Report on the Intersection of U.S. Education and Climate Change in Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The United States faces concurrent challenges in declining educational performance and intensifying climate change impacts, which are increasingly interconnected. This report synthesizes evidence demonstrating how climate-related disruptions are undermining educational systems, directly impacting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education). Conversely, educational institutions are identified as critical agents for advancing climate solutions, contributing to SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Addressing these intertwined issues requires a multi-faceted strategy that enhances school resilience, integrates climate science into curricula, and prepares students for a sustainable economy, thereby supporting multiple SDGs.

Climate Change Impacts on Educational Goals

Disruption of Educational Access and Quality (SDG 4)

Climate-fueled extreme weather events are compromising the fundamental operations of pre-K-12 schools, hindering progress toward SDG 4. These disruptions manifest in several ways:

• School Closures: During the 2024-25 school year, over nine million students were affected by closures resulting from heatwaves, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires.
• Infrastructure Vulnerability: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) data indicates that one-quarter of U.S. pre-K-12 schools are situated in census tracts with a “very high-risk” designation for at least one major environmental hazard.
• Reduced Academic Achievement: A significant body of research confirms that climate-induced events negatively affect student achievement and attainment through school closures, increased absenteeism, and the creation of adverse learning conditions.

Impacts on Health, Well-being, and Inequality (SDG 3 & SDG 10)

The consequences of climate change extend beyond academic disruption, affecting student health and exacerbating existing inequalities, which are central to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

1. Extreme heatwaves have led to increased emergency room visits and the cancellation of outdoor activities due to risks of heat stroke and contact burns from playground equipment.
2. Toxic smoke from wildfires has degraded air quality across major cities, posing health risks to students and communities.
3. Inequities in school infrastructure, stemming from disparities in local funding, mean that students in lower-income communities are often more vulnerable to the health and safety risks posed by climate change.

The Role of Schools in Advancing Climate Action and Sustainable Infrastructure

Developing Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure (SDG 9 & SDG 11)

Public schools, representing one of the largest infrastructure systems in the nation, are uniquely positioned to contribute to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by becoming models of resilience and sustainability.

• Mitigation Investments: Locally tailored investments, such as HVAC upgrades, fire-resistant roofing, and flood-resilient landscaping, can protect students and reduce costly weather-related damages.
• Community Resilience: As schools often serve as emergency shelters, infrastructure improvements benefit the entire community during climate-related disasters.
• Financial Barriers: The reliance on local funding for 82% of capital projects leads to systemic underinvestment and inequities, highlighting the need for targeted state and federal support to accelerate progress.

Contributing to Clean Energy and Climate Action (SDG 7 & SDG 13)

The U.S. K-12 public school system has a significant carbon footprint, with annual emissions equivalent to approximately 18 coal-fired power plants. By addressing this, schools can become key contributors to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

• Emission Reduction: Energy-efficient upgrades and the integration of renewable energy can lower schools’ operating costs and significantly reduce carbon emissions.
• Market Innovation: Concerted efforts to decarbonize school buildings can drive innovation in sustainable construction and clean energy technologies.

Integrating Climate Education and Green Economy Pathways

Strengthening Climate Literacy for Quality Education (SDG 4)

A critical component of a quality education in the 21st century is scientific literacy regarding climate change. However, the U.S. education system currently falls short in this area.

• Curricular Gaps: U.S. 15-year-olds rank below peers in 24 other countries in environmental science knowledge. Nearly half of U.S. teens report learning little to nothing about the causes of climate change in school.
• Systemic Issues: Climate education is often concentrated in elective high school courses, and widely used textbooks provide minimal or misleading coverage of the topic.
• Public Support: Despite these gaps, national surveys show that between 77% and 81% of adults support teaching about climate change in schools.

Preparing Students for Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8)

Schools can align educational outcomes with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by preparing students for careers in the expanding green economy.

1. Career and Technical Education (CTE): Twenty-nine states already offer CTE programs for careers in high-growth fields such as clean energy, sustainable building trades, and environmental management.
2. Economic Opportunity: Expanding these pathways equips students with skills for stable employment in sectors that are major employers in states across the political spectrum.

