We are now 34 days into the longest non-stop relay ever attempted: the climate relay to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, site of COP 27—the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Today, 3 November 2022, marks a special moment, as more than 670,052 students from 1,916 schools in 103 countries will join in the relay’s Global Schools Action Day—an opportunity for schools around the world to unite and demonstrate how local actions have global impacts.
Inside the relay baton is a message for world leaders—a call for universal, quality climate education to equip people of all ages and in all places with the knowledge and skills necessary to build a future in which all can thrive. Already?609,442 people have added their names to the message, and there is still so that it arrives at COP 27 with so much support that it is impossible to ignore!
By the end of today, hundreds of runners, cyclists, sailors, rowers and a windsurfer will have passed the relay baton hand to hand over 7,349 km through 17 countries. The baton has?navigated the world’s busiest shipping lane under sail, crossed a glacier, run with a President and undergone an extraordinary cross-border handover on a lake, between?kayakers in Albania to an electric boat in?Greece.?It has been met by the European Commission in Brussels, staff of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn and hundreds of inspiring communities taking local climate action along the .
These final days are very exciting! On 4 November, the relay baton will cross from Israel into Egypt and begin the final stretch to Sharm El-Sheikh. The Global Stage—a wonderful opportunity for everyone, wherever they are in the world, to participate—will take place on 5 November at 10 a.m. in their local time. And then the grand finale, as the baton reaches the finish line at?the start of the climate conference and ahead of a series of events where the message will be delivered to world leaders. A ceremony to inaugurate the relay baton at COP 27 will take place on 8 November at the UNESCO Pavilion in the Green Zone, and a multilateral discussion on the status of climate education and how to move forward with it is scheduled for 14 November.
Delivering quality climate education is at the heart of what we do. The is an international, non-profit umbrella organization, with more than 100 members implementing our five sustainable development programmes in over 80 countries. While climate education is woven through all our activities, our three educational programmes—Eco-Schools, Learning about Forests (LEAF) and Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE)—directly support teachers in delivering climate education through hands-on, experiential learning in schools around the world.
Climate education is, without a doubt, critical to mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change and building sustainable and resilient communities. that “Climate change should be included in all school curricula and should play a central role in updated Nationally Determined Contributions.” In 2021, the , which recognized that “education is a powerful enabler of positive change of mindsets and worldviews and that it can support the integration of all dimensions of sustainable development, of economy, society and the environment, ensuring that development trajectories are not exclusively orientated towards economic growth to the detriment of the planet, but towards the well-being of all within planetary boundaries.”
Yet, despite the critical role that education must play in ensuring the transition to a sustainable future, “ It is for these reasons that the message contained in the Running Out of Time relay baton, which will be delivered to world leaders at COP 27, calls for universal, quality climate education.
This is not to say, however, that climate education is not already occurring in classrooms around the world. Together with our members, who implement our three educational programmes on the ground, we are proud to support a community of thousands of schools and millions of students and teachers who are already actively engaged in quality climate education.
Running Out of Time is a unique opportunity to not only highlight but also celebrate such climate action. Since the launch of the relay on 30 September, students have been planning their own relay races, building their own sustainable relay batons, and creating posters, videos and more to raise awareness of climate change and support the call for quality climate education.
To see so many young people engaged in climate action is inspiring and offers a true sense of hope. It is often said that young people are our future, but they are, in fact, our present. Moments such as today’s Global Schools Action Day simply reconfirm that the voices of young people deserve to and must be heard. In that context, we are incredibly proud to be a principal partner of this incredible collaborative relay along with UK charity and the organisers at who share our commitment to empowering young people through quality climate education. This entire event is symbolic of all that can be achieved when we work together. We are humbled by the efforts of everyone along the route and beyond, with special thanks to our FEE members, who have supported not only this relay but climate education in their?countries. With the finish line in sight, and to echo the words and ambition of all those involved on this extraordinary journey so far, remember: “we can do this!”.
Our Calls to Action:
Join the Global Stage! Everyone, wherever they are in the world, is invited to join the Running Out of Time to stand up for climate action and deliver a message to the world’s leaders at COP 27! Take part and run, walk, cycle or move for 27 minutes at 10:00 am your local time on 5 November, on your own or with friends and family.
Sign the climate message. Inside the baton is a climate message to world leaders asking for quality climate education for all people in all places. So far, 584,395 people have signed it. and help us get to 1 million.
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