Education is a critical driver of sustainable development, including equipping students with skills needed to help society mitigate and adapt to climate change. This paper evaluates Climate Change Education (CCE) at global, national, and regional levels. We employ a climate-focused school management model and introduce a 12-hallmark checklist for assessment. We then apply this framework to Sicily, Italy – a region that is highly vulnerable to climate change – to examine policy implementation, curriculum integration, and pedagogical strategies. Our findings reveal significant gaps in teacher training, interdisciplinary learning, and regional equity, despite Italy pioneering national CCE policies. Good practises from international models and AI-assisted curricula are explored to enhance climate literacy and green skill development. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for strengthening the long-term impact of CCE and assuring alignment with workforce demands in stainability sectors.
Passiglia et al. (Fri,) studied this question.