On 19 March 2024, the Lifelong Learning Platform hosted an online discussion on EPALE addressing the role of adult learning and education in fostering green skills; the discussion unfolded online to highlight the key role that adult learners and educators play in fostering a transition that not only tackles environmental urgencies, but also delivers on equity and inclusion. 

Two guests of honour helped navigate this complex sea: Barbara Archesso, member of the EU Working Group on Learning for Sustainability, and Katharina Wiese, Policy Manager for Economic Transition and Gender Equality at the European Environmental Bureau and co-author of the report “Reimagining work for a just transition”; the discussion was moderated by Andrea Lapegna, Deputy Director of the Lifelong Learning Platform. 

Sustainability and transversal competences

Sustainability in education and training has risen as a significant topic in the last few years, starting with environmental concerns and ranging to social justice and, of course, education. It is therefore particularly relevant to address this topic, in light of the Green Transition, which pledges to bring Europe to a much-needed climate neutrality by 2050. However, at the moment, there have been different understandings of what green skills are. 

To help clarify this point, the discussion started off by laying the terminological foundations for the debate ahead. Among the most important distinctions, the one between technical skills and transversal competences rose as one of the crucial points. If, on the one hand, green technical skills are vital for the economy, transversal competences that help foster a different sense of sustainability and help promote different patterns of production and consumption are equally - if not more - important. Their recognition and validation, of course, begs the question of harmonising different systems, but remains of vital meaning. 

Additionally, experts remarked that green skills are used in all segments of our lives: in all jobs (not only those directly related to the energy or the environmental sectors, for instance), but also in all moments of one’s personal and social life, regardless of age. And talking about age, it is important that we ensure a green mindset is instilled from very early ages, for it can decisively help to shape a greener future. 

Inclusion and communities

There was a general agreement that the green transition cannot happen without the active involvement of all actors, starting from the ground. From here, experts pointed to the beneficial role of communities and community learning as a key factor in making the green transition a just transition. Conscious of the risk of leaving behind vulnerable groups - especially those that have scarce access to quality education - experts called for a renewed attention to the social aspects of green skills, i.e. provisions of skills for the green transition that also aim to lift vulnerable people’s material conditions. Because, in the end, successfully tackling the climate crisis is a matter of lifelong learning. 

Adult learning in particular has the pivotal role of “opening up perspective to future generations” and this intergenerational aspect of lifelong learning feeds well into the way community learning was imagined. To the extent lifelong learning is concerned, a focus of the discussion was eminently on non-formal and informal learning environments, with a particular mention of outdoor activities that can help foster a deeper practical understanding of green competences and, overall, a green mentality.

The role of teachers and educators

Addressing green skills and the way we learn them leads directly into the role of teachers and educators in this “green revolution”. The EPALE community was particularly active on this topic, asking experts whether a shift in methodology and in the way we train our teachers and educators is not advisable. As a matter of fact, it is: addressing the need of teachers in terms of training and further development across Europe remains an unanswered challenge, and while the European Union has been setting numerous frameworks rooted in practical reports, a lot needs to be done at national levels. This need is impellent in light of the green transition, which commends us to wholly and urgently rethink the way we learn and, crucially, the reasons why we learn. Key competences for lifelong learning come to help again, with the Council Recommendations of 2018 being a milestone upon which to base future action. 

The discussion went on on EPALE, where users shared their perspectives. Here you can see the doubts regarding green skills and the way we learn them, but at the same time also the sense of urgency for our actions. Users shared resources to support the systematic integration of climate goals and content in education, such as this online library; they pointed at the family and early stages of our lives as key factors to develop a green mindset for tomorrow’s adult population; but they also pledged to join forces at the local level with local administrations, perhaps through the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, which is geared towards adult learners. To this extent, users shared relevant examples of good practices in different EU countries, and the data are encouraging: learners care about the environment and most of all they care to learn about it and embed a greener attitude in daily lives. 

One thing to take away from the whole discussion? As one user said in the written discussion, "education and training for active adults is fundamental to achieve a sustainable future in the near future", and the Greencomp framework to assess existing competences and acquire new ones is a very good place to start!