An enriching, thriving education system cannot exist in a world without a stable climate. Flooding and extreme temperatures have become far more frequent throughout the world, and it is our young generation that will lose the most if it is not addressed now. As educators, it is paramount that we enable children to understand the climate crisis and equip them with the skills and knowledge to build a more sustainable future.
We are campaigning for a “just transition” to a greener economy, so changes needed to combat and mitigate against climate change are managed in a way that protects all.
A just transition would mean protections against working in extreme temperatures in heatwaves and safely removing asbestos as part of the process of retrofitting schools to make them more climate resilient and energy efficient.
TUC – Climate Emergency: Winning a Just Transition calls for timely, worker-friendly climate action to protect the planet and future-proof obs. Schools built for the future have major construction and education unions making sure the UK’s school buildings are fit for the future and energy efficient.
UNICEF, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Education International (EI) have developed Educators at the Heart of Greening Education, a climate policy toolkit that will be of interest to green reps and policymakers alike. The NEU will seek to engage with the DfE on this excellent and timely resource.
National emergency briefing for school teachers
NEU supported the National Emergency Briefing on climate and nature which took place on 27 November 2025 in Westminster Central Hall, where eight leading experts briefed an invite-only audience of 850 politicians and leaders from business, culture and faith. The aim was to help trigger a societal tipping point towards emergency-level climate and nature action. The video and teacher support document are now available.
Union Year of Climate Action
TUC Congress 2024 conference has passed a motion asking all Trades Councils to coordinate and organise networks and actions in their area during the year of action. The aim is to deepen an understanding of the climate and nature crisis as a trade union issue. The NEU passed a motion at the Annual Conference 2025 endorsing the cross-TUC year of climate action. The NEU will be running a series of joint union webinars in the new year, details to follow. Please check this page for regular updates.
Following the TUC motion, we have the following events taking place:
- Unions’ Climate and Nature Festival - As part of the Trade Union Year of Climate Action, NEU collaborated with the Ministry of Eco Education, Unison, UCU and several other bodies, to organise a hugely successful Climate Festival.
Around 300 participants from across the country gathered for a day of debate and networking - an opportunity for educators, who care deeply about climate change, to come together and inspire each other. The climate emergency is not only an environmental crisis - it touches on issues of economic, social and racial justice with these explored in a wide-ranging selection of panel discussions. You can access the short video from the festival.
- Training to be run by the Ministry of Eco Education, OASES and the company TerraLigo in June 2026 for a 2-day residential CPD with a focus on ecocentric pedagogy – book a ticket.
- Resources, case studies and information on climate action events can be accessed at: Year of Trade Union Climate Action Hub.
- Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union Group – access resources and information on different activities to build a trade union year of climate action.
