Berlin teams up with schoolchildren to fight climate change

A new framework will foster collaboration between schools and the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family for the adoption of climate change projects and ideas

On 27 August, Berlin announced it will open the way for schoolchildren to participate in the fight against climate change. This will take the form of ‘climate agreements’ where students can submit their climate protection ideas and projects to an advisory board in the Senate Department of Education, Youth and Family.  The Senate Department will then implement the projects.

Making climate change something tangible that students can influence

The idea for direct school participation in the fight against climate change was born from talks between the Senator for Education, Youth and the Family, Sandra Scheeres, and student representatives with the support of climate activists from Fridays for Future Berlin.

The latter group has been making waves in recent months in Germany with frequent climate strikes that seem to attract a growing number of people.

The new project aims to make climate change a more tangible topic in schools, bringing students closer to the problem and giving them a new tool with which they can create change themselves. In turn, the move has the potential to empower a whole new generation of people, actively working to implement greener and more sustainable solutions in real life.

This is why it is very important that the students’ climate projects, if accepted by the advisory board in the Senate committee, are legally binding and financed by the Senate. While it will surely put a cap on the number and scope of the projects, it will also foster a ‘can-do' attitude in the students, as they will see how their ideas come to shape Berlin.

Senator Scheeres was quoted in a press release, saying: “Many students have been dealing intensively with the pressing issues of climate change for years. I also understood the Fridays for Future movement as a positive signal that the young generation is ready to get involved in society. So, I am all the more pleased that we were able to develop the climate agreement here together with student representatives and young climate activists."

Josi Hübner a representative of Fridays for Future Berlin added: “Schools are an elementary part of our society. It is particularly important there to focus on climate protection and climate education. The climate agreements are a step in the right direction."