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At the time of writing, 720 people have signed Global Action Plan's open letter to Bridget Phillipson MP. The letter calls on the Department for Education to more deeply embed climate and sustainability across the National Curriculum.

In this piece, Camilla Sheaves takes a look at some of the names who have so far signed.

As reported in TES magazine, 150 eminent academics and leaders recently signed an open letter to Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP. Published on 27 February, the letter (coordinated by Global Action Plan and the UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education) is a call for more climate change and sustainability education.  

Notably, alongside the influential environmental advocates (like Professor Sir David King, Sir Jonathon Porritt, Professor Emily Shuckburgh OBE, Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE, and Lord Nicholas Stern) whose names can be found in the full list of signatories, are some (un)usual suspects.   

Our signatories include Professor Kate Pickett OBE, co-author for ‘The Spirit Level’ and ‘The Inner-Level', which explore the impact of inequality across different areas of our society; Dr. Hilary Cottam OBE, author of ‘Radical Help’ and a renowned entrepreneur with an innovative focus to reform the welfare state; Professor Andrew West Patterson, author of ‘Assessment Education: A New Paradigm Facilitated by AI’; popular children’s author Jonathan Emmett; adventurer Mark Beaumont and House of Lords member, Earl John Russell.  

Economists, who are known for their reimagining of our current economic model, have also signed. For instance, Professor Kate Raworth, who popularised the concept of Doughnut Economics, and Professor Lee Elliot Major OBE who works to improve education for disadvantaged communities.

Many educators and academics have signed the open letter too, including the hugely influential Dr. Cat Scutt MBE, the Executive CEO of Charted College of Teaching, who told TES magazine that climate and sustainability is a growing priority for schools. Dr Scutt was quoted as saying:  

“Over the past two years we have been working with primary schools across the country as part of our Rethinking Curriculum project, funded by the Helen Hamlyn Trust, and sustainability and climate education came out as one of primary schools’ top five priorities for curriculum development.”  

Other notable signatories include Professor Hugh Montgomery, the founder of Real Zero and health advisor to the government; Professor Danny Dorling, a geography professor at the University of Oxford; Professor Andy Bilson, who sits on the board of Parents, Families and Allies network; Professor Keri Facer, professor of educational and social futures, and UNESCO public profile expert; and Professor Stephen Chan OBE, a professor of World Politics at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) and international civil servant.  

Meanwhile, specialists in the science, and social science, of Earth systems and climate change continue to add their names. The list includes Professor Daniela N Schmidt, Professor Kate Jones, Professor Nicola Walshe, Professor Daniella Tilbury, Professor Kathryn Yusoff, Professor Lucie Middlemiss, Professor Sir Brian Hoskins CBE, Professor Mark Maslin, Professor Kevin Anderson, Professor Tim Jackson, Professor Sir Chris Rapley CBE, Professor Ed Hawkins, and Professor Mike Berners-Lee. 

Finally, we shouldn’t overlook the many people who are united in the belief that climate and sustainability must hold a more important position within our curriculum. Our letter signatories include colleagues from environmental and education organisations like The Curriculum Foundation, ThoughtBox Education, Education Climate Coalition, Ivy Learning Trust, Parents for Future Leicestershire, SOS-UK, SEEd, Climate Psychology Alliance, Climate Majority Project, Green Schools Project, The Glacier Trust, Teach the Future, Let’s Go Zero, the NEU and many more. 

If you haven’t already, please sign and share the open letter. Let’s unite our voices to push the government to invest in our children’s future by including climate and sustainability in all areas of their education.

Read, share, and sign the letter now