Education is a key asset for climate action. Education reshapes behaviors, develops skills, and spurs innovation—everything we need to combat the greatest crisis facing humanity.

Staggering 400 million students globally experienced school closures from extreme weather since 2022, according to a new World Bank report released today. The report examines the detrimental impacts of climate change on education in low- and middle-income countries and offers solutions to harness education to spur climate action. It also estimates that a one-time investment of $18.51 per child can mitigate the impact from climate shocks.

New analysis in the report, “Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action”, shows that the climate crisis is hitting education the hardest in low-income countries, with 18 school days lost annually on average, compared to 2.4 days in wealthier nations. A 10-year-old in 2024 will experience three times more floods, five times more droughts, and 36 times more heatwaves over their lifetime compared to a 10-year-old in 1970. And even when schools are open, students are losing learning due to climate. In Brazil, students in the poorest 50% of municipalities could lose half a year’s learning due to heat alone.
Governments can act now to adapt education systems for climate change.