WRI Colombia led climate education and capacity-building workshops across five regions. The initiative helped local government leaders, public servants and teachers understand and implement the country’s long-term climate strategy (E2050) while expanding access to climate change education.
The Challenge
Like many countries, Colombia faces the urgent tasks of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and boosting resilience to the escalating threats of climate change. The country’s long-term climate strategy (E2050) includes a goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Achieving this target will require action on every level — not just from the national government, but also from local policymakers such as mayors and governors, as well as teachers entrusted with educating the country’s future decision-makers.
However, public servants, especially in rural and underserved regions, lacked sufficient knowledge and tools to incorporate the national climate strategy into their subnational development plans. Teachers did not have access to climate change curricula and other resources. Without targeted training and accessible educational materials for vulnerable populations, Colombia was unlikely to meet its climate goals.
WRI’s Role
WRI Colombia designed and led a series of educational and capacity-building workshops for public servants and educators, focusing on how to integrate E2050 into subnational development plans and educational curricula.
WRI hosted workshops in five regions of Colombia to enhance local policymakers’ and public servants’ understanding of E2050. This included education on the importance of net-zero targets and climate resilience, as well as how to incorporate these goals into subnational development plans for 2024-2028
For teachers, the WRI Colombia team developed an educational toolkit — including two games, an infographic, a climate journal to record daily observances and a storybook on carbon neutrality — provided in braille and Indigenous languages. The team worked closely with Colombia’s Ministry of Education and regional Secretariats of Education to produce and disseminate these materials. WRI also co-hosted the launch of the first climate-focused braille storybook at Colombia’s International Book Festival, raising national awareness of the need for inclusive climate education.
The Outcome
WRI Colombia played a pivotal role in advancing the roadmap to E2050 by empowering government officials, teachers and local communities. Over 100 public servants, including officials from mayors’ offices and governorships, integrated E2050 priorities into local development plans for 2024-2028, while 299 educators from public schools and underfunded and rural areas adopted interactive materials to train their students and peers on climate change issues. More than 4,800 students now have access to climate education that was previously unavailable in many regions.
By improving knowledge across government institutions and the education sector, this project has strengthened Colombia’s ability to implement long-term, inclusive climate solutions.