Who We Are
UN CC:Learn was launched at the 2009 Climate Change Summit held in Copenhagen. During our three-year pilot phase, 2011-2013, we worked in five countries. We expanded to a further 11 countries in the following phase (2014-2017), developed new learning products and upgraded our online learning platform. During our fourth phase (2017-2020), we put climate change education and training at the heart of decision-making by engaging with, overall, 30 countries, either bilaterally or through regional programmes, and advanced climate literacy worldwide by reaching almost 400,000 new users through our e-learning platform.
Currently, in the fifth phase (2021-2025), we have been advancing our work on four main fronts, working with national governments, learning institutions, youth, and the general public. Through new partnerships at global, regional and national levels, we have been expanding our work, especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, while offering even more learning resources to everyone interested around the world. Engaging several countries on climate education and over 900,000 global learners, issuing more than 400,000 certificates, and offering more than 120 courses in 17 languages, UN CC:Learn has been proven to be the global leader in climate learning.
Our mission
Our work at national and global levels contributes to the implementation of Article 6 of the UNFCCC and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement which deal with education, training and public awareness-raising, as well as to the 2012-2020 Doha Work Programme.
In close collaboration with partners across the UN system and partner countries, UN CC:Learn aims to build human capacity to plan and implement effective climate change actions. Our main goals include:
- supporting partner countries in developing climate change learning strategies;
- increasing capacity and awareness of learning institutions for the integration of climate change education into classroom curricula;
- empowering youth to take individual and collective climate change action and contribute to policy-making at national or global levels and
- increasing climate literacy worldwide to shift perceptions and behaviors and mobilize individual, informed, and climate-friendly decisions in their communities and professional
Our areas of work
- Partner countries
We support partner countries to develop climate change learning strategies based on multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration and contribute to the implementation of climate change policies, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). Our main activities lie on:
- Regional Declaration on Climate Education
- National Climate Change Learning Strategies
- Regional hub in Latin America
- Regional hub in West Africa
2. Learning Institutions
We have been supporting learning institutions to integrate climate education into their initiatives. Working with such institutions at national and regional level contributes the development of tailored content in support of an inclusive and transformative behavior change within communities. Our main initiatives include:
- Teacher’s hub
- Partnership with Agrhymet and universities
- Tailored online training
- Good learning practices
3. Youth
Our partnership with key global and national youth networks aims to support them to strengthen their capacity to implement effective climate action, and meaningfully contribute to climate policy making and policy decisions. Our main initiatives are:
- Youth Climate Dialogues
- Climate Youth Negotiators Programme
- Online trainings
- Climate champions
- 1MYAC
- Radio programme
4. General public
UN CC:Learn and partners work together to create climate change learning resources that are available to everyone, anywhere, for free. Our online resources include more than 120 self-paced e-courses on different climate change, green economy, and circularity topics as well as from introductory to advanced and specialized levels. We also offer affiliated learning resources developed by recognized institutions that complement the UN CC:Learn portfolio. In addition, we have been offering several opportunities to raise the global visibility of climate change education and training in innovative and engaging ways. Our work includes mainly:
- E-learning platform
- The Climate Classroom
- Fireside chats and webinars
- TEDx event
- Online library
- Affiliated resources
The Dialogue Spaces
The Dialogue Spaces provide an opportunity for interested partners and stakeholders to regularly exchange, hold in-depth discussions around key themes, and identify synergies and specific opportunities for collaboration.
- Dialogue Space on Learning for Countries: this is a space for UN CC:Learn Partners to discuss, share experiences and collaborate on key topics at the forefront of the ACE agenda to build knowledge and skills in countries to support the implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans.
- Dialogue Space on Learning through Youth: in this space, UN CC:Learn Partners discuss ways of strengthening youth capacity for climate action, offering an opportunity to learn from their active motivation, engagement, and grassroots activism.
- Dialogue Space on Learning for Citizens and Professionals: UN CC:Learn Partners discuss, share experiences, and collaborate on ways of ramping up climate change literacy and awareness among global audiences to help them make informed decisions and mobilize climate change action in their contexts.