education sector’s capacity to access climate finance. Ministries and local authorities need the skills to design bankable projects – from green school retrofits to disaster preparedness systems – that meet funders’ requirements. 

Finally, Action for Climate Empowerment must be elevated within global negotiations. A formal COP agenda item on ACE, backed by resources and accountability, is essential if education is to move from the margins to the centre of climate action. 

Nepal’s experience shows that aligning education with climate resilience is possible. But without stronger institutional integration and finance, education will remain a footnote rather than a foundation. The world must stop treating schools solely as victims of climate change. Education is a cornerstone of resilience, innovation, and long-term adaptation.