12 Climate books for teachers and educators

Yale Climate Connections

Recommended books about Climate transition for educators and students.

Centre for Understanding Human Relationships with the Environment

Elite Centre CUHRE

It studies ecoliteracy, sustainability education and how education can transform people's relationship with natur, bridging psychology, education and sustainability

Climate change education in Polish and British national curriculum frameworks

Agnieszka Kozłowska

Climate change education in Polish and British national curriculum frameworks

Compass Project: Guiding minds and inspiring action in climate change education

Climate Cares Centre, Imperial College London

Report on integrating climate education, mental health, resilience and action. It argues for centering emotional resilience in climate change education so young people can thrive, act and prepare for climate-related careers.

Edukacja klimatyczna w Polsce

UN Global Compact Network Poland, Know-how hub. Centrum Transferu Wiedzy

Report on climate education in Poland

Fantazmaty klimatyczne a lęki społeczne. Perspektywa edukacyjna

Beata A. Polak

Article proposes an educational approach that combines knowledge about the climate crisis with the analysis of social emotions in order to recognize and work through climate fears (e.g. leading to denial), transforming them into more constructive attitudes towards the crisis.

Fra klimaangst til klimahandling: Undervisningsforløb om klimaforandringer, klimaløsninger og innovation

KLIMATORIUM

transform climate anxiety into active learning and solution design. Describes a teaching sequence that combines knowledge about climate change, work on climate solutions, innovation, and co-creation, with the explicit aim of shifting it toward action

GreenComp auf einen Blick

DG HochN

German handout that explains GreenComp visually and highlights its competence areas for sustainability learning. It also points to gaps in curricula, especially around social-emotional and action-oriented learning.

GreenComp in practice: Case studies on the use of the European competence framework

European Commission / DG EAC, Technopolis Group, 3S

Analytical report with case studies on how GreenComp is used across settings and education levels. It identifies pathways of change, key enablers and implementation challenges.

GreenComp – Kompetenzrahmen für Nachhaltigkeit

BNE-digital / European Commission

German-language overview of GreenComp with access to the German PDF. It summarizes the four competence areas and positions GreenComp as a non-binding reference framework for sustainability competences in education.

GreenComp: The European sustainability competence framework

European Commission Joint Research Centre

Foundational EU framework for sustainability competences, providing a common reference point for learners and guidance for educators. It defines 12 competences across four areas and is directly relevant for curriculum design and toolbox development.

Grøn omstilling på erhvervsuddannelserne (Green transition in vocational education and training)

Klima Kompetencer Sjælland

Presents six transversal green competences identified through Danish labour market analyses.

Klimabegreber

Center for IT Undervisningen

Each episode explains a key climate concept in simple language and encourages learners to reflect on how it relates to their own field. It provides also a glossary both for educators to better explain and for students

Klimaemotionen im Bildungsprozess berücksichtigen. Coaching und Persönlichkeitsentwicklung als Ansätze für emotionssensible BNE

Lisa-Marie Seyfried & Juliane Scheering

Open-access German chapter that proposes an orientation framework for integrating climate emotions into higher-education learning and educational management. It links personal development, emotional learning and education for sustainable development.

KlimaTV – Klimapsykologi

KlimaTV

Series of videos that explore the psychological dimensions of the climate crisis, bringing together discussions on climate anxiety, denial, and how communication and understanding of psychology can help transform fear into engagement and action.

Lærerstuderendes forestillinger om bæredygtighed og Uddannelse for Bæredygtig Udvikling (UBU)

Studier i Læreruddannelse og Profession

Investigates how student teachers understand sustainability and UBU. It concludes that future teachers are motivated but lack a conceptual framework for teaching sustainability, making it highly relevant for educator training and GreenComp adaptation

MIT Climate for Educators

MIT Climate Portal / MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

Curated hub with classroom-ready activities, articles, educator guides, podcast-linked resources and open course materials for climate teaching. It supports both high school and college educators.

