1. Overview

Abstract

What global changes are expected to drive education in 2024 and for the next few years to come? This chapter provides an overview of key global megatrends (including short-term change and disruption and accelerated longer-term evolutions) influencing education systems in 2024, explaining some of the related implications for the transition towards greener and fairer societies. It will connect these trends to sustainability to explain why reinforcing it through education today is central for societies and economies.

In Brief

People around the world are already living with the effects of climate change, with global temperatures reaching record levels in 2023 and extreme weather events becoming the ‘new normal’ (WMO, 2023[1]). The imminent threat that irreversible climate tipping points will soon be crossed calls on individuals, societies and governments to accelerate efforts to reduce carbon emissions and strengthen their resilience to future climate shocks (OECD, 2022[2]; OECD, 2023[3]).

Education and training must prepare people for the social and economic transformations this implies while also responding to the external shocks and longer-term accelerated evolutions that will continue to intersect as they shape the global challenges in 2024 and beyond. There is no inherent trade-off between achieving environmental sustainability and addressing these megatrends. Coordinated efforts to strengthen resilience through education and training policy can help policy makers address the different trends affecting the way we live, work and learn as a mutually reinforcing endeavour.

In the OECD National Survey for Comparative Policy Analysis 2023: Empowering All Learners to go Green (EPO Survey 2023), 36 education ministries reported on the extent to which they consider nine global megatrends (including accelerated longer-term evolutions and external shocks) as a priority for education and training policy in 2024 and for the next 5-15 years, as well as the extent to which their education system was already responding proactively to them in 2023 (see Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1. Environmental sustainability is among the top three megatrends for education and training policy makers in 2024

Key messages emerge from the analysis of these international megatrends shaping education priorities for 2024 and beyond, for education policy makers to reflect and act upon:

Environmental sustainability is one of three top megatrends that policy makers see as influencing education and training policy, albeit still more for the future than the present. While 46% of participating education ministries reported that environmental sustainability (e.g. climate change and its impacts, transition to net zero and/or a low-carbon economy, sustainable production and consumption) was a priority of very high importance to the short-to-mid-term, only about one-third considered the same for 2024 (34%) or that they were already responding proactively to it to a great extent (38%) in 2023.

Digitalisation stands out as the most important priority for participating education systems, both for today and the future. Some 71% of participating education ministries identified digitalisation as a megatrend of very high importance for education and training policy in 2024, while 77% said it was of very high importance to the short-to-mid-term. The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 and other recent developments in generative artificial intelligence (AI) have drawn attention to the implications of AI for the labour market, but also for the delivery of education and training. This calls on policy makers to ensure that education equips learners with AI-related skills, while being mindful of the environmental impact of these technologies.

Economic recovery was the most important priority related to external shocks for education policy makers. Some 14% of participating education ministries reported that economic recovery from recent shocks (e.g. financial crises, labour market instability, inflation and cost-of-living pressures) was a megatrend of very high importance for 2024 compared to 6% who said the same for disaster management and risk reduction. Despite continuing economic challenges due to inflation and increased debt burdens, governments must persist with targeted investments in education and training to address skills gaps and boost productivity.

Policy makers are currently focused on making their education systems responsive to longer-term trends, but also need to make them resilient to future shocks. The education ministries that participated in the EPO Survey 2023 gave greater importance to longer-term evolutions such as digitalisation than external shocks such as pandemics and natural disasters. However, as much as promoting responsiveness (about the important), building resilience (about the urgent) to future shocks, including those exacerbated by climate change, remains vital for education systems’ sustainability.

In the same way, education has a crucial role to play in empowering people of all ages and backgrounds for the green transition. The green transition is, above all, an opportunity for economies and societies to rethink and reshape the way they function, so actions taken create a virtuous cycle that brings greater value for the global society over the long-term. However, the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and opportunities people need to shape the green economy and take environmental action today are currently unevenly distributed between population groups, with the most vulnerable often the least empowered to play an active role. If education systems fail to redress this balance, the green transition risks exacerbating existing inequalities in labour market outcomes, and social and democratic participation. Conversely, measures to empower the most vulnerable learners and workers to shape the green transition support the broader aim of building more equitable societies.

Introduction

Populations around the world are already living with the effects of climate change, with global temperatures reaching record levels in 2023 and extreme weather events becoming the ‘new normal’ (WMO, 2023[1]). The imminent threat that irreversible climate tipping points will soon be crossed calls on individuals, societies and governments to accelerate efforts to reduce carbon emissions and strengthen their resilience to future climate shocks (OECD, 2022[2]; OECD, 2023[3]). Education and training must prepare people for the social and economic transformations this implies while also responding to the external shocks (e.g. economic recovery from recent shocks; international conflict and security) and longer-term accelerated evolutions (e.g. digitalisation, demographic change) that will continue to intersect as they shape the global challenges in 2024 and beyond.

In 2022, governments across the world outlined the vital role that education and training will play in driving the transition towards greener and fairer societies. Through the Declaration on Building Equitable Societies Through Education, adopted on 8 December 2022, ministers and representatives of OECD and partner countries recognised ‘the unique potential of education starting from early childhood to enable social mobility, reduce inequalities, value diversity and build strong foundations for equitable, inclusive, sustainable democratic societies’. They also outlined their commitment ‘to helping learners build skills for a digital, green, inclusive and democratic world that balances the growth of individuals and the economic, social and environmental well-being of societies’. To achieve these goals, the 2022 Declaration calls on the OECD to support countries ‘to foster environmental sustainability through education’ and to ‘build a new vision for skills development that keeps pace with changes in societies and economies and supports the transition to net zero’ (OECD, 2022[5]). As such, this report explores how policy makers can ensure people of all ages and backgrounds acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes to thrive through and actively shape the transformations needed to adapt to climate change and achieve environmental sustainability.

