Education for Sustainability – as if People and the Environment Matter
Link to the JSE May 2025 General Issue Table of Contents
Badami JSE General Issue May 2025 PDF
Abstract: In this essay, I discuss the important objectives for education for sustainability, given the challenges that we face, and the serious shortcomings in our knowledge systems. I stress the need to consider sustainability as if both people and the environment matter. I argue that, because a deep understanding of the sustainability challenge can lead to despair, it is important to provide grounds for realistic hope, by showing how positive change is possible, and is being made to happen, across the world. Addressing the sustainability challenge will depend on our ability to enhance human well-being while minimizing material and energy resource flows. Fortunately, the science of well-being shows that, while wealth and consumption contribute to happiness and well-being, rich social relationships, treating everyone with dignity and compassion, and a meaningful, purposeful life, are as important.
Keywords: Sustainability, Education, Realistic hope, Well-being, Equity, Values
The Grand Challenges of our Time
We stand at a critical juncture in human history. The manifold increase in economic activity since World War II has produced prosperity for many, but at great ecological and social cost. Several major environmental challenges including global heating and climate breakdown (Byers et al., 2018; Xu et al., 2018), biodiversity loss (Cardinale et al., 2012), groundwater depletion (Jasechko et al., 2024), persistent food insecurity (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2023), and pollution (Fuller et al., 2023; Tozer, 2023; Wang et al., 2024), threaten the health and well-being of our present and future generations, and of other species on earth.
Also, there are glaring deprivations and inequalities across and within countries. While the top 10% of the global population accounted for 52% of total global income, the bottom 50% did so for only 8.5%, in 2021. Global wealth was distributed even more unequally; whereas the top 10% of the global population accounted for as much as 76% of global wealth, the bottom 50% did so for a mere 2%, in the same year (Chancel et al., 2023). Nearly 720 million people lived below the extremely low UN international poverty line of $2.15 per day in 2022 (World Bank, 2024). About the same number lived in chronic hunger (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2023); 2.2 billion people lacked access to “safely managed drinking water services” (WHO, 2023a); 1.5 billion people lacked access to basic sanitation services (WHO, 2024); 760 million lacked access to electricity (IEA, 2024); and 1.6 billion lacked adequate shelter in the same year (United Nations, 2024). South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are by far the most affected by these deprivations.
The central challenge for humanity in the remainder of this century is to provide for a global population projected to reach a little over 10 billion by 2100 (United Nations Population Division, 2024), and alleviate poverty and deprivation, while preserving the integrity of our planet’s life support systems.
We need to address these intersecting challenges as if both people and the natural world, including other species, matter. Our environmental challenges are at their core due to the fact that, to paraphrase David Orr, we see ourselves as being apart from, rather than a part of, the world around us (Orr, 2004). Besides, it is humans whose choices and actions cause these challenges, and it is humans who will find solutions to them. If people are not given a stake in environmental policies, or are adversely affected by them, they will not support them or contribute to their success. For example, workers who lose their jobs in the fossil fuel industry, as wind and solar energy replace fossil fuels, are unlikely to support the implementation of renewables to mitigate and control climate change. Policy making, to be effective and equitable, must therefore address environmental challenges as if people matter.
Conversely, policy making to enhance societal well-being must be conducted as if the natural world matters, because our very survival, and that of other species, depends on the food, water, energy, and other resources drawn from the earth, and on the effective functioning of ecological life support systems such as climate regulation, the water cycle, soil formation, and pollination. Moreover, millions of poor people depend directly on their local habitats for their lives and livelihoods, and they are the most affected by environmental degradation.
Our predicament
David Orr, in his essay “What is Education For?” observes that our present crises have resulted not from ignorance, but from the work of people with advanced educations and degrees; and that, therefore, “(i)t is not education, but education of a certain kind, that will save us”. (Orr, 2004, p. 8). So, what kind of education will help us meet the challenges that confront humanity? To answer this question, we must first understand the causes of our current predicament. These are obviously manifold, but let me mention three.
A critical characteristic of our way of life, because of globalization, urbanization and technology, is that, not only are we disconnected from the ecological processes that sustain us, we are also insulated from the impacts of our choices and actions on life support systems and people in distant lands, and on future generations. This disconnectedness has profound implications for sustainability (Daily and Ehrlich, 1992), because by the time we wake up to the effects of human activities, it might be too late for corrective action.
This phenomenon is mirrored in and reinforced by our ways of knowing, modes of analysis, socio-economic organization, and the educational systems that guide them. These systems, far from being integrated and holistic, to reflect and capture the complexity of life, are compartmentalized into narrow specializations, particularly in higher education. Our equally narrow conception of growth which undergirds our economic systems, and measures — in the powerful words of Robert Kennedy — “everything … except that which makes life worthwhile” (Kennedy, 1968), ignores, indeed generates, massive social and environmental costs.
