EU publications

Key policy briefs and reports published or sponsored by the EC

Education for environmental sustainability
This study (2021) was carried out to inform the actions of the European Commission with regard to education for environmental sustainability and policy for the implementation of the European Education Area and the European Green Deal.

The green deal highlights the crucial role of education and training in empowering and engaging people for environmental sustainability and boosting the skills and competences needed for the green transition
This leaflet (2022) explains the EU proposal on learning for environmental sustainability.

Data collection and analysis of Erasmus+ projects
This report (2022) looks into the outcomes of Erasmus+ projects implemented between 2014 and 2020 that focused on the topic of education for environmental sustainability. It summarises the main findings of its 15 case studies with a view to showcasing successful approaches and supporting EU policy development in this field.

Learning for Sustainability: Good Practice in Teacher Education and Gaps in Provision
This report (2023) by the Working Group on Schools, Sub-group on Education for Environmental Sustainability highlights the importance of teacher education for the 'learning for sustainability' agenda, outlining good practices and gaps.

Learning for Sustainability: Teacher Education for the Green Transition – A Digest
This report (2023) by the Working Group on Schools, Sub-group on Education for Environmental Sustainability discusses how teacher education can support changes needed so that learning and education can make a contribution to the green transition.

Learning for Sustainability: Key Questions for organising & designing curricula
This report (2023) by the Working Group on Schools, Sub-group on Education for Environmental Sustainability explores how learning for environmental sustainability can be strengthened by policy actions to develop a framework and relevant resources and capabilities across the Member States.

Whole school approaches to sustainability: key messages
This report (2022) by the Working Group on Schools, Sub-group on Education for Environmental Sustainability sums up discussions within two plenary meetings focused on whole school approaches to sustainability.

The environmental sustainability competence toolbox
This JRC-OECD study (2022) combines a developmental perspective with a subjective and child-centred perspective to identify the characteristics of young people who achieve given benchmarks across areas that characterise environmental sustainability competence, and examines the determinants of young people’s engagement in pro-environmental behaviour.

Young people’s environmental sustainability competence
This JRC-OECD study (2022) maps young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries to identify the extent of young people’s engagement in pro-environmental activities relative to their parents’ generation, as well as within-household similarities in pro-environmental behaviours, and the role of school-related factors.

European sustainability competence framework background document
This JRC report (2022) presents a preliminary literature review and the analysis used for preparing initial phases of the design process of the European Sustainability Competence Framework (GreenComp). It includes a section on Education for Sustainability as a unique tool to facilitate the learning of the competences.

GreenComp, the European sustainability competence framework
This JRC report (2022) shares working definitions of sustainability and learning for environmental sustainability that form the basis for the framework to build consensus and bridge the gap between experts and other stakeholders.

UN publications

Education for sustainable development: a roadmap
This UNESCO roadmap (2020) sets out the urgent challenges facing the planet, explores the next step UNESCO is taking in responding to them through education, and identifies what Member States must do in relation to each priority action area.

Shaping the future we want: UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
This UNESCO report (2014) emphasises the crucial role of education in meeting today’s sustainability challenges: deep economic and social inequalities, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and disruption caused by natural disasters and climate change. It analyses achievements, trends and challenges, providing valuable direction for policymakers, educators, experts and other stakeholders in their ongoing efforts to advance understanding and action on ESD.

Biodiversity learning kit, vol. 1 and Biodiversity learning kit, vol. 2
The UNESCO/CBD Biodiversity Learning Kit uses text, illustrations and practical methods to help secondary school students and teachers understand the multiple dimensions and complex processes related to biodiversity through innovative learning pathways and hands-on activities. It also explains the status of biodiversity and how it is affected by prevailing attitudes and behaviours, and by consumption patterns.

UNECE Strategy for Sustainable Development
This UNECE Strategy (2005) aims at facilitating the introduction and promotion of education for sustainable development (ESD) in the UNECE region: addressing the interdisciplinary nature of ESD, strengthening civil society involvement and mobilising institutional and material provisions.

Other publications

IPBES: The global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services
This IPBES report (2019) assesses the status and trends with regard to biodiversity and ecosystem services, the impact of biodiversity and ecosystem services on human wellbeing and the effectiveness of responses.

Special Issue "Biodiversity Education for Sustainable Development"
This special issue (2021) of Sustainability aims to promote new knowledge on the cognitive, affective, value-related, and behavioural factors that are important for teaching and learning about biodiversity.

Home to Us All: How Connecting with Nature Helps Us Care for Ourselves and the Earth
This IUCN report presents the growing body of evidence that people’s relationship with nature profoundly influences their behaviours. It emphasises that better understanding of the critical connection between people and nature is key to effective decision-making, stimulating positive action, and optimising nature's benefits for us all.

Academic publications

What Environmental and Personal Factors Determine the Implementation Intensity of Nature-Based Education in Elementary and Lower-Secondary Schools?
This study (2021) examines the role of several factors that determine the implementation intensities of nature-based education by science teachers in primary and secondary schools.

Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss
This review (2020) covers the mounting evidence for a connection between direct experiences of nature in childhood and care for nature across the life span.

Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health: The role of nature in improving the health of a population
This book (2018) demonstrates how we can gain multiple health benefits from nature, and how much we risk losing by destroying our surrounding natural environment. In particular, Chapter 6.1 on Children and nature considers factors that have contributed to children spending less time outdoors, outlines linkages between the natural environment and children’s mental and physical health, and describes promising intervention programmes.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
This book (2016) describes the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, directly linking the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation to some disturbing childhood trends, such as the rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

Extinction of experience: the loss of human–nature interactions
This review (2016) illustrates that the loss of interaction with nature not only diminishes a wide range of health benefits, but also discourages positive emotions and behavior towards the environment, implying a cycle of disaffection toward nature.

Repositioning Children's Developmental Needs in Space Planning: A Review of Connection to Nature
This paper (2016) presents a review of the benefits of nature for children's developmental needs, while also highlighting children's experiences in nature and the effects of disconnection from nature.

Nature and the Life Course: Pathways from Childhood Nature Experiences to Adult Environmentalism
This paper (2006) examines connections between childhood involvement with the natural environment and adult environmentalism from a life course perspective.