Indeed, governments face a challenging global context in 2024, and the threat of future disruptions on the horizon means that policy makers must remain focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation while also responding to other short and longer-term priorities. The global economy has shown signs of recovery from shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but many households, businesses, and governments still face economic challenges due to high inflation, stagnant real wages, and increased debt burdens (OECD, 2023[6]; OECD, 2023[7]). While investment in the green economy has the potential to stimulate economic recovery, governments must take steps to ensure their climate policies do not exacerbate existing inequalities and undermine public support for the green agenda. At the same time, the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, and other recent developments in generative artificial intelligence have drawn attention to the implications of trends such as digitalisation for the labour market, but also for the delivery of education and training, and the transition towards greener and fairer societies (Bahroun et al., 2023[8]; OECD, 2023[7]). Coordinated efforts to strengthen resilience through education and training policy can help policy makers address the different trends affecting the way we live, work and learn as a mutually reinforcing endeavour.

This chapter provides an overview of the key global megatrends (including external shocks and disruptions, and disruption and longer-term accelerated evolutions) that will affect the world population in 2024 and in the short-to-mid-term. Drawing on data from the OECD National Survey for Comparative Policy Analysis 2023: Empowering All Learners to go Green (EPO Survey 2023) and international evidence, the chapter provides an outlook on the importance of these megatrends for participating education ministries for 2024 and the next 5-15 years, and how they connect to the overarching theme of environmental sustainability. Finally, the chapter will make the case for helping learners of all ages, stages and backgrounds to go green in 2024 as means to strengthen their responsiveness and resilience through education policy.

Accelerated trends and recent shocks shape global challenges in 2024 and beyond

What global megatrends matter for education in 2024 and the next few years, and how proactively do education systems consider they are addressing them? Education systems face shocks and disruptions and accelerated longer-term transformations that will influence their capacity to follow up on the goals established by the 2022 Declaration. Below is a comparative overview of how their priorities come together to help education systems address both what is urgent and what is important, including on the topic of the transition environmental sustainability.

Achieving environmental sustainability must be a priority today

In the Paris Agreement, signatory countries committed to keep the average global temperature rise this century well below 2°C and as close as possible to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The Paris Agreement has since become the foundation of global action on climate change and respecting it is crucial to avoid crossing potentially disastrous climate tipping points (OECD, 2022[2]; Paris Agreement, 2015[9]). The implementation of countries’ subsequent commitments has led to lower global greenhouse gas emissions than projected. However, it is not sufficient—it is estimated that at the current pace, the established climate targets will not meet the Paris goals (OECD, 2022[10]). In 2023, the Northern Hemisphere experienced the hottest month of July on record, with the average global temperature some 0.72°C warmer than the average for 1991-2020 and 1.5°C above the average for 1850-1900. This happened while temperatures around Antarctica and in many South American countries were also well-above average (WMO, 2023[11]; Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2023[12]).

Countries’ commitment to fostering environmental sustainability through education in the 2022 Declaration could therefore not be timelier. Education, training and research have a vital role to play firstly, by supplying the skills for a transition towards a ‘low-carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive’ (or ‘green’) economy and stimulating the scientific and technological innovations we need to mitigate and adapt to climate change (United Nations Environment Programme, n.d.[13]). Moreover, education can be the engine of the broader societal and behavioural changes required to ensure a resilient transition (OECD, 2023[3]). Climate policies require people to make sacrifices, pose risks to the livelihoods of those working in polluting industries, and often have a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable. The failure to meet current climate targets suggests that political will and skill need to be further strengthened, while deepening inequalities and the rise of ‘Anti-Net Zero’ populist movements threaten to further undermine public support for the green agenda (WEF, 2023[14]; Paterson, Wilshire and Tobin, 2023[15]).

Education therefore has a profoundly relevant social role, as it must promote the knowledge, skills, values and mindsets that help people from all backgrounds understand the stakes of the challenges we face and empower them to act. Targeted training measures can also offset some of the distributional impacts of climate policies by ensuring the most vulnerable individuals and communities can thrive through the transition.

Data from the EPO Survey 2023 suggest that policy makers recognise the crucial role of education in driving the necessary transformations for environmental sustainability (see Figure 1.2 and Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.2. Fostering environmental sustainability is a priority for education ministries compared to other global megatrends

Among these trends, environmental sustainability (e.g. climate change and its impacts, transition to net zero and/or a low-carbon economy, sustainable production and consumption) stands out as one of the three megatrends that education systems most often considered as of very high importance. However, responses from participating education ministries also suggest that education systems see environmental sustainability as a priority more for the future than for the present. While 46% of participating education systems reported that environmental sustainability was a priority of very high importance for the short-to-mid-term, only about one-third considered the same for 2024 (34%) or that they were already responding proactively to it to a great extent (38%) in 2023. The Flemish Community of Belgium, the French Community of Belgium, Colombia, Türkiye, and Scotland (United Kingdom) were exceptions to this trend, who considered to be proactively responding to environmental sustainability to a great extent in 2023 and that this was a megatrend of very high importance for 2024 and the short-to-mid-term.

Figure 1.3. Ensuring environmental sustainability is expected to become more important in the future, with room to do more

When asked about the implications of one of the megatrends, about one-quarter (27.8%) of participating education ministries mentioned environmental sustainability. France, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico and Spain, among others, emphasised the need to promote environmental awareness across the curriculum in school or higher education, and integrating environmental issues with social and economic topics. Comments from Austria, the Flemish Community of Belgium and Romania focused on the need to increase the supply of skills for the green economy and to promote technological innovation.

Adapting to climate change and ensuring environmental sustainability stands out as the most significant challenge facing humanity in the short and long-term. However, recent experiences underline the importance of staying focused on this challenge at the same time as responding to other priorities brought about by both longer-term accelerated evolutions (e.g. digitalisation, demographic change) and external shocks and disruptions (e.g. COVID-19 and other pandemics, international conflict such as the war in Ukraine) that have implications for 2024 and beyond (OECD, 2023[3]).

Importantly, governments must ensure that addressing the challenges and opportunities that these global megatrends might bring does not divert resources or attention from the climate crisis. This requires coordinated action to build resilience in individuals, communities and societies, with education and training playing a central role (WEF, 2023[14]).

