Paris to launch a Climate Academy in September

The opening should coincide with the start of the school year

Without any doubt, Paris is a frontrunner in the fight against climate change. For the city authorities, a pre-condition for a future-proof city is that its population should be aware of the issues stemming from the changing climate and that it has the means to face the ecological transition.

That is why the City Council of Paris adopted on Thursday a decision to launch a Climate Academy. Conceived with and for young people, this institution is tasked to prepare a generation of active citizens that live in a sustainable manner.

Betting on young people to save the planet

Last week, the local parliament of Paris voted in favour of the opening of the Climate Academy from the start of the 2021 school year. It will be located in the old town hall of the 4th arrondissement of Paris.

The education institution’s establishment derives from the understanding of local stakeholders that the success of the ecological transition requires a radical change in our lifestyles. Therefore, the Academy will aim to strengthen the power of young generations to act and provide them with tools to fight against climate change.

The academy will offer free theoretical and practical workshops throughout the week, in the heart of the city. The objective will be to help young people to better understand environmental issues, to experiment, and to transform their ways of living in a more sustainable way. Young people will benefit from modules on citizenship and will also receive support on the development of projects promoting environmental transition.

The Academy will be open to practically anyone who wishes to receive continuing education on the subject. Moreover, the city will aim to ensure equal access to all young people, and in particular those from working-class districts and the Greater Paris Metropolis. The training courses will be accompanied by a certification system, supporting the participants’ integration into the labour market.

“Lucid, courageous and determined, the young generation is at the forefront of the challenge of ecological transition: it mobilizes, challenges us and fights to invent new ways of consuming, eating, moving, without wasting resources. We have to listen to them. With the Climate Academy, we want to give them all the tools they need to understand the challenges of this changing world and transform it," explained Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.