Conclusion: A Coordinated Path Forward

State and Local Leadership

Despite shifts in federal policy, momentum for climate action is building at the state and local levels. Numerous school districts, including Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, and New York, have developed comprehensive climate action plans. States such as California, Colorado, and New Jersey are integrating climate education across standards and investing in teacher development. These efforts demonstrate a pragmatic response to the interrelated challenges facing communities. Achieving progress requires viewing education reform and climate solutions as complementary goals, where improved education policy simultaneously advances academic achievement and contributes to a more sustainable and resilient future for all, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators from the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 4: Quality Education – The article’s core focus is on the U.S. education system, discussing declining student achievement, chronic absenteeism, and the need to integrate climate science into the curriculum.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – The article extensively details how climate change impacts schools through extreme weather events, and how schools can be part of the solution by reducing emissions and improving climate education.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The article addresses the vulnerability of school infrastructure to climate-related disasters like flooding, wildfires, and heatwaves, and discusses the role of schools as community emergency shelters.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – The text highlights the systematic underinvestment in school infrastructure, which comprises nearly 100,000 buildings, and calls for resilient upgrades like improved HVAC systems, fire-resistant roofing, and energy-efficient retrofits.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – The article connects education to future economic opportunities by advocating for Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that prepare students for employment in the green economy, such as clean energy and environmental management.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The article points out that underinvestment in school infrastructure creates inequities in health and safety, “compounding unequal learning opportunities that cut across racial and socio-economic lines.”

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  • Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education. This is relevant because the article begins by stating that “Student achievement has dropped to its lowest level in a quarter century” and that “chronic absenteeism has largely persisted,” both of which are direct threats to achieving quality education.
  • Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. The article directly addresses this by highlighting that U.S. schools are “doing a poor job at teaching the basic science necessary to understand climate change” and advocates for integrating “climate science into the curriculum.”

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters. The article discusses how “climate-fueled extreme weather events are increasingly compromising schools’ ability to perform” and suggests making schools “more resilient to natural disasters, extreme temperatures, and poor air quality” through infrastructure investments.
  • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. This is a central theme, as the article notes that “nearly half of U.S. teens reported learning ‘a little’ or ‘nothing’ about the causes of climate change in school” and calls for strengthening climate education.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  • Target 11.5: By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters. The article directly relates to this by stating that the “2024-25 school year alone saw over nine million students affected by closures or activity cancellations due to extreme weather events” and mentions the destruction of schools by wildfires and damage from hurricanes.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

  • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure. The article focuses heavily on this by describing U.S. public schools as “one of the largest infrastructure systems” and detailing the “systematic underinvestment in school infrastructure,” which leads to vulnerability to climate impacts. It calls for “HVAC upgrades, fire-resistant roofing, flood-resilient landscaping, and heat-mitigating infrastructure.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• For SDG 4 (Quality Education)

  • Student achievement levels: The article mentions that achievement has “dropped to its lowest level in a quarter century,” implying this is a key metric for educational quality (Target 4.1).
  • Chronic absenteeism rates: The persistence of “the pandemic-era spike in chronic absenteeism” is cited as a major problem, serving as an indicator of educational engagement and access (Target 4.1).
  • Level of climate change knowledge: The article cites a survey finding that “nearly half of U.S. teens reported learning ‘a little’ or ‘nothing’ about the causes of climate change in school,” which can be used as an indicator to measure progress in education for sustainable development (Target 4.7).
  • International assessment rankings: The article notes that “American 15-year-olds’ knowledge of environmental science ranked below that of 24 other countries on the 2015 PISA science exam,” providing a comparative indicator for Target 4.7.

• For SDG 13 (Climate Action) & SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities)

  • Number of students affected by climate-related school closures: The article states that “over nine million students affected by closures or activity cancellations due to extreme weather events” in a single school year. This is a direct indicator of climate impacts on education and community services (Targets 13.1 and 11.5).
  • Number of schools in high-risk zones: The finding that “a quarter of pre-K-12 schools are now located in census tracts designated very high-risk for at least one out of 11 different environmental hazards” serves as an indicator of vulnerability (Target 13.1).
  • Carbon emissions from the school system: The article estimates the annual carbon emissions of the U.S. K-12 public school system as “roughly equivalent to 18 coal-fired power plants,” which can be used as a baseline indicator for mitigation efforts (Target 13.2, though not explicitly discussed).

• For SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure)

  • Investment levels in school infrastructure: The article points to “systematic underinvestment” and the fact that local funding covers “82% of the costs of capital projects” as indicators of the current state of infrastructure financing (Target 9.1).
  • Prevalence of resilient infrastructure: The article implies that the number of schools with adequate air conditioning, fire-resistant roofing, and flood-resilient landscaping are key indicators of infrastructure resilience (Target 9.1).

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: brookings.edu