Building environmental sustainability will require education and training policy to catch up with other accelerated longer-term evolutions

Accelerated longer-term evolutions are expected to continue shaping education and training in the coming years, including efforts of societies to move towards greener and fairer societies. In the EPO Survey 2023, accelerated longer-term trends included digitalisation; equality, inclusion and diversity; changing forms of democratic and civic engagement, and demographic change (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4. Among accelerated longer-term evolutions, digitalisation and equity will remain key

Managing digitalisation is the top priority for participating education systems, both for the shorter term and moving forward, with varied levels of preparedness

Comparing these trends, digitalisation stands out as a key priority for education systems in the short and medium-term, as well as the challenges they are already responding to. All participating education ministries identified digitalisation as a megatrend of either very high or high importance (77% and 23% respectively) for education and training policy in the mid-to-long-term (i.e. 5-15 years), and 97% said it was of very high or high importance (71% and 26%) for 2024. This emphasis may reflect efforts to build on the advances in digital education that emerged in many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, some 88% of participating education ministries indicated that they were already responding proactively to digitalisation to a moderate or high extent, indicating that this is an established priority.

In addition, the past year has seen significant advances in generative artificial intelligence, notably with the release of ChatGPT in November 2022. Recent OECD analysis has found that ChatGPT now outperforms average student performance in reading and science across OECD countries and, more importantly, is advancing at a pace compared to a predominantly stagnant student performance over the last two decades (OECD, 2023[16]). The accessibility of such tools, the increasing range of tasks they can perform and the unprecedented speed at which they are developing have drawn governments’ attention to the benefits and risks of AI technologies for economies and societies, but also for education itself.

Recent OECD evidence finds little negative employment effects due to generative AI to date but warns that the range of occupations at risk of automation may grow as AI increasingly performs more of the non-routine, cognitive tasks associated with highly paid jobs that currently require a post-secondary education (OECD, 2023[7]). Accounting for generative AI, one study finds that the occupations at the highest risk of automation account for 27% of employment on average across the OECD countries in the sample (Lassébie and Quintini, 2022[17]). While advances in AI may increasingly place high-skill occupations at risk of automation, however, available evidence suggests that low and middle skilled remain the most at risk. As AI technologies advance exponentially and play an increasing role in different employment sectors, policy makers must also take steps to ensure that education and training pathways equip learners with the skills they need to interact with these technologies and to develop and maintain them.

However, the OECD has found that few national AI strategies in OECD countries include concrete actions to develop these skills and some 40% of employers surveyed by the OECD in 2022 identified a lack of skills as a key barrier to the adaption of AI technologies. The OECD recommends strengthening basic digital skills and AI literacy through secondary education while addressing more specialised AI skills in vocational and higher education and incentivising employers to provide training (OECD, 2023[7]). Furthermore, as AI continues to evolve as part of the digitalisation wave, societies will need to remain mindful of managing the environmental impact of these technologies (see Figure 1.5 and Box 1.1).

Figure 1.5. Automation and AI are expected to affect professions differently

Box 1.1. Generative AI: managing educational opportunities and environmental cost

As education policymakers respond to interconnecting global megatrends, an important question needs exploring in 2024: how can education take advantage of the innovation potential of generative AI while being socially and environmentally responsible?

What could generative AI mean for education and training?

A recent systematic review has found that generative AI could support students’ learning through providing simple explanations of complex concepts or modelling exemplar responses to learning tasks, facilitating students’ understanding. It could also support teaching through helping with lesson planning, providing personalised feedback and support or conducting rapid assessments. Finally, there is also scope to enhance teacher training: GPTeach uses ChatGPT to simulate student responses to learning prompts allowing trainee teachers to practice teaching outside the typical practicum (Bahroun et al., 2023[8])

Nevertheless, education must also consider potential negative implications of generative AI, including the challenge to traditional evaluation, assessment and qualification systems, the threat to academic integrity and the shift in skills requirements for today’s learners. Moreover, wider concerns regarding privacy and data governance, algorithmic bias and protection of democratic rights and values take on particular meaning in education, especially with regards to non-adult learners.

What is the environmental cost of generative AI?

Beyond the implications for education itself, generative AI comes with a considerable, and thus far somewhat hidden, environmental cost. Recent research reveals the potential scale of generative AI’s environmental impact. Generative AI has a considerable carbon footprint.

Energy demand is particularly intensive in the initial training phase; researchers have estimated that developing a technology like Chat GPT-4 or Google PaLM could generate the same amount of CO2 as the average adult would over 60 years. Yet, emissions from training a generative AI model may account for just 10% of its total emissions as ongoing inference processing has a further energy cost. The production of hardware and cloud data centre capabilities also contributes to the total carbon footprint (Kumar and Davenport, 2023[18]). Finally, cooling requirements mean generative AI also consume enormous amounts of water: recent research estimates a single conversation with ChatGPT requires the equivalent of half a litre of water (Li et al., 2023[19]).

The opportunities that artificial intelligence offers education and broader society can be undoubtfully revolutionary. Moving forward, governments will need to assess how to make good and responsible use of it, including in terms of carbon footprint.

Source : Bahroun, Z. et al. (2023[8]), “Transforming Education: A Comprehensive Review of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Educational Settings through Bibliometric and Content Analysis”, Sustainability, Vol. 15/17, p. 12983, https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712983; Bender, E. et al. (2021[20]), “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots”, Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency, https://doi.org/10.1145/3442188.3445922; Kumar, A. and T. Davenport (2023[18]), How to make generative AI cleaner, https://hbr.org/2023/07/how-to-make-generative-ai-greener; Li, P. et al. (2023[19]), Making AI Less “Thirsty”: Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models, Cornell University, https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03271.

Strengthening equity, inclusion and diversity remains a top priority as well for education systems, particularly for the shorter term

In the EPO Survey 2023, virtually all participating education ministries identified equality, inclusion and diversity (including social recovery from recent shocks) as of very high or high importance for 2024 and for the mid-to-long-term. Some 91% of participating education ministries said they were already responding proactively to this challenge in 2023, suggesting that this may be a more established priority than digitalisation. Compared to digitalisation, however, a smaller proportion of participating education systems identified equality, inclusion, and diversity as a megatrend of very high importance for 2024 (60%) and for the next 5-15 years (46%). This may suggest that although equality, inclusion and diversity may be a more established priority for education systems, many see digitalisation as a more significant priority for the years to come. Recent geopolitical shocks and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to a cost-of-living crisis that has weighed heavily on low-income households. This seems to justify policy makers’ continued concern for promoting equity in education. Recent rises in inflation mean that despite an increase in nominal hourly wages between the first quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, real wages fell by 3.8% on average across the 34 OECD countries with available data and stood at 2.2% below their pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2022 (OECD, 2023[7]). Since lower income households tend to spend a higher proportion of their income on food an energy, they have been disproportionately affected by the recent squeeze on purchasing power (OECD, 2023[7]).

