The Chair of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) on climate change, Dr. Nana Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, has called for climate education to be embedded in national climate policies across Africa. 

He cautioned that investments in adaptation, climate finance, and early warning systems would deliver limited results if people were not equipped with the knowledge and skills to act. 

Delivering a keynote address at a side event on Education for Sustainable Development and Climate Action during the UN climate meetings (SB64) in Bonn, Dr. Amoah said climate education must no longer be treated as a side issue but as part of Africa’s climate infrastructure. 

According to him, climate finance, technology transfer, adaptation plans, early warning systems, and support for loss and damage become more effective when people understand them, trust them, and actively participate in implementation. 

He noted that climate change was already affecting daily life across Africa through its impact on food systems, water resources, public health, education, infrastructure, employment, and ecosystems. 

Africa, he said, continues to bear some of the harshest climate impacts despite contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions. 

“This is why Africa continues to call for climate justice, stronger adaptation support, predictable finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building,” he said. 

The AGN chair argued that education provides the foundation for communities to respond effectively to climate risks and build resilience. 

Describing education as a climate solution, he said climate literacy could help farmers make better planting decisions, support local authorities to plan for floods and heat, and enable young people to develop green businesses and participate meaningfully in decision-making. 

He also warned that climate change was disrupting education itself, with floods, drought, and extreme heat increasingly affecting schools and reducing learning opportunities for children. 

Dr. Nana Amoah called for stronger implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7, which promotes education for sustainable development, and argued that for Africa, the target should also be viewed as a climate action priority. 

The AGN Chair pointed to Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) under the UN climate framework as a practical pathway for advancing education, training, public awareness, and participation in climate responses. 

To strengthen implementation, he proposed four priorities: integrating climate education into national climate and education plans; investing in teacher training and learning materials; financing climate-resilient education systems; and placing young people at the centre of climate action. 

He also called for monitoring systems to track the integration of climate education into policies, curricula, and teacher training while ensuring that vulnerable groups, including girls, rural learners, and displaced children, were not left behind. 

Reaffirming the AGN’s commitment, Dr. Amoah said the group would continue to push for support that enables African countries to strengthen institutions, empower youth, and implement the Paris Agreement fairly and practically. 

“The future of climate action in Africa will not be shaped only in negotiating rooms. It will also be shaped in classrooms, farms, local councils, universities, community centres and homes,” he said.