Higher education institutions are uniquely positioned to lead on societal responses to climate change. They are key sites of knowledge production, innovation and the formation of future professionals equipped for successfully operating in a world being rapidly altered by climate and ecological change.
However, despite ever-increasing recognition and pockets of good practice, attempts to embed climate change education within the university community continues to be fragmented. The vast majority of institutions still consider climate-related learning the preserve of particular disciplines — environmental science, geography, engineering — rather than a foundational literacy applicable to all students, regardless of their field of study. At the same time, a gap between climate knowledge and transformative action remains, in curricula as well as the academic community’s relationship to the communities it serves.
There is a perceived need for a specialist event to discuss how best to include climate change issues and their social justice implications as part of university programmes. The symposium "From Knowledge to Action: Transforming Higher Education for Climate Resilience” is thus conceived as a platform to move from discussing the climate crisis in theoretical terms to implementing actionable, collaborative, and innovative solutions.
