EUA has joined SDG Watch Europe to provide input into the upcoming European Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on education for environmental sustainability. The Recommendation will look at challenges for the integration of environmental approaches into education at all levels and recommend actions for overcoming these. Moreover, it will set out details how the European Commission will support this through actions and funding.
Even though a Council recommendation is not a binding act, once adopted, member states and the Commission are expected to follow up on the respective initiatives – making it a strong signal of a collective will by the EU member states towards the goal of enhancing education for environmental sustainability.
The policy input from SDG Watch calls on the EU member states to:
In order to reach these goals, the member states should work towards breaking down silos between different education levels and promote learner-centred approaches that include interdisciplinarity, experiential and transformative learning. It is also important to keep in mind the recognition of informal and non-formal learning in this context. While promoting these approaches, member states must respect institutional autonomy.
EUA has worked on these topics in other contexts, most recently through its activities regarding the green transition – notably the webinar series on greening in European higher education institutions and its work on green public procurement.