With the prospect of inflation continuing into 2024 and beyond, and households beginning to experience the impact of interest rate rises implemented since early 2022, the risk that recent shocks will exacerbate existing equalities persists (OECD, 2023[6]; WEF, 2023[14]; ILO, 2023[21]). Although investment in education can help to reduce inequality, many governments will be facing increasing debt burdens as interest rates continue to rise, making it all the more important to target resources towards the learners who will benefit the most (OECD, 2022[22]; OECD, 2023[6]).

Demographic change is expected to significantly gain relevance over the mid-term

Although to a lesser extent, demographic change (e.g. ageing societies, declining birth rates, migration patterns) remains an important priority for some education systems. Some 60% of participating education ministries indicated it as a megatrend of very high or high importance for 2024, and a larger proportion (83%) considered this for the short-to-mid-term. Some 62% said they were proactively responding to demographic change to at least a moderate extent in 2023. Implications identified by education ministries for their education system include the impact of a declining school-aged population on staffing requirements, an ageing teacher workforce, or the need to attract new entrants to the profession. Other implications identified refer to the arrival of refugees from Ukraine since 2022, which has made the schooling of refugee children a key priority for some education systems.

Certainly, the continued risk of large-scale involuntary migration related to conflict and climate change means that many countries will face the challenge of integrating newly arrived populations into their education systems while also responding to ongoing demographic changes (WEF, 2023[14]). As of August 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had recorded some 6.2 million refugees from Ukraine globally, with some 5.8 million recorded in European countries (UNHCR, 2023[23]). Across OECD countries, the number of new asylum applications remained below pre-COVID levels in 2021, but above any figure before 2015 (OECD, 2022[24]). Recent reports by the World Economic Forum and the European Parliament point to the risk of increased involuntary migration in the short- and medium-term, with geopolitical tensions, resource scarcity, and climate change as key drivers (WEF, 2023[14]; European Parliamentary Research Service, 2023[25]).

This underlines the importance of ensuring that education and training systems can provide migrants and refugees of different ages and backgrounds with learning opportunities that meet their needs. This includes as well ensuring adequate resources and equipping teaching staff with the skills they need to teach in diverse classrooms. While future migration flows are likely to affect countries differently, addressing the fiscal pressures associated with an ageing population and falling birth rates remains a challenge across the OECD. On average across OECD countries, the share of the population aged 65 and above increased from 9% in 1960 to 17.6% in 2021 and is projected to reach 20.65 by 2030 (OECD, 2023[26]; OECD, 2021[27]). As many workers will remain in the labour market for longer than previous generations, education needs to help them to learn, unlearn and relearn throughout their lives (OECD, 2022[28]) .

Changing forms of democratic and civic engagement is seen as important moving forward, but with less current policy action

In a similar vein, while most participating education ministries indicated that changing forms of democratic and civic engagement (e.g. political or social polarisation, declining trust, populism, mis- and disinformation or digital activism) were an important concern for the future, fewer considered to be already actively responding to this trend. Some 77% identified this as a megatrend of very high or high importance (20% and 57% respectively) for the short-to-mid-term, while fewer (63%) said this was a trend of very high or high importance (14% and 49% respectively) for 2024. Moreover, only 59% said they were proactively responding to this trend to a great (29%) or moderate (29%) extent in 2023. As was the case for demographic change, changing forms of democratic and civic engagement appears as an important priority on the horizon for many education systems, but one that is not currently driving reform in all cases.

Yet, this is a topic that greatly matters today, particularly among those facing economic distress and youth. Data from the 2021 OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions underscore the relationship between economic vulnerability and people’s trust in government. On average across the countries surveyed, only 34.6% of respondents who reported financial concerns indicated that they trusted their government, compared to 51.2% of those with fewer financial worries. Younger people were also less likely to trust their government; some 36.9% of 18-29 year-olds on average reported that they trusted their government compared to 45.9% of people over 50. At the same time, some 53.4% of those who were confident in their own ability to participate in politics had trust in their national government, compared to 31.5% of those with low confidence in their ability to participate (OECD, 2022[29]). Going forward to 2024, a continued cost-of-living crisis risks further fuelling mistrust and polarisation.

Education can play a key role in strengthening citizenship, by showing learners how they can affect decision making within their institutions and communities as well as at the national level. The evolving climate crisis shines light on the ways in which people of all ages are engaging in politics, both through established institutions and through emerging mechanisms (see Box 1.2).

Box 1.2. The climate crisis and civic or political engagement

As the urgency of the climate change crisis increases, civic or political engagement channels emerge that include institutional structures for participation in environmental matters, environmental litigation, environmental activism, but also “climate backlash”. Understanding their motivations, mechanisms, needs, and outcomes is important for policy makers. This can enable a more efficient and better-informed collaboration towards advancing the transition towards greener and fairer societies.

Institutional structures for participation in environmental matters have emerged internationally and nationally for young people over the last decade. Since 2011, YOUNGO has provided representation for young people (up to 35 years) and youth organisations as an official constituency of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In Germany, YoupaN (2017), the national youth panel supporting the implementation of the National Action Plan Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, represents youth on each of the six national ESD platforms and provides financial support to selected youth-led projects.
At the same time, environmental litigation efforts are increasing internationally and often have an important youth presence. By 2023, over 30 cases had been brought by and on behalf of people younger than 25, internationally. Cases typically focus on the specific vulnerability of young people to climate harm and insufficient efforts by those in power to implement mitigation and adaptation measures. Recent analysis of climate litigation globally finds that around 55% of cases have had a favourable interim or final decision (Setzer and Higham, 2023[30]).
The last five years have also seen a surge in environmental activism across the world. This includes youth-led initiatives. For example, by 2023, the #FridaysForFuture movement (2018), inspired by Greta Thunberg’s protests in Sweden, has mobilised young climate strikers in over 200 countries. The movement calls for global adherence to the Paris Agreement and for global warming to be kept under 1.5°C. Extinction Rebellion, which includes an autonomous youth wing for activists under 30, has also grown internationally in this time. These movements rely on digital tools and social media to organise and use new forms of digital activism.
Finally, there is a so-called climate backlash fuelling (and fuelled by) new forms of political engagement. For example, in 2018-19, France’s Yellow Vest movement saw sustained nationwide and often violent protest in opposition to a planned carbon tax initiative. Research indicates that social media was crucial in the emergence and maintenance for the movement, allowing activists to coordinate but also to exchange information, and to shape the identity of the cause (Morselli et al., 2023[31]). In some countries, climate backlash and populist politics are increasingly entwined as, to varying degrees, populist movements promote ideas of climate scepticism and climate conservatism. As an increasingly adversarial tone emerges around climate change in some countries, disinformation abounds (Lewandowsky, 2021[32]).

