Japan pledges $3 million to support climate-resilient learning in Africa

WASHINGTON D.C./TOKYO, January 9, 2024 - The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) welcomed a pledge of more than $3 million from Japan to help cyclone-impacted children in Mozambique return to school, and to increase education’s resilience to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Climate change is already threatening children’s right to education. As the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events increase across the world, nearly one billion girls and boys—roughly half the planet’s children— live in countries that are at an extremely high risk of the impacts of climate change, such as droughts, cyclones and floods.

On February 24 and March 11, 2023, Cyclone Freddy, the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record, hit Mozambique twice, wreaking havoc on the lives of almost 1.2 million Mozambicans, and disrupting education for thousands of children. 

At COP28, Japan signed the Declaration on the Common Agenda for Education and Climate Change and became one of its founding members. This declaration is the first global acknowledgment of the critical link between education and climate action as a foundation for a resilient and sustainable future for all children.

“GPE is delighted to have Japan as its first donor country supporting its efforts to increase recognition of the link between climate change and education. It is indeed time we recognized that while education is vulnerable to climate-related shocks, it also plays a crucial role in teaching children about climate risks and prevention measures,”said Laura Frigenti, GPE Chief Executive Officer. “With Japan’s continued support, we will pursue our quest to provide children with the quality education that unlocks their potential to contribute to a safer and greener planet.”

Apart from ensuring continued access to learning for children affected by Cyclone Freddy, Japan’s generous grant will also contribute to GPE’s Climate Smart Education Initiative. Through this initiative, GPE seeks to enhance countries’ capacities to mainstream climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability into their education sector plans, budgets, and strategies. With this grant, GPE will support education ministries across sub-Saharan Africa to use climate data to inform planning and policy, improve school safety mechanisms and infrastructure, support access to climate finance for adaptation and integrate climate into school curricula.

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Note to editors:

Global warming is making it increasingly difficult for children across the world to continue learning in safety, especially in low and middle-income countries. To shed light on climate-related disruptions to education, GPE has produced “Education in the eye of the storm,” a 360° virtual reality film showing the devastating impacts of Cyclone Freddy on children’s education in Mozambique.

To address the climate’s growing threats to education, GPE, the Green Climate Fund and Save the Children launched at COP28 “Building the Climate Resilience of Children and Communities through the Education Sector,” an unprecedented $70 million investment to build climate-resilient schools in vulnerable countries through three practical actions: 1) Building and retrofitting schools and making their operations greener, 2) Embedding climate change in school curricula, and 3) Providing climate early warnings to schools and improving early action.

About the Global Partnership for Education

GPE is a shared commitment to ending the world’s learning crisis. We mobilize partners and funds to support nearly 90 lower-income countries to transform their education systems so that every girl and boy can get the quality education they need to unlock their full potential and contribute to building a better world.

www.globalpartnership.org