Nachhaltigkeit & BNE im Hochschulsystem: Stärkung in Gesetzen und Zielvereinbarungen, ungenutzte Potentiale bei Curricula und Selbstverwaltung

Jorrit Holst & Mandy Singer-Brodowski (Institut Futur, Freie Universität Berlin)

Short monitoring report on how sustainability and education for sustainable development are structurally embedded in German higher education. It identifies progress as well as gaps in curricula and institutional governance.

Operational principles for fostering transformative qualities and capacities in higher education sustainability science and practice

Springer Nature Link

This article emphasises the need to advance transformative learning in sustainability science and practice in higher education by addressing the inner dimensions of sustainability: our individual and collective values, beliefs, worldviews, and associated transformative qualities and capacities.

Psychologia kryzysu klimatycznego

Bożena Gulla, Kinga Tucholska, Agnieszka Ziernicka-Wojtaszek

This publication comprehensively discusses the climate crisis from a psychological and climate science perspective, examining climate anxiety, emotions, coping mechanisms, adaptation, and the scientific basis of climate change, among other things, and proposing actions to support individuals and societies in responding to this crisi

Psychology of Deep Resilience

Loka Initiative, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Center for Healthy Minds & Nelson Institute)

A free 4-course asynchronous program combining contemplative practices, activism, and community-building skills to help participants face eco-anxiety and climate distress with joyful resilience. The first course to conceptualize "deep resilience" as the integration of psychological, community, and ecological resilience. Available in 70+ countries via edX.

Studenci kierunków pedagogicznych wobec zmian klimatycznych. Komunikat z badań

Joanna Bednarczuk-Kasprzyk, Małgorzata Kamińska

Climate change is a global, irreversible planetary crisis affecting all aspects of social, economic and health life, which increases fears (including chronic anxiety and PTSD) and requires an urgent transformation of education and social attitudes to enable effective adaptation to new conditions.

Studieren mit Klimaangst

HAW Hamburg

Article on the KLIM MENT project at HAW Hamburg, which examines climate anxiety and mental health among students and explores preventive approaches for universities. It frames climate anxiety as a growing issue for young adults in higher education.

Taking a Problem-Based Learning Approach to Teaching Ecopsychology

Adams, Matthew ; Jordan, Martin

The text explores how ecopsychology can be taught in higher education through Problem-Based Learning based the experience of delivering a course in ecopsychology at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom.

The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators: How to Teach in a Burning World

Sarah Jaquette Ray & Jennifer Atkinson (University of California Press)

A practical 344-page guide featuring 37 activities and strategies for helping students navigate climate anxiety, grief, and existential distress while building resilience and taking transformative action. Includes trauma-informed pedagogical approaches, embodied learning exercises, and community-building tools.

The GreenComp Evaluation Roadmap: A Roadmap for In-Depth Holistic Evaluation of the Integration of the GreenComp Framework in Higher-Education Curricula

Anouk Mertens, Maarten B. Eppinga, Patrick Arens, et al. (International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Emerald Publishing)

A peer-reviewed paper presenting a step-by-step mixed-method approach for evaluating how the 12 GreenComp sustainability competences are integrated into university curricula. Tested on a STEM bachelor's program at the University of Aruba, the roadmap helps educators identify competence gaps and supports curriculum self-reflection. Highly relevant for operationalizing GreenComp in RISE UP.

The impact of climate change on mental health and emotional wellbeing: current evidence and implications for policy and practice

Emma Lawrance, Rhiannon Thompson, Gianluca Fontana & Neil Jennings (Imperial College London)

Evidence briefing on how climate change affects mental health and emotional wellbeing, with implications for policy and practice. It synthesizes pathways such as eco-anxiety, extreme weather impacts and wider social determinants.

Zmiany klimatu a zdrowie psychiczne: przegląd aktualnej literatury

Magdalena Gawrych

The review article shows that climate change, through disasters and long-term environmental processes, exacerbates mental health problems (including stress, anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts), while emphasizing the need to strengthen psychosocial resilience and create local adaptation strategies and institutional support.