Source: Lewandowsky, S. (2021[32]), “Climate Change Disinformation and How to Combat It”, Annual Review of Public Health, Vol. 42/1, pp. 1-21, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090419-102409; Morselli, D. et al. (2023[31]), Digital Traces of Collective Identities: The Case of the Yellow Vests in South-East France, https://files.osf.io/v1/resources/uams7/providers/osfstorage/62a6f7abf79aac128a5a1009?action=download&direct&version=1 (accessed on 14 August 2023); Setzer, J. and C. Higham (2023[30]), Global trends in climate litigation: 2023 snapshot, https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Global_trends_in_climate_change_litigation_2023_snapshot.pdf (accessed on 14 August 2023.

But recent shocks will continue to pose a challenge for societies in 2024 and beyond

Of the recent shocks identified by the EPO Survey 2023, economic recovery from recent shocks (e.g. financial crises, labour market instability, inflation and cost-of-living pressures) and global health (e.g. global pandemics, well-being agenda) emerge as key priorities for participating education ministries and are therefore likely to continue driving policy reform for them, along with other megatrends (see Figure 1.6).

Figure 1.6. Among shock-related megatrends, economic recovery and global health will remain key

Economic recovery remains modest and fragile, and skills shortages and lower productivity and population ageing may slow it further down

Participating education systems placed significant importance on economic recovery from recent shocks, with 69% reporting it of very high or high importance for 2024 (14% and 54% respectively) and a slightly larger share (71%) indicating it was of very high or high importance (20% and 51% respectively) for the short-to-mid-term (i.e. 5-15 years). Yet, fewer (65%) reported that they were proactively responding to this challenge to a great or moderate extent (24% and 41% respectively) in 2023. This may reflect the relatively more favourable economic conditions the world has seen in 2023, with a slight fall in energy and food prices and the easing of supply bottlenecks (OECD, 2023[6]).

While the global economy is showing signs of a recovery from recent shocks, this recovery remains modest and somewhat fragile, with implications for learners and education systems. The OECD projects global GDP to increase by 2.7% in 2023 and by 2.9% in 2024, but these projections remain below pre-pandemic levels. With the tightening of monetary policy since 2022 beginning to bite, governments, businesses, and households across the world will be facing higher debt burdens in 2024 and the risk of continued inflation persists (OECD, 2023[6]; WEF, 2023[14]).

Labour markets also remain tight. On average across the 19 OECD countries with available data, the number of vacancies per unemployed person has decreased from its 2021 peak but was significantly higher than before the COVID-19 crisis (OECD, 2023[7]). Several countries and employment sectors risk facing shortages of qualified labour in the years to come (OECD, 2023[7]; ILO, 2023[21]). Although governments across the world will be facing constrained economic circumstances in 2024 and beyond, targeted investments in education and training will be needed to address longstanding challenges such as skills bottlenecks, sluggish productivity growth, and population ageing (see Figure 1.7).

Governments can optimise these investments by targeting priority sectors—such as those related to the green economy—and focusing re- and upskilling efforts on groups with low employment (e.g. young people, older workers, women, minorities, low-skilled workers) (OECD, 2023[6]; ILO, 2023[21]; OECD, 2022[28]).

Figure 1.7. Economic recovery risks facing some bottlenecks due to lower productivity and incentives, with increased disadvantage

Global health has been an area of extensive action that made the end of the pandemic possible but, moving forward, climate change will require it to adopt a new angle

Participating education ministries see the importance of global health as remaining stable in 2024 and the years to come, with 74% of participating education systems indicating that this was a megatrend of either very high or high importance for education and training policy in 2024 (9% and 66% respectively), and the same proportion reporting that it was of very high or high importance for the short-to-mid-term. Similarly, some 82% indicated that their education system was already proactively responding to global health to a great or moderate extent (26% and 56% respectively) in 2023. When asked to describe the implications of one of the megatrends for their education system, few education ministries cited priorities relating to global health, although several related the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to other trends such as digitalisation, equity, and early school leaving. Only 1 of the 36 participating education ministries referred to the potential impact of future pandemics on education, suggesting this may be a blind spot among policy makers.

Indeed, although 2023 saw the World Health Organization (WHO) declare that COVID-19 is no longer public health emergency of international concern, the organisation warns of its lasting effects on mental health and the increasing risk of future pandemics (WHO, 2023[33]). The European Union has also identified a decline in mental health among young people as one of 15 key risks facing member states in the coming years, citing COVID-19 alongside drivers such as the Ukraine conflict, a poor economic outlook and climate anxiety (European Parliamentary Research Service, 2023[25]). Approaching this challenge with an equity lens will also be important: alongside emerging research into climate anxiety, the literature also projects that climate change will aggravate existing mental health risk factors, disproportionately impacting the disadvantaged and the vulnerable (Gislason, Kennedy and Witham, 2021[34]).

Data from the 2021/22 round of the WHO’s Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey paint a somewhat mixed picture of the impact of COVID-19 on young people. While 30% of adolescents on average across the countries in the survey reported that the pandemic had a negative effect on their mental health and well-being, 32% reported a positive impact. However, this data masks differences between countries, regions and population groups. For example, girls reported higher levels of negative impacts compared to boys, and the same happened for 15-year-olds compared to 11-year-olds. The WHO recommends that countries continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic on mental health and well-being and use evidence to tailor support to the needs of different groups (WHO, 2023[33])

Countries can support young people’s resilience to future health crises by strengthening protective environments in education institutions, families and among peers (WHO, 2023[33]). In addition, to combat climate despair specifically, research highlights a need to generate a sense of hope among young people. This can be fostered through strengthening their sense of agency and understanding of ways to impact change and is also important in promoting pro-environmental behaviour (see Chapter 3) (Stevenson and Peterson, 2015[35]).

