5 Evidence-Based Messages for the Education in Emergencies (EiE) Community at COP30
As the global community prepares for Education Day at COP30, the Education in Emergencies (EiE) sector has a critical role to play in shaping climate action that safeguards learning for children and youth affected by crises. Drawing on the latest evidence, this blog highlights five key messages to ensure education is protected from climate risks, and actively contributes to resilience and adaptation. These insights aim to help policymakers, practitioners, and advocates continue to position education in emergencies as a vital part of the climate agenda.
1. Climate shocks continue to disrupt education in crisis-affected settings
Climate shocks are emerging as a critical risk factor requiring education systems to be better prepared and more resilient, especially in contexts already affected by crisis or conflict. UNICEF estimates that in 2024, over 104 million learners in humanitarian settings experienced school disruptions linked to climate events, 95% of whom were in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
In many contexts, ongoing or legacy conflicts compound the impact of climate-related environmental shocks such as floods, storms, or wildfires, causing severe damage to schools and learning facilities. In South Sudan, for instance, recurrent floods continue to disrupt schooling and livelihoods, with 2023 alone seeing 110 schools closed and 777 damaged, while conflict and insecurity contribute to the destruction of schools by armed groups. Similarly, in Syria, years of conflict have damaged essential infrastructure, including water systems. In 2021, ICRC reported that prolonged conflict had severely compromised access to safe water in Syria, forcing many children to collect water instead of attending school. The lack of clean water and sanitation in schools has further disrupted the continuity of education for children in Syria.
The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) further highlights emerging links between attacks on education and climate-induced hazards, including looting of school canteens during food insecurity, attacks on schools used as temporary shelters, and increased risks of explosives being displaced near schools after floods. These overlapping risks leave education systems less able to absorb and recover from shocks, and affect education continuity and resilience.
Although more work is needed to fully understand the relationships between climate shocks, conflict, and education, emerging evidence suggests that climate shocks have a negative and amplified impact on education in crisis and conflict settings. This calls for deeper exploration into the specific ways these climate-related shocks affect learning and the types of context-appropriate responses needed to strengthen resilience and ensure the continuity of education.
2. The impacts of climate shocks on education and wellbeing are not gender-neutral
Recent research shows that extreme weather events (EWEs)—which children born in 2020 are expected to encounter up to seven times more frequently than those born in 1960—can increase the likelihood of violence against children. When households and communities experience economic hardship, displacement, and social instability due to EWEs, children, particularly girls, face heightened risks of violence at home, in temporary shelters, and within their communities.
A 2024 Save the Children report notes that the growing frequency of climate-related environmental shocks is having severe impacts on girls. These events expose them to sexual harassment and abuse amid the chaos, overcrowding, and lack of protection that follow these events. They also push families deeper into poverty, prompting harmful coping mechanisms like child labor and early marriage. Displacement resulting from these crises often forces girls out of school and increases their exposure to child marriage, exploitation, and other forms of gender-based violence. In addition, disrupted food systems and weakened services further limit girls’ access to nutrition, health care, and opportunities to make informed choices about their bodies and futures. Despite these gendered impacts, fewer than 2% of national climate strategies mention girls, and less than 4% of climate finance projects explicitly include or meaningfully engage them.
3. Communities are already working to address climate shocks to education in conflict and crisis-affected settings
Across contexts, local communities are increasingly mobilising resources and finding creative ways to support the continuity of education amid climate challenges.
In South Sudan, where recurrent floods continue to disrupt schooling and livelihoods, early findings from ERICC research in the country point to a diverse range of community-driven responses: building flood-preventive infrastructure like dykes, mobilising community resources for repairing schools, re-establishing temporary learning spaces, constructing makeshift classrooms, and piloting flood-resilient schools. In some regions, local communities also support school farms and environmental clubs in climate-affected, food-insecure areas, offering both hands-on learning and encouraging re-enrolment in education.
Though these initiatives remain small in scale and cannot compensate for systemically entrenched gaps, they reflect growing local leadership and adaptation in the face of climate-driven education challenges. As the international community increasingly funds and pilots solutions to climate challenges, it is essential to learn from how local communities adapt to these changes and support and identify community-led initiatives.
4. Education remains weakly integrated into national climate policy, particularly in conflict-affected countries
As countries increasingly operate within polycrisis contexts — where overlapping shocks such as conflict, climate disasters, and economic instability interact — education systems are under growing pressure. Strengthening resilience requires intersectoral action that bridges humanitarian, development, and climate agendas.
Despite over 80 countries endorsing the Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF), education remains weakly integrated into national climate policies. A recent analysis of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of 21 conflict-affected countries shows that while some NDCs, notably those of Myanmar and South Sudan, explicitly reference education, overall integration remains fragmented and inadequate. Most NDCs mention education only as a tool for climate adaptation, overlooking its roles in resilience and recovery. Key EiE standards such as teacher wellbeing, psychosocial support, and continuity of learning are rarely addressed. Early childhood education and remote learning are entirely absent.
Similarly, a recent policy survey finds that 88% of governments say climate change affects most schools, yet only 21% have completed education-sector climate risk assessments. Given the growing prevalence of polycrisis contexts across the world, it is more urgent than ever to close education-climate policy gaps, and ensure political will and stronger advocacy for the integration and implementation of education-specific actions within climate policies.
5. Education also remains absent from climate finance
Education remains largely absent from climate finance. World Bank modelling from 2021 estimates that climate-exacerbated shocks such as tropical cyclones, droughts, and earthquakes currently cause up to $7 billion in education infrastructure and learning losses annually, yet education remains one of the least funded sectors in disaster risk financing and climate adaptation. Between 2006 and 2023, only 2.4% of funds from major climate mechanisms supported projects with child-responsive activities.
A recent scoping paper exploring risk financing models for education identifies concrete ways to make education systems more responsive to natural hazards. These include: (i) integrating disaster risk financing (DRF) instruments into education sector planning and budgeting frameworks—drawing on innovations from social protection—to make education systems and programmes more shock-responsive; (ii) strengthening the link between DRF, adaptation, and longer-term steady-state budgeting to improve operational coherence and sustain learning outcomes throughout the crisis arc; and (iii) investing in capabilities, data, systems, and further analysis to test, refine, and scale DRF and climate finance within education. Emerging pilot programmes and experiences from other social sectors demonstrate that such integration and alignment of education funding, DRF, and climate finance are both feasible and promising.
Looking ahead, as the impacts of climate change intensify and compound the effects of conflict and crisis, prioritising education in climate action through stronger systems, resilient infrastructure, and inclusive policies will be essential to safeguarding learning and empowering communities to adapt and thrive.
Other advocacy materials developed for COP30:
- Alana Foundation: Children as a primary consideration in UN Climate COPs
- GADRRRES: COP30 advocacy asks
- UNICEF: COP30 policy brief
- Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies: COP30 education key messages
This material has been funded by UK International Development from the UK government. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are entirely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the ERICC Programme, the authors’ respective organisations, or the UK government’s official policies.