Conducted by Ipsos-Mori, the poll results revealed that 75% of 11 to 16-year-olds were worried about how global warming will change the world and wanted the government to do more to tackle the threat. These findings frame the current governmental plans to drop the debate over climate change from the national curriculum for under-14s’ geography classes, with the Department for Education receiving a delivery of a 65,000-strong petition.
Only 1% of the children polled said they knew nothing about climate change, whilst two-thirds of young people were worried about how climate change will affect other children and families’ wellness in developing countries. According to David Bull, Unicef UK’s executive director, ‘The results of this survey offer a timely reminder to politicians that climate change is an issue of tremendous concern to Britons and casts a long shadow over young people’s view of their future. Young people are not only concerned about their own future [but also] the impact climate change is having on children in less developed countries where climate change is a key driver of hunger and malnutrition.’
15-year-old student Esha Marwaha from Hounslow and geography teacher Margaret Hunter from Oxfordshire delivered the petitions protesting the proposed changes to the school curriculum. Marwaha said: ‘People are angered by Gove’s decision to remove references to climate change. Teaching only a selective part of a vital topic has ramifications for the future. It’s not about forcing students to believe in climate change, it’s about allowing them to make an informed decision based on what they learn.’
Last month, it was revealed that draft guidelines for children in key stages one to three had removed discussion of climate change in the geography syllabus, and all references to sustainable development have also been dropped in a move widely interpreted as the result of political interference. The government’s former science adviser, Professor Sir David King, denounced the government proposals as ‘major political interference with the geography syllabus’.
Last week, The Sunday Times printed a letter from almost 100 leading environmental figures, including the broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, which said, ‘Education on the environment would start three years later than at present and all existing references to care and protection would be removed. This is both unfathomable and unacceptable. Today’s children are tomorrow’s custodians of nature.’