Who is educating our kids about climate change?

Did you know that at least 39 oil and gas companies are involved in funding and developing K-12 education across Canada, including climate education for kids?

How can we let the biggest drivers of the climate crisis be part of educating our kids about climate?

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and For Our Kids, an organization supported by the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring, have just released a new groundbreaking report titled “Polluting Education: The Influence of Fossil Fuels on Children’s Education in Canada“. The report exposes how at least 39 oil and gas companies, and 12 industry-linked organizations have shaped climate curricula, teacher training, and school activities to serve the interests of the fossil fuel industry.

Greys for Green are alarmed by this report and have sent the letter reprinted below to all Simcoe County public and Catholic school trustees, as well as the Executive Director of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association alerting them to this concerning report. We urge all parents and grandparents to read the report and take action now. Share this report far and wide with friends, your school board, trustee or parent council. This page has sample emails and letter templates you can use.

Dear Trustees,

Teachers, parents, and grandparents like me are committed to helping our children and students understand and navigate a rapidly changing world, and this includes providing students with quality climate education that explains the growing impacts of the climate crisis, the key causes and solutions.

To cover climate issues, perhaps you sometimes turn to third-party climate education resources that offer lessons and resources that are ready to use. However, this report explains that some materials promoted towards teachers are funded by companies who have a vested interest in muddling the key role fossil fuels play in driving the climate crisis, obfuscating the need for an energy transition, and greenwashing industry operations. We would not accept health education resources that are funded by the tobacco industry; we should not accept climate change education materials funded by the fossil fuel industry.

Teachers need more support and leadership from the school board to develop and deliver climate education free from fossil fuel industry influence. We need to protect our kids’ education and ensure that this is based on factual, validated information. We understand that all this takes considerable time and work.

To that end, I’d like to see the school board take action, if you haven’t already done so, to combat this issue. Please consider the following measures:

• Developing a vetting process to ensure that educational resources are free from fossil fuel influence, including vetting existing materials
• Establishing a policy prohibiting fossil fuel sponsorship in schools
• Board-supported professional development for teachers to provide climate education free from fossil fuel influence, including support for critical and media literacy to identify misinformation and greenwashing

In addition, the school board could demonstrate leadership by declaring a climate emergency and developing a practical Climate Action Plan to support emissions reduction in schools and safe, healthy school environments for students and teachers. Please refer to the report’s “Recommendations” section for School Boards for more information.

Please let me know if you’d be willing to meet to discuss these concerns further and share ideas for how to support stronger climate education in our school district free from oil and gas influence.

Louise Montague
Co-Chair, Greys for Green