Only 3–7% of youth get quality climate education: OCE announces fifth Teachers’ COP for COP31

The Office for Climate Education (OCE) has announced that the fifth edition of its Teachers’ COP will be held at COP31 in Antalya, where world leaders will dedicate a full day to youth and education — even as new survey data shows that only 3 to 7 per cent of young people currently receive climate education of genuine quality.

OCE’s Guilyardi, speaking ahead of the summit, said quality climate education was “probably the most transformative climate adaptation action,” warning that global awareness of climate change must now be translated into action through quality instruction in classrooms.

Fifth Teachers’ COP to gather educators at COP31

Guilyardi announced that the fifth edition of the Teachers’ COP — a global platform OCE established five years ago — will be held at COP31 in Antalya this November. OCE is contributing to and helping organise the summit’s dedicated education day together with Turkish authorities.

The Teachers’ COP initiative was launched by OCE during COP26 in Glasgow to give teachers a voice in international climate discussions. According to OCE’s official programme, the 2026 edition will run in the context of COP31, with the event scheduled for 14 November. Watan News reported earlier how COP31 is giving youth and education centre stage as Türkiye joined UNESCO’s climate-education alliance as its 100th member.

Quality education reaches only a fraction of young people

Despite climate change now appearing in more than half of national curricula — a development that was not the case even five years ago — Guilyardi said progress remained insufficient.

“If we look at the different surveys we’ve been doing in the 30 countries where OCE is working, we estimate at the moment — it varies among countries — that between 3% and 7% of the young generation receives quality climate education,” he said.

Teachers need 30 to 80 hours of training, not a two-hour lecture

Putting teachers at the heart of climate education, Guilyardi noted that many teachers feel isolated when dealing with climate topics they do not fully master, and that changing their professional practice requires between 30 and 80 hours of training.

“This education is very different from just awareness. You’re not going to have a two-hour conference and that’s it. It’s not enough to change your professional practice in the classroom,” he said.

Local realities, not one-size-fits-all

Guilyardi stressed that climate education must be adapted to local realities, cultures and education systems: “This is absolutely key. The one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in this field.” OCE was created, he said, to bring together climate scientists and educators so that education systems and teachers are equipped with both the science and the associated pedagogy.

Tackling disinformation through “prebunking”

The disinformation work that started with the Belém Agenda at last year’s COP will continue at COP31, Guilyardi said. “Prebunking” — equipping young people with the capacity to discern trustworthy information from disinformation on social networks — has moved higher on the agenda, he added.

Key facts

Guilyardi said awareness of climate change remains high globally but that the current disconnect between the climate and education sectors must be bridged. COP31, he argued, could create the platform to move quality climate education beyond mere awareness — while helping teachers address the anxiety-inducing narratives around climate that many students carry into the classroom.