Adenike Oladosu: The Climate Crusader Revolutionising Education in Emergencies

In a world where climate change and education are intertwined, one woman is leading the charge to ensure that every

child has access to quality education, no matter what challenges they face. Adenike Oladosu, a renowned ecofeminist and climate justice leader, is spearheading a revolution in education in emergencies as the Global Champion of Education Cannot Wait. With her expertise and passion, she is shaping the future of education and creating a more sustainable world for all.

In this exclusive interview with MARY NNAH, Oladosu shares her vision for a better future, her thoughts on the intersection of climate change and education, and her work as Education Cannot Wait’s Global Champion

What motivated you to focus on the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises?

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations. ECW is making a real difference in the lives of girls and boys worldwide by providing access to safe, quality education. ECW’s ground-breaking work to connect climate action with education action provides a visionary pathway to address the climate crisis.

In your journey as a climate change advocate, what would you identify as a major problem in protecting the environment?

The major problem is the ability to meet up with our climate promises. We have several financial pledges and commitments that we should have attained within a specific period, and yet, we are derailing from some. Among these are the targets included in the Paris Climate Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. If we could meet all of these commitments, we would be one step ahead in solving the climate crisis. This problem can be resolved through stronger and deliberate actions by world leaders.

What’s the connection between the climate crisis and attaining quality education?

The climate crisis and education crisis are two sides of the same coin. Yet, the climate crisis is not a single crisis and one of the biggest disruptions to education. The very future of humanity is at stake. Rising seas, spiking temperatures and ever-more-severe droughts, floods and natural hazards are derailing development gains and ripping our world apart.

As we’ve seen with Cyclone Freddy in Mozambique, the floods in Pakistan, and the drought in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, climate change is triggering jumps in forced displacement, violence, food insecurity and economic uncertainty in the world. These show that climate change is a threat multiplier, and the reality is that the climate crisis threatens education on every level. When floods hit, they can wipe out schools entirely, preventing students from having access to their classrooms whilst destroying key infrastructure. When a cyclone hits, it displaces people from their homes, among those displaced are children who might not be able to have access to schools nor even return to school. When there is a heat wave, it affects the learning ability of the students and in some cases, it could lead to the closure of schools. This is pushing girls and boys out of school and derailing progress toward the Paris Agreement targets and Sustainable Development Goals.

As countries move toward climate-resilient economies and we make good on the commitments outlined in the Paris Agreement, this generation will be the powerhouse behind greener agriculture, climate-smart businesses and more efficient transportation. They will be the architects of the reimagined cities, economies and communities of the future.

Should climate change education be integrated into school curricula to promote a sustainable future?

Education is the cornerstone of addressing the climate crisis and providing 12 years of quality education to every child is crucial for equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and values necessary to respond to this global challenge. By prioritizing education, we can empower children to become active stewards of the environment, promote sustainable development, and address the systemic inequalities that exacerbate climate vulnerability. Through education, we can inspire a new generation of leaders, innovators, and citizens who are committed to creating a greener, more resilient, and more equitable future for all. By investing in education, we are investing in the future of our planet, and ensuring that future generations inherit a world that is safe, prosperous, and just.

As we transition from fossil fuels to a green ecosystem, how can world leaders create job opportunities for young people in the sustainable energy sector?

ECW and our global partners are calling on leaders everywhere to ensure today’s youth have the green skills they need today to build toward a sustainable tomorrow.

For today’s youth, this means ensuring they have the knowledge and skills they need to use modern technologies, access jobs in the green economy, and have the capacity to lead and make sustainable decisions for their communities. Youth are the future of a green economy and climate resilience. Let’s invest in their education today to build a better future for generations to come.

What role can teachers play in educating students about climate change, and how can they be better prepared for this role?

Teachers are at the forefront of education and at the same time, the children are at the frontline of the climate crisis. Worldwide more than a quarter of a billion children are out of school altogether. They don’t even have a teacher. Once they are in the classroom, especially in the frontlines of crises, teachers are often untrained, underpaid and underqualified. We need to provide systematic training for teachers, support the creation of quality learning spaces, and provide funding to ensure every girl and boy, everywhere, can go to school. And every teacher, everywhere, has the support they need to succeed in their job.

How do you think climate change education can be made more engaging and relevant to student’s lives and future careers?

Long-term investments in human capital – including education, skills training and overall health and well-being – offer 10 times more return on investment than investments in physical capital.

Think about the school of the future and how it will cultivate the vast untapped potential of developing countries everywhere. Because we know that children perform substantially worse when they take exams on hot days, the school of the future is cooled by a low-cost, low-impact heat pump. It’s a vital step in bridging the achievement gap in under-served communities around the world.

As schools are essential community hubs for information – especially in places like refugee camps where electricity, communications and internet are non-existent or extremely limited – the school of the future serves as a community message board issuing early warnings on disasters and emergencies.

