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Developed by UNESCO in partnership with the UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education at KUSOED, the new professional development micro-credential course responds to the growing urgency for meaningful climate action within Nepal’s education system and positions school leaders and teachers as the primary drivers of that change.
Nepal is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, yet the schools remain underprepared to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to respond. As climate impacts intensify, the window for building a generation of climate-literate, resilient citizens narrows. Educators are the critical link, but without continuous professional development opportunity, the gap between national climate commitments and classroom reality will persist.
Educators at the centre of greening education
According to the Educators at the heart of greening education toolkit developed by the Greening Education Partnership, together with UNICEF, Education International, and the Global Partnership for Education, teachers and school leaders are not merely policy implementers; they are the primary agents of systemic educational change. Greening education requires a fundamental shift in pedagogy, school governance, institutional planning, and community engagement.
In Nepal, as in many countries, a significant gap exists between national policy commitments on climate change education and school-level capacity to act. This course is designed precisely to close that gap.
About the course
Grounded in the UNESCO Green School Quality Standard (2024) and the Greening Curriculum Guidance (2024), and aligned with Nepal’s national frameworks, the programme is structured in two interlinked parts that may be taken independently or as a combined intensive workshop.
- Part A – 1 credit
Greening Our Schools: Planning and Leading a Whole-Institution Approach
For headteachers & green school focal teachers – leads to a Green School Action Plan aligned with the School Improvement Plan - Part B – 2 credits
Integrating ESD and Climate Change into Teaching and Learning
For subject teachers at all grade levels – applies learner-centered, action-oriented ESD pedagogies in local contexts
Together, Parts A and B form a 3-credit micro-credential package, bridging strategic school leadership with everyday classroom practice. The course is currently designed as a four-day face-to-face intensive workshop, supplemented by pre-workshop assessed tasks and post-workshop school-based capstone engagement.
What participants will gain?
Upon successful completion, participants will be equipped to drive lasting change at the school level.
- Lead institution-wide change by applying a whole-institution approach to green schools
- Design and deliver climate change education using learner-centred, action-oriented ESD pedagogies grounded in local context
- Earn a recognised micro-credential certification from Kathmandu University
Who the course is for?
The course is designed for school leaders and teachers across Nepal. The recommended participation model is the school team approach – a headteacher and a green school focal teacher from the same institution attending together – ensuring coherence between institutional strategy and classroom practice.
Grounded in Nepal’s national climate commitments
The course delivers on Nepal’s own binding climate obligations, and the initiative aligns closely with the Education Sector Action Plan of Nepal’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 3.0, the country’s concrete, time-bound roadmap for climate action under the Paris Agreement.
The NDC 3.0 Education Action Plan commits Nepal to designing green skills-related professional development programmes with certified teacher training delivered annually; increasing the number of teachers who integrate climate change into lesson planning; including climate change modules in both pre-service and in-service teacher training; integrating climate adaptation and resilience across the education system to provide children with climate-responsive learning; and making at least 50% of schools green through the implementation of the national Green School Implementation Standards. This course addresses each of these commitments directly, equipping educators with both institutional leadership skills and classroom pedagogy to translate national policy targets into professional practice at every level of the school system.
A nationwide pilot: reaching 100 schools across all seven provinces
100+ schools reached in the pilot rollout phase
200+ school leaders and teachers to benefit
7 provinces covered across Nepal
The launch is accompanied by a pilot rollout of the course at national scale – designed to generate evidence and build momentum for wider adoption. Supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu, the pilot is delivered under the UNESCO–UNICEF project Strengthening a Climate Smart, Green, and Resilient Education System in Nepal, in collaboration with the Principals Association of Nepal (PAN).
The pilot builds directly on a landmark commitment: at their National Summit in June 2025, PAN member headteachers signed a joint declaration pledging to advance climate action and green school initiatives in their institutions. The pilot translates that pledge into structured action — providing the tools, training, and institutional frameworks to move from awareness to measurable impact on the ground.
Findings and lessons from the pilot are expected to inform the broader scaling of the programme, with the goal of embedding greening education as a whole-institution approach across Nepal’s school system.
About the course providers
UNESCO is the lead United Nations agency on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and serves as Secretariat for the Greening Education Partnership, launched at the Transforming Education Summit in September 2022.
The UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education at Kathmandu University School of Education is a centre of excellence for research, training, and knowledge-sharing in ESD, STEAM education, innovative pedagogy, and educational leadership.
READ MORE: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-and-kathmandu-university-school-education-launch-micro-credential-course-build-climate-ready?hub=701
