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Critical climate education is crucial for fast and just transformations

If rapid and just transformations to low-carbon societies are to take place, citizens need to obtain the necessary knowledge and skills to critically examine and choose adequate climate policy options. An emphasis on critical climate education research and implementation is therefore required.

Climate mitigation is evolving too slowly compared with the pledges and ambitions to limit global warming to “well below 2.0 °C”1. A range of climate mitigation strategies have been implemented or are being planned, but they vary substantially in terms of their mitigation potential and distribution of burdens.

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Fig. 1: Master’s students exploring critical climate education in group work on the electrification of cars as a climate measure.

Solfrid Hartberg, OsloMet

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Acknowledgements

H.S. received funding from NORHED 2, Norad, 2021-2026, CENSU – Climate Change Energy Sustainability; A.J. received funding from Ramón y Cajal, project no. RYC2021-034096-I; G.P.P. received funding from the European Union’s HORIZON EUROPE Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 101056306 (IAM COMPACT); T.A.B. received funding from the NMBU Sustainability Arenas 2021–2024 (grant no. 1850092016AA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Development Studies, LUI-IST, Faculty of Education and International Studies, Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), Oslo, Norway

    Hanne Svarstad & Tom G. Griffiths

  2. University of Girona, Girona, Spain

    Alfredo Jornet

  3. CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Oslo, Norway

    Glen P. Peters

  4. Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Faculty of Landscape and Society, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway

    Tor A. Benjaminsen

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  1. Hanne Svarstad
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  2. Alfredo Jornet
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  3. Glen P. Peters
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  4. Tom G. Griffiths
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  5. Tor A. Benjaminsen
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Correspondence to
Hanne Svarstad.

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Svarstad, H., Jornet, A., Peters, G.P. et al. Critical climate education is crucial for fast and just transformations.
Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 1274–1275 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01875-2

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  • Published: 04 December 2023

  • Issue Date: December 2023

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01875-2

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