BRAZIL ANNOUNCES PIONEERING DECISION TO TEACH CLIMATE EDUCATION IN EVERY SCHOOL BY 2025

Washington, DC (August 2, 2024) - EARTHDAY.ORG, (EDO), the global leader in Earth Day advocacy, celebrated by over one billion people worldwide on April 22, warmly congratulates President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil for supporting climate education as a critical tool in dealing with the climate crisis

President Lula da Silva recently sanctioned guarantees that climate change and the protection of biodiversity will be recognized in Brazil's National Environmental Education Policy (PNEA). The measure was signed into law on July 17 at an event at Palácio do Planalto, in Brasília (DF).

"EARTHDAY.ORG has been the driving force behind climate education for decades," said Kathleen Rogers, President, EDO. "Our tireless work has ignited global interest, and Brazil has heard our call by putting climate education onto their school curriculum. Where Brazil goes, we know other nations will follow.

"Educating for the environment is a task of this century. Without this, we will continue to believe that it is possible to live in opposition to ecology," stated Minister Marina Silva, Brazil's Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (Source President sanctions law that reinforces education on climate change and biodiversity

This is not the first time that Brazil has elevated climate education on the world stage. In August 2023 at the Amazon Presidential Summit in Belém do Pará, Brazil emphasized the importance of environmental education.

"Climate education gives students critically important skills that will help power the global green economy," says Bryce Coon, Director Climate Education Initiatives, EDO. "Not just in the future but right now. Our recent report, Climate Education Vs. The Climate Crisis lays out what an important role teaching this subject will play in creating a climate ready workforce.

"It is a point of pride that Latin America consistently leads in adopting planet centric actions," says Rodolfo Beltran, Regional Director for South America at EARTHDAY.ORG. "We will continue to robustly promote climate education, with the goal of ensuring it is included in every K-12 school curriculum worldwide."

"We also want to see climate education on every country's Nationally Determined Contribution, (NDC)," said Bryce Coon, Director Education Initiatives, EDO. "Which is why we wrote an NDC Guide. We are committed to finishing the job we started decades ago to achieve this."

EARTHDAY.ORG fully recognizes Brazil's on-going commitment to environmental protection, including a 40% reduction in Amazon deforestation and the expansion of renewable energy sources, which now constitute 48% of Brazil's energy matrix. President Lula da Silva's climate leadership will be on full display as Brazil prepares to host COP30 of the UNFCCC in BELÉM in 2025.

"We need to remember that the cavalry isn't coming. We are the cavalry when it comes to coping with a rapidly changing climate. Climate education is a vitally important part of our arsenal and Brazil understand that." says Kathleen Rogers, President, EDO.

About EARTHDAY.ORG: EARTHDAY.ORG's founders created and organized the very first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Since then, EARTHDAY.ORG has mobilized over one billion people annually on Earth Day, and every other day, to protect the planet. EARTHDAY.ORG's mission is to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental community worldwide. As the world's largest recruiter to the environmental movement, EARTHDAY.ORG works with more than 150,000 partners in nearly 192 countries to build environmental democracy. Learn more at EARTHDAY.ORG.

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