International conflict, security and development co-operation challenges will continue to require some education systems to urgently support populations from all ages and backgrounds

Aspects related to international conflict, security and development co-operation also emerge as important priorities for the future among education systems, even if fewer were proactively responding to this trend in 2023. Some 57% of participating education systems reported that this was a megatrend of very high or high importance (14% and 43% respectively) for 2024 and the same proportion said it was of very high or high importance (3% and 54% respectively) for the short-to-mid-term. However, only half (50%) said they were already proactively responding to international conflict, security and development co-operation to a great (12%) or moderate (38%) extent in 2023. This may reflect the fact that international conflict and security issues affect different countries in different ways.

Indeed, the education systems that reported that this was a trend of very high importance for 2024 and/or that they were responding to this trend to a great extent in 2023 (Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Romania, and Türkiye) are close to conflict zones such as Syria and Ukraine and had welcomed large numbers of refugees. The fact that most education systems see this as an important priority for the future points to their awareness of the risk of further conflict on the horizon, as well as the risk that ongoing conflicts pose to the global economy.

The OECD has warned that the aggravation or spread of the conflict could lead to another spike in food and energy prices and a subsequent increase in inflation (OECD, 2023[6]). The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023 projects that future interstate confrontation will be mostly economic in nature, but other sources point to the risks posed by continued geopolitical tension between the USA and China, with some predicting a slowing of trade between China and an increasing number of Western democracies in the period 2023–2027 (WEF, 2023[14]; Economist Intelligence Unit, 2023[36]; European Parliamentary Research Service, 2023[37]). These geopolitical risks have implications for the global economic outlook, and the prospect of military conflict leading to the displacement of peoples means that integrating refugees of different ages and backgrounds will remain a priority for education systems.

More recently, a war started in Israel and the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023. Beyond the immense human loss, implications of the conflict for the region and the global economy were still unclear at the moment of preparing this report. Early considerations refer to possible effects on the price of commodities, including energy prices, with a potential further increase in oil prices.

Disaster management and risk reduction appear of importance to fewer education systems, but climate change is likely to increase its relevance to others

Compared to the other recent shocks and longer-term accelerated evolutions identified by the OECD, disaster management and risk reduction received less attention as a priority for education and training. Only 37% of participating education systems reported that this was a megatrend of very high or high importance (6% and 31% respectively) for 2024, while the same share said it was of very high or high importance (6% and 31%) for the mid-to-long-term. Some 21% said they were proactively responding to this trend to a great extent in 2023, however, suggesting this is an urgent priority for a significant minority of education systems. As was the case for international conflict, security and development co-operation, these responses may reflect countries’ varying experiences of disasters in recent years and their sense of vulnerability to future events. Education systems that reported this were proactively responding to this trend in 2023 include Türkiye and Chile, who have recent experiences of devasting earthquakes.

However, in a context where climate change is contributing to more frequent extreme weather events across the globe, preparing for future disasters must remain an important priority for all education systems. In 2023, populations around the world once again faced heatwaves and heavy rainfall, with experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declaring that such extreme weather events are ‘the new normal’ (WMO, 2023[1]). WMO figures indicate that the number of disasters has increased by a factor of 5 over a period of 50 years; while 711 disasters were recorded in the period 1970-1979, some 3 536 were recorded in 2000-2009.

Reported economic losses due to weather, climate, and water extremes have also increased from USD 49 million on average per day during the decade 1970-1979 to USD 383 in 2010-2019 (WMO, 2021[38]). OECD foresight scenarios for the period 2030-2050 also envisage a world where most citizens will have experienced at least one severe weather event as the planet crosses multiple climate tipping points (OECD, Forthcoming[39]). Climate disasters threaten to disrupt education delivery in similar ways to the COVID-19 but pose additional risks to infrastructure such as educational buildings. This calls on policy makers to strengthen emergency planning and resilience at system-level and within institutions by ensuring that professionals can adapt to change and addressing vulnerabilities highlighted during the pandemic.

Making the case for helping learners of all ages, stages and backgrounds to go green in 2024

Policy makers must act now to empower individuals of all ages and backgrounds to shape a low-carbon, resource efficient economy and take informed action in their homes, communities, and as national and global citizens. There is no trade-off between addressing the biggest challenge facing people and the planet, and responding to other external shocks and long-term evolutions, especially since these will only become increasingly interdependent.

Transitions to greener and fairer societies can help address other ongoing challenges

In the 2022 Declaration, ministers and representatives of OECD countries recognised ‘the unique potential of education starting from early childhood to enable social mobility, reduce inequalities, [and] value diversity’. They also outlined their commitment ‘to empowering all learners, with a focus on the most vulnerable in our societies, to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to fulfil their potential and contribute to the economic and social well-being of their societies’. Promoting a transition towards greener and fairer societies can help education systems realise this potential. However, the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and opportunities people need to shape the green economy and take environmental action today are currently unevenly distributed between population groups, with the most vulnerable often the least empowered to play an active role.

In PISA 2018, the share of students displaying pro-environmental attitudes, which were a good predictor of environmental action, was 23 percentage points higher among socio-economically advantaged students than among disadvantaged students. These findings are especially concerning given that while disadvantaged students are at greater environmental risk than their advantaged counterparts, they are currently less well equipped to take action to mitigate these risks (OECD, 2022[40]).

OECD analysis also suggests that the share of green-task jobs (jobs involving at least 10% of tasks that support environmental goals) varies significantly between regions within countries. On average across OECD countries with available data, there is a 7 percentage point difference in the share of green-task jobs between the top and bottom regions, with capital regions often having the highest share (OECD, 2023[41]). Workers with higher levels of education seem to have benefitted most from green labour market opportunities while those with lower attainment are more likely to work in polluting jobs and are at greater risk of displacement as economies transition. Like those threatened by other trends such as automation, people working in polluting industries are also less likely to participate in education and training (OECD, 2023[41]; McGrath and Powell, 2016[42]; OECD/Cedefop, 2015[43]; Ranworth, Wykes and Bass, 2014[44]).

