India stands at a critical juncture, balancing economic growth with sustainable development objectives, and addressing climate change while ensuring a clean energy transition has become important as an agenda.
As the country charts its path to net-zero by 2070, and aims to create 3.4 million green jobs by 2030 and 35 million by 2047, one factor will determine the pace and quality of this transition: how well-prepared our citizens are to live, work and innovate in a changing climate.
At the heart of this preparedness lies the essential lever of climate education. For India to truly harness its demographic dividend, it must build climate literacy as a national capability - one that equips every citizen to understand and act upon the climate risks and resulting opportunities.
A national framework for climate education can make this possible.
From awareness to capability
Until now, climate education in India has been indirectly addressed through environmental education initiatives. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the revised National Curriculum Framework (NCF) of 2023 both acknowledge the need to integrate climate change education into the curriculum. Yet, the coverage remains dispersed and insufficient.
Additionally, the UGC's efforts at the undergraduate level are limited to introductory courses, highlighting the need for more comprehensive climate-focused programmes. A survey revealed that 54% of 4,619 Indian adults reported limited or no knowledge about global warming.
This highlights the need to mainstream and scale climate education across all education levels, from primary to higher education and vocational training.
A national framework will standardise this effort - to help develop foundational knowledge, necessary skills and awareness in students. This framework would help bring climate science, environmental ethics and sustainability into core curricula across levels and spaces of learning.
Why a national framework matters
A national framework for climate education would serve as India’s roadmap for building climate-ready citizens. Its value lies in creating coherence, consistency and coordination across the education system while allowing flexibility for local innovation.
First, a shared foundation, which is locally adapted
Currently, climate topics appear unevenly across school and university curricula.
A framework would define clear learning outcomes - scientific understanding, systems thinking and problem-solving - while letting states and boards adapt content to local realities. Students in Tamil Nadu could study coastal resilience; those in Himachal could learn about glacial water security; and those in Rajasthan could explore water-efficient farming.
Second, a bridge between learning, livelihoods and lifelong learning
A national framework should extend beyond formal schooling. India’s clean-energy transition will require reskilling and upskilling millions of workers, from coal and steel to agriculture, construction and logistics. A robust framework would connect education policy with the green-skills ecosystem, ensuring climate literacy reaches vocational institutes, industrial training centres and corporate learning programmes. Climate education must therefore evolve across different spaces and levels of learning, from classrooms to workshops, from campuses to workplaces, preparing a climate-competent workforce at every stage.
Third, equity and inclusion at the core
The framework can also correct an emerging ‘climate-literacy divide’. Rural, tribal, and climate-vulnerable communities face the sharpest impacts yet often have the least access to structured learning. Integrating climate education in local languages, through community projects and vocational pathways, can ensure that climate awareness reaches every corner of the country.
What the framework should include
A strong framework would stand on four interconnected pillars:
First, curriculum integration
Climate education should cut across subjects rather than sit in isolation. Science can explain the physics of the greenhouse effect; economics can unpack how climate externalities are priced; and the arts can explore the ethics and emotions of climate change. Interdisciplinary education builds empathy, systems thinking and leadership - qualities essential for a low-carbon future. Moreover, the framework must also remain dynamic, updated regularly to reflect new science, technologies and evidence. Unlike static environmental modules, climate education must evolve continuously as new science and solutions emerge.
Second, teacher and trainer empowerment
Teachers are the key agents for an educational response to climate change. Yet, they face significant capacity gaps in both conceptual knowledge and pedagogical confidence. To address this, the framework should mandate structured training modules - both pre-service and in-service - that equip educators with up-to-date climate science, systems thinking and action-oriented pedagogies. Moreover, these programmes should be embedded in teacher-education curricula (such as BEd) and supported through continuous professional development. Beyond schools, the framework must also empower trainers in vocational, technical and corporate skill-development settings (such as ITIs, workforce reskilling portals) to embed sustainability and climate literacy into skill-based instruction. Only then can climate education permeate all levels of learning - from classroom to workplace.
Third, experiential and project-based learning
A national framework should promote hands-on, inquiry-based approaches across all levels of education. Students could undertake school energy audits, biodiversity mapping, waste-to-value initiatives or climate-resilient agriculture demonstrations. Such activities nurture agency, systems thinking, and problem-solving - the very competencies needed for the country’s climate-resilient growth.
Fourth, measurement and accountability
No reform endures without evidence. The framework should therefore embed a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism to assess its outcomes at individual, institutional, and systemic levels.
An opportunity to lead
India is well placed to lead globally on climate education. With one of the largest and youngest populations in the world, its education system can anchor a green transformation.
Embedding climate education across spaces and skill levels can turn India’s demographic advantage into a climate-competent workforce capable of driving innovation and sustainable economic growth.
The time to embed it through a national framework is now.
By Aman Gupta & Amrit Rath of Sustain Labs Paris