With the school of the future, students become the teachers, activating community participation in climate awareness and environmental protection. That is, today’s students are tomorrow’s teachers and leaders.

Girls and women are the stewards of our planet. In the school of the future, girls gain valuable skills to find green jobs when they graduate while, at the same time, blazing new pathways away from child marriage, forced labour and continued marginalization.

Also, for boys, the school of the future is a pathway towards passing on positive and responsible skills that will empower society rather than being recruited to join non-state armed groups. Hence, it enables them to gain the right skills and knowledge for social good and the development of our society.

The climate crisis threatens to end human civilization as we know it today. Now is our time to address this issue head-on. By educating the world’s most vulnerable children, and connecting quality education with climate action, we can empower an entire generation of climate stewards that will guide us to a better future.

How do you measure your interventions’ impact on educational outcomes and resilience building?

Education Cannot Wait has successfully implemented several programmes that are helping with the immediate response and support of children in accessing education. Globally ECW has reached a total of 8.8 million children with quality, holistic education support. We are working with our partners to establish metrics and markers for our climate work. Many early examples are arising as best practices.

In Pakistan, where massive floods destroyed more than 30,000 schools, the educational outcomes and resilience building is an example of the ECW investment delivered by UNICEF, ACTED and other local partners provided over 100,000 girls and boys affected by the floods with access to inclusive, quality education. ACTED has embraced an interesting modality that combines education, sustainable livelihoods, disaster preparedness, response and recovery into a coordinated intervention designed to address broader stressors such as exclusion, poverty and environmental destruction: a whole-of-systems response to a whole-of-world problem.

Another similar example is in Chad, where ECW is investing in disaster-resilient classrooms. Traditionally, many classrooms were built in remote areas and refugee and displacement camps were built from temporary materials, such as straw, tarps and wood. But they are highly vulnerable to the forces of nature. Floods in late-2022 destroyed many of these temporary classrooms. To build back better, ECW is funding the construction of durable classrooms that are built to withstand future shocks and ensure children can continue their learning.

In Haiti, ECW investments are supporting the Ministry of Education to establish emergency response cells, set up disaster alerts, and prepare contingency plans centred around public schools and existing systems already well-positioned to reach broad swaths of the community.

This is not limited to the countries mentioned above, there are more outcomes of the ECW works especially in countries faced with the interconnected challenges of climate change, forced displacement, conflicts and environmental degradation. Please check more on the ECW website.

In the quest to deliver effectively, how do you ensure that marginalised and vulnerable groups, such as girls and children with disabilities, are included in your education initiatives during crises?

Existing data show that most children and adolescents with disabilities are less likely than their peers to attend school, learn as much and move successfully from primary to secondary education. On the frontlines of the climate crisis, these inequalities compound with a heightened risk of violence and exclusion from education. Unfortunately, the humanitarian response has often failed to meet the requirements that guarantee access to education and a meaningful learning experience for girls and boys with disabilities.

ECW operates in low- and middle-income countries, where it is estimated that 80% of girls and boys with disabilities live. ECW’s work to enhance access to education and learning for children and adolescents with disabilities takes place at both the global and country levels. ECW raises awareness of disability inclusion among key stakeholders – including government, and humanitarian and development aid actors.

ECW also funds, through its Acceleration Facility, the generation of knowledge and tools that can help improve access and learning outcomes of girls and boys with disabilities in emergencies and protracted crises.

At the country level, ECW leverages a two-pronged approach. In each programme, ECW seeks to target girls and boys with disabilities through interventions meeting their specific requirements. The Fund also ensures that all programme interventions embed the perspectives of learners with disabilities so that they can benefit and be active stakeholders equally with others.

Looking ahead, what are your priorities and goals for advancing the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises?

When Education Cannot Wait was founded in 2016, it was estimated that 75 million crisis-impacted children needed ECW’s support in accessing quality, holistic education opportunities. That number has tripled to 224 million, according to ECW’s Global Estimates Study in 2023, and we anticipate it will continue to rise as we prepare the 2024 report. To put that number in perspective, that’s more than the populations of Australia, France, Italy and the United Kingdom combined.

 While the needs have skyrocketed in recent years, funding for education has not been able to keep pace. According to Educo, humanitarian appeals to meet education demands have dramatically increased more than sevenfold in the last decade – from US$517 million to US$3.7 billion – while contributions have only increased fourfold over the same period, from US$190 million to US$805 million.

Education Cannot Wait and our strategic global partners are working with governments, donors, civil society and the private sector to fill this gap. We have already mobilized more than US$900 million toward our 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. With US$600 million in additional funding, including $150 million for climate, we can reach 20 million crisis-impacted children with the power and opportunity that only quality, holistic education provides.