Furthermore, in many countries, the workforce in key sectors such as science and engineering does not reflect the diversity of the population. Groups such as girls and women, minorities, and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to pursue studies or careers in these fields (Goos et al., 2020[45]; LaForce et al., 2016[46]; Bowser and Cid, 2021[47]; Wolfe and Riggs, 2017[48]; Marginson et al., 2013[49]). In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, for example, only 14.3% of girls on average across OECD countries who had attained a high-level proficiency in mathematics or science (PISA proficiency Level 5 or 6) and a Level 2 of proficiency in all three core PISA subjects (reading, mathematics and science) reported that they expected to work as science or engineering professionals at the age of 30, compared to 26.3% of boys (OECD, 2019[50]).

If education systems fail to redress this balance, the green transition risks exacerbating existing inequalities in labour market outcomes, and social and democratic participation. Conversely, measures to empower all learners and workers across their lifecycles to shape the green transition support the broader aim of building greener and fairer societies.

Supporting environmental sustainability requires education systems to move beyond curriculum in 2024

Data from PISA 2018 point to a need to strengthen learners’ scientific knowledge of environmental issues and their related skills, notably their understanding of climate mitigation and adaptation measures. For example, although some 70% of 15-year-olds on average across the 26 countries with available data were able to correctly identify that reducing greenhouse gases is a long-term solution to climate change, some 40% misrecognised building sea defences such as dams and sea walls as a long-term response. Addressing short-term skills gaps and the long-term needs of the green economy will also require governments to introduce new courses and review existing content at all education levels.

In the same way, data from the EPO 2023 Survey also indicate that education systems recognise the need for further action in the area of curriculum. Some 71% of participating education ministries reported that adapting the curriculum/training offer to equip learners with key knowledge, skills and attitudes for the green economy and/or environmental awareness and environmental action was considered a priority for attention ‘to a great extent’ in the next five years (2024-2028). When asked to indicate which areas of the curriculum and training offer were key priorities, the largest share of participating education systems reported that improving/innovating science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education (e.g. increasing the focus on the interactions between ecological systems and social systems) (80%) and introducing/strengthening the teaching of sustainability issues as a cross-curricular subject (76%) were priorities ‘to a great extent’ for the next years (2024-2028).

International evidence suggests that most school curricula around the world include environmental and climate change education, and that higher education institutions are increasingly looking into environmental sustainability through specialised courses or cross-curricular themes (see Box 1.3). Comprehensive curriculum frameworks can promote the scientific and environmental knowledge and skills learners will need to act in their professional and personal lives, and in the public and political sphere. Ensuring that initial education curricula define the goals to empower learners to thrive in the green economy and nurture environmental action is a key step towards achieving environmental sustainability, but it is by no means the only step required.

A key message that emerges from the evidence on environmental knowledge and attitudes and areas such as STEM is that how learners learn may be more important than what they learn. This means that simply embedding more ‘green’ content or introducing new ‘green’ courses is not enough to ensure learning translates into action. In PISA 2018, the difference in the share of environmentally enthusiastic students who attended schools where the curriculum addressed climate change compared to those who did not (2.3 percentage points) was smaller than might be expected. Since climate education was almost universal among the schools in PISA, the variation in pro-environmental attitudes may be better explained by differences in the way curricula are implemented within and between countries. The literature points to a need to promote transformative teaching and learning experiences that equip learners with the competencies they need to face a complex an uncertain future (OECD, 2022[40]).

On this note, some 83% of participating education ministries reported in the EPO 2023 Survey that providing learners with practical experiences that help them apply and further develop key knowledge, skills and attributes for the green economy is considered a policy priority to a great or moderate extent (46% and 37%, respectively) for the period 2024-2028. The same share of education ministries reported that encouraging learners to translate environmental awareness into action today was a priority at least to a moderate extent, although a larger proportion (57%) indicated that this was a priority to a great extent.

While some 80% of education ministries participating in the survey indicated that elevating the importance of the education sector in governmental efforts to transition to greener and fairer societies is considered a policy priority to at least a moderate extent, fewer than half (43%) gave it the highest priority level. Taken together, these responses suggest that although policy makers recognise the important role that learners will play in the transition towards greener and fairer societies, they still need to give more consideration to the role of the education sector in driving the necessary transformations. Elevating the importance of the sector is critical to enable policy makers to effectively move from policy design to policy impact (see Figure 1.8).

Figure 1.8. Education systems tend to value learner-centred priorities and prioritise, with a focus on school-aged learners in the transition towards greener and fairer societies

In the same way, education systems need to go beyond a schools-based focus to provide greater support to individuals in post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary and adult education. Upskilling and re-skilling the adult population to address skills bottlenecks in sectors related to the green economy is essential in achieving environmental sustainability, but also fairer societies.

In the 2022 Declaration, education ministers from OECD member and partner countries called on governments to go beyond embedding environmental sustainability in the curriculum, and to strengthen student agency to act on environmental challenges adopting a lifelong learning perspective. This report supports policy makers in providing learners with the experiences that will help them achieve this.

Education thus has a crucial role to play in empowering people of all ages and backgrounds for the green transition in 2024

The 2022 Declaration recognises the “unique potential” of education to contribute to establishing the foundations of the social and economic transformations that countries and economies seek to achieve. In 2024, and in the context of the global megatrends that are most preoccupying education policy makers, this includes building greener and fairer societies, as well as thriving digital and sustainable economies. With its broad and comprehensive reach from the earliest age, the education sector is a key enabler for transformative change in this direction.

Across countries, as mentioned above, education systems have undertaken remarkable efforts in embedding green content in their curriculum frameworks. The aim of this report is therefore to support education systems to move beyond curriculum into making learning content impactful in the lives of people, their communities and at systemic level overall, for greener and fairer societies. For this reason, curriculum reforms as such are not part of the scope of analysis, but rather, the report focuses on related efforts to bring it to life.

