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Dr Morgan Phillips, Director of Education and Youth Engagement
Dr Ali Body, Head of Impact, Insights and Research

Estimated reading time 2 minutes

On Friday, March 21st, on the Today programme, Ed Miliband restated the Labour Party’s “Green Prosperity Plan” promise to create 650,000 new jobs by 2030. The viability of that target and how on track the Government is towards achieving it, is open to debate. The Tony Blair Institute recently pronounced that ‘even in a best-case scenario’ the green manufacturing sector will only employ 425,000 people, and not until 2050 – suggesting that 650,000 green jobs by 2030 is wildly ambitious.

Ambition is fine by us - indeed, it is essential. The climate crisis is very real; and we are running out of time. Out of necessity, our political leaders need to think big. We would in fact encourage the Government to think even bigger, they need to be talking about millions of green jobs, not hundreds of thousands. The question is, where are these ‘green’ jobs going to come from? Who is going to do them? And critically, who is going to buy the goods and services that green businesses are going to produce?

The answer to all three questions is, of course, people. However, if people aren’t skilled and motivated to create green businesses (and therefore green jobs), if they’re not prepared (both willing and able) to do green jobs, and if they’re not drawn towards the ‘green’ option when they’re doing their shopping, they are merely imaginary people – they’re not real.

Real people go to real schools, real colleges, and real universities. At these institutions they gain knowledge and skills, but also – through what’s often called the ‘hidden curriculum’ – values, worldviews, beliefs, and ways of being human. What goes on in our education institutions, most importantly in our schools, matters enormously. Our long-term ability, as a nation, to mitigate and adapt successfully depends on numerous factors, but the formal education system is key.

Today’s education system, in England especially, is doing green business very few favours. It is not designed to address the challenges of climate change in any meaningful way. However, it is under review. Over the coming few years it will evolve into a new shape. One specific review, the independent review of Curriculum and Assessment, led by Professor Becky Francis, is critical to this; it has just published its interim report. In Autumn 2025 it will publish a set of recommendations for consideration by the Department for Education, who will likely implement (all or most of) them in the form of a revised National Curriculum. At stake here is the education of at least 10 million young people – the Net Zero generation in waiting.

We can be fairly certain that the Francis review will make recommendations on climate change and sustainability education – the review panel are aware of the climate and nature crisis, the inadequacy of the National Curriculum in relation to it, and the societal and economic need for graduates who have ‘green’ skills – but what is far less certain is how strong those recommendations will be.

Pressure has been created by environmental campaigners, NGOs, and academics. The environmental movement was mobilised, last autumn, to attend the review’s roadshow events, where challenging questions were put to Professor Francis and colleagues, and to respond to the review’s call for evidence. Our colleagues at SOS-UK, with support from OVO Foundation, have instigated a ‘Shadow review’ led by young people to bring their voices to the fore. More recently, an open letter co-ordinated by us at Global Action Plan and the UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education, has attracted 750 signatures, including some of the world’s leading climate and earth systems scientists, economists, and social scientists. The letter calls on the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, to ensure the reformed National Curriculum gives prominence to climate change and sustainability issues. It remains open to new signatories.

There has been some pushback against this campaigning from Francis, the review chair, who has expressed her scepticism about ‘non-educationalists’ entering the debate, but Government Ministers have, in recent weeks, been more sympathetic, Stephen Morgan MP in particular. The door seems to be ajar, if not fully open.

Largely missing from the debate, however, are the voices of green business – the case for a National Curriculum that is orientated around the idea of ‘green prosperity’ has not yet been made. But there is still time, and a strong showing from green business could make a real difference as the Francis review starts to draft its final report. Encouragingly, Ecotricity’s Dale Vince has now entered the fray, will others follow his example?

If Ed Miliband and the green business community want a generation of Net Zero workers - and, crucially, consumers - to emerge from our schools over the coming years and decades, they need to pay close attention to how the National Curriculum for England is being reformed. The ongoing Curriculum and Assessment review offers an opportunity to reshape the education system to ensure that all young people develop the knowledge, skills, and values needed to build and thrive in a green and sustainable future.

Global Action Plan is calling on the Francis review to appoint an expert sub-group on climate change and sustainability education. This group would support the work the review team itself has stated it needs to do to formulate recommendations for how the National Curriculum responds to the climate crisis. We are, however, detecting a reluctance from Francis, it may therefore be necessary to establish a group, independently. We are preparing to do this with our colleagues in academia, and keen to involve the green business community – do please get in touch if you would like to support.

This piece first appeared on Business Green.