The Teach the Future parliamentary reception is taking place this Wednesday on February 26th. It’s sponsored (and will be introduced) by Nadia Whittome (the youngest MP, aged 24).
The purpose of the event is to make the case for education to be at the centre of the Government’s climate change plans. There will be about 50 young people (aged 13 to 25) at the reception and they will be making the case to their own MPs that we need a climate emergency education plan.
Teach the Future has developed six pragmatic and constructive asks of Government that form the basics of the plan. They are set out here. Students have drafted a basic bill to progress which will be distributed on the day. The bill won’t be a Private Members Bill or an Early Day Motion, it is more to show that will of the young people for this to progress our asks at speed. Teach the Future hopes the government will want to progress some of the asks in the run-up to COP26, to demonstrate global leadership in education and on climate. The confirmed speakers are:
- Nadia Whittome MP
- Scarlett Westbrook (student aged 15)
- Wera Hobhouse MP
- Kevin Courtney (Gen Sec, NEU)
- Caroline Lucas MP
- Nigel Topping (COP26)
- Sir Anthony Seldon (Vice Chancellor, University of Buckingham)
- Zamzam Ibrahim (President SOS-UK and NUS-UK, aged 25)
Is your organisation going there to support this initiative?
Teach the Future will be meeting the Secretary of State, Gavin Williamson MP, after the reception. You can read supportive blogs here: Chester Zoo; Earthwatch; FoE; GAP; Green Schools Project; Maintenant; NAEE; NUS; Reboot the Future; ThoughtBox; UCU; Word Forest ∫∫∫
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The Department for Education continues to resist change. Click here to read a written parliamentary answer by the Rt Hon. Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State on 24th January to written question No. 4444. ∫∫∫
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17-year-old birder, conservationist and environmental campaigner, Mya-Rose Craig became the youngest British person to be awarded an honorary degree today this week. The University of Bristol did this to mark her activism and pioneering work, which includes campaigning for greater ethnic diversity in nature, conservation, environment and wildlife filmmaking. Mya-Rose, who has written for NAEE‘s journal, set-up Black2Nature, with the aim of giving Visible Minority Ethnic (VME) communities’ equal access to the natural environment, especially as, she says, their involvement in environmental action is ‘essential for saving our planet’. Mya-Rose blogs as Birdgirl. ∫∫∫
“Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund. Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals. ”
Will any of this come education’s way, we wonder. With $10 billion on offer, will bids under $1 million be worth submitting? This is what The Verge has to say. Maybe the Global Environmental Education Partnership [ GEEP ] will be bidding. ∫∫∫
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A recent Guardian article offered parents advice on dealing with their childrens’ climate anxiety. Our Chair of Trustees offers a comment on this here. ∫∫∫
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The Times reports that a recent peer-reviewed study by Eindhoven University of Technology reported that an electric car in Europe produced less than half the carbon emissions per kilometre of a modern diesel car. The savings are even greater in the UK because of our high proportion of low carbon electricity. It found that a new Nissan Leaf would have lifetime emissions three times lower than the average new conventional car, adding that the Leaf pays off its carbon debt from the energy intensive battery production after less than two years of average distance driving. This is because last year more than half of the UK’s electricity came from low-carbon sources. A decade ago fossil fuels generated ten times as much power as renewable sources. ∫∫∫
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UKSCN has published a short story by one of its activists, imagining a more sustainable and equal future. It’s System Change: A Brief Vision From The Future. See what you make of it. ∫∫∫
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NAAEE is advertising a green careers toolkit. Although obviously created in a North American context, it has some relevance to the UK. ∫∫∫
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Carbon Brief is a UK-based website covering the latest developments in climate science, climate policy and energy policy. It says that it specialises “in clear, data-driven articles and graphics to help improve the understanding of climate change, both in terms of the science and the policy response.” There’s a wide range of content, including science explainers, interviews, analysis and factchecks, as well as daily and weekly email summaries of newspaper and online coverage. ∫∫∫
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WWF has shared its recent “conservation successes”. You can see them here. ∫∫∫
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The Ecologist says it is the journal of the post-Industrial age. As such it has a distinctive voice and offers a range of feature articles and factual updates that are pertinent to the position we find ourselves in. You can read it and subscribe here. ∫∫∫