Education systems need to seek to empower groups of all ages, including disadvantaged students, girls, migrants, refugees and indigenous learners to become agents of change in their own communities and beyond (see Chapter 2 – Translating learners’ environmental awareness into action). Furthermore, as part of the many ways in which education can contribute to these transformations, education and training systems have conducted assessments of how processes such as the decarbonisation of the economy will affect different population groups and used these to target initiatives at those at risk of being left behind. Other interventions combine active learning experiences with mentoring or careers activities to encourage people from underrepresented groups to key sectors, often starting with the youngest learners (see Chapter 3 – Providing all learners with experiences to help them shape the green economy). The benefits of these measures go beyond the immediate impact on the green economy. For example, creating a more diverse STEM workforce can help to eliminate cognitive biases in these fields and ensure that innovations meet the needs of different groups equally.

However, as well as supporting learners to have agency in their own experiences of the transition to greener and fairer societies and in those of their communities, the education sector itself must be empowered to deliver on its strategic importance for transformative change. Education actors need the political will and skill to collect powerful evidence, to support the right audiences to engage with that evidence, and to collaborate with them and others to action the evidence for strategic change (see Chapter 4 – Positioning education as a strategic sector for the transition to greener societies).

This report uses the terms ‘education for sustainable development’ and ‘transition towards greener and fairer societies’ to encompass efforts to equip learners of all ages and backgrounds with key knowledge, skills, and attitudes for the green economy and for individual and collective environmental action. Following the United Nations Environment Programme definition, the report understands the green economy as ‘one that is low in carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive’ (United Nations Environment Programme, n.d.[13]). Environmental action involves people exercising their agency to act for a better environment in the public or private sphere (OECD, 2022[51]). It often requires scientific knowledge and pro-environmental attitudes (OECD, 2022[40]) (see Box 1.3).

Box 1.3. Speaking a common language to build greener and fairer societies

National governments, international organisations, and education researchers have used a wide range of terms to describe efforts to promote greener and fairer societies through education. International organisations such as UNESCO and the OECD have used the term education for sustainable development, and data from the EPO Survey 2023 indicate that this is one of the most used terms among education systems (UNESCO, n.d.[52]). Some 74% of participating education systems indicated that they used ‘education for sustainable development’ to refer to ‘education policies that support the development of ‘green’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, and actions’. Education for sustainable development is generally understood to encompass broader social themes such as human rights and equity as well as those directly related to environmental sustainability (see Figure 1.9).

In the agenda for the Meeting of the OECD Education Policy Committee (EDPC) at Ministerial Level, education for sustainable development was defined as ‘learning and educational activities that aim to empower individuals to become the central agents fostering sustainable development along dimensions such as sustainable production and consumption, greener net-zero economy, social cohesion, inter- and intra-generational equity and human rights’. Other terms commonly used by education systems imply a more explicit focus on environmental issues. These include ‘environmental education’, reported by 69% of education ministries in the EPO Survey 2023, which refers to ‘green’ education policies discussed in this report, and ‘climate change education’, reported by 26% of participating education systems, and ‘education for climate action’, reported by 14% of them.

Figure 1.9. How education systems refer to education policies that support green objectives

Empowering learners to go green also means empowering them to be responsive and resilient

Current and future disruptions related to the climate crisis, and the need to ensure environmental sustainability in the long-term underline the importance of responsiveness and resilience in education. Resilience relates to the capacity to plan and prepare for, absorb, withstand recover from and adapt to disruptions such as the extreme weather events experienced by populations across the world in 2023. Responsiveness refers to the capacity of education systems to meet the needs of increasingly diverse populations of learners and to equip them with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a changing world.

Education needs to strengthen responsiveness and resilience at the learner, broader learning environment and system levels to support the urgently needed transition towards greener and fairer societies. Drawing on elements of the Framework for Responsiveness and Resilience in Education Policy (OECD, 2021[53]), this report shows how education and training can nurture learners' agency and capacity to impact their own lives and their communities, as well as how the education sector can strengthen its own role as a cross-sectoral player:

Resilient learners: Resilient learners can thrive through the social and economic transformations that this transition will bring, but also have the agency and capacity to shape these transformations. Policy makers can promote learner resilience by fostering learner agency and co-agency, encouraging learners’ engagement and voice, and strengthening targeted supports for the most vulnerable.
Resilient broader learning contexts: At broader learning environments level, the transition to greener and fairer societies will require teachers and other education staff to take on new roles, develop new skills, and to draw on resources beyond their institution. Education policy can strengthen the resilience of education staff by supporting their professional learning and collaboration. Policy makers can also nurture collaborations with parents and local community, and with partners with expertise in the green economy and environmental action.
Resilient system: Resilient education systems play an active role in shaping a strategic vision for the green economy and sustainable development and help to achieve this vision by ensuring the supply of skills needed. This involves education policy makers collaborating with other sectors to define, implement and monitor climate change mitigation and adaption strategies and to ensure education pathways meeting the changing needs of economies and societies.

About the Education Policy Outlook series and this report

The Education Policy Outlook comparative reports are the flagship publication of the OECD on education policy. Grounded on extensive research and data analysis, they provide evidence-based insights into international education policy. From 2023, the Education Policy Outlook will also support countries to follow up on the goals established by the 2022 Declaration on Building Equitable Societies Through Education (OECD, 2022[5]).

As part of this support, this report continues the Education Policy Outlook’s work on resilience and responsiveness since 2020 and provides insights relevant to education actors in 2024 based on priority areas of the Framework of Responsiveness and Resilience in Education Policy. The report presents insights from international comparative analysis of relevant and promising policy efforts adopted by participating countries in recent years, predominantly since 2020, to support the transition to a green and fair society.

The report also builds on education system’s responses to the Education Policy Outlook National Survey for Comparative Policy Analysis 2023: Empowering All Learners to go Green, collected mainly between April and August 2023. The 36 education systems participating in this survey are: Australia, Austria, Belgium (Flemish Community, French Community, German-speaking Community), Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye and the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland and Scotland).

By exploring the strengths and challenges of associated policy processes, this report analyses how education policy makers can support this transition against, and in response to, the emerging global context. The report is intended as a resource for all people working in education policy, whether they be policy makers themselves or those working in education and training institutions, and their representative bodies. Besides this chapter presenting the overview of emerging global megatrends relevant to education systems in 2024 and for the next few years, three additional chapters complete this analysis:

Chapter 2 –Translating learners’ environmental awareness into action
Chapter 3 – Providing all learners with experiences to help them shape the green economy
Chapter 4 – Positioning education as a strategic sector for the transition to greener societies

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