Our scientific and technological capabilities have increased by leaps and bounds, but we pay little attention to the ends to which they are put; all too often, we apply efficient means to achieve largely unexamined purposes. For example, overfishing with advanced fishing technologies has caused the share of stocks fished at unsustainable levels to increase from 10% in the late 1970s, to around 35% in 2019 (FAO, 2022). Our modern transport systems, which cater primarily for motor vehicles, and time savings for their users, scar our cities with highways and sprawl, foul them with health-threatening air pollution (Anenberg et al., 2019), severely compromise accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists (Merlin and Jehle, 2023; Badami 2009), and kill more than a million people every year worldwide (WHO, 2023b). And despite ever growing consumption of labour-saving gadgets and digital technologies which promise instant communication and connectivity, we suffer boredom, discontentment, a loss of purpose and meaning, alienation, and deep social divisions.
Education for Sustainability
Students seek an education to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for remunerative employment. But from the perspective of society, this cannot be the only, or even the principal, purpose of education. It must prepare them to lead productive and fulfilling lives, but as importantly, to live as informed, caring, and engaged citizens.
A fundamental objective of education should be to help restore a sense of connectedness to nature and the planet, and to each other. According to Orr (2004), students need to understand the web of material and energy flows that make our way of life possible. They also need to understand how these flows differentially affect natural systems and people locally as well as globally, creating winners and losers, and to ask who pays, and who benefits (note that sustainability is fundamentally about equity and justice, across and within generations and nations).
Other important questions that education should help them investigate are: How do their own daily choices, related to, for example, the food they eat, the cars they drive, and the cellphones and other gadgets they use, contribute to environmental degradation as well as poverty, deprivation, and conflict at home and abroad? How, in turn, are these choices influenced by economic, institutional and socio-cultural factors, by way of, for example, regulatory and pricing policies, marketing and advertising, and the media? Why are things the way they are, with respect to, for example, urban transport, deforestation, and climate breakdown? How is political and economic power exercised, for whose benefit, and with what effects for people and the natural world? How can positive change be made to happen?
In short, we should help students learn that the challenges confronting us are not only a matter of science and technology but also, importantly, of economics, politics, psychology, and ethics; and therefore, that we need to address these challenges along multiple dimensions, and from multiple perspectives.
Realistic hope
It is of course important for teaching and learning on climate change and other environmental challenges to be based on the best available science. Unfortunately, however, a deep understanding of the issues and challenges that we face can lead to pessimism, even a sense of despair, which we cannot afford. There is an on-going debate regarding the advantages and disadvantages of appealing to fear as opposed to hope (Chapman et al., 2017) in motivating public support for policies to control climate change, for example. And indeed, some argue that appealing to fear will cause a sense of disengagement and disempowerment, and that communication strategies to create hope and optimism regarding climate change may in fact reduce the motivation to engage in and support mitigation actions (Hornsey and Fielding, 2017). Nevertheless, appealing to feelings of hope can be useful in teaching and communication, for enhancing public engagement, and for persuading people to take action regarding issues such as climate change and biodiversity (McAfee, 2019; Chadwick, 2014).
But, as Orr (2007) argues, the hope that we communicate has to be authentic, to enable us to embark on the future resolutely, but “without illusions”. It is therefore crucial that, even as we provide, as honestly as we can, a deep and clear-eyed understanding of the issues and challenges that we face, based on the best available science, we also provide solid grounds for realistic hope, by showing students, by means of case studies, how positive change is possible, and is being made to happen, in relation to the challenges we face, including in unfavourable circumstances across the world. It is also important to show them how to implement effective and equitable solutions, by surmounting behavioural and political-institutional barriers to action, and building coalitions by reconciling conflicts and trade-offs between the health of natural systems, livelihoods, social justice, and the interests and concerns of different groups in society.
Public education
It is heartening that there are many quality college and university programmes that impart the kind of education that I have outlined above. But if we want informed citizens who engage in public dialogue, and help bring about and support environmental and socio-economic policies as if both the planet and people matter, we must necessarily reach beyond the classroom, to build awareness of the importance of environmental protection and social justice for human well-being; and to show that, while governments and industry have a critical role to play, people have the power to make change happen, in their own lives, as well as through concerted public action.
One example of what is possible in this regard is the impressive work of the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP, 2025), a grassroots people’s science movement in the southern Indian state of Kerala, which has been actively involved in public education and activism related to, among other issues, environment, health, energy, and development, with an “emphasis on equity and sustainability”. Interestingly, in the context of my previous section, one of their objectives is to “Develop a sense of optimism in (people), instill in them a sense of self-confidence that they can change the world and can build a better tomorrow.”
The KSSP, which was formed in 1962 by a small group of science writers and activists to make science accessible to the people in Kerala, now has more than 1200 units and over 50,000 members (KSSP, 2025). The KSSP’s many projects over the years include developing participatory resource maps and watershed-based master plans, installing high-efficiency wood burning stoves (to reduce the use of firewood and combat deforestation) and small-scale hydro-electric power plants, and helping replace light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (Right Livelihood, 1996; Krishnakumar, 2013).
But perhaps its most important role has been in public education and activism to promote environmental awareness, communicate science, and promote sustainable human development.
KSSP has, over the years, contributed to training thousands of teachers, developing innovative curricula and textbooks, publishing books and journals on science for children, and conducting science festivals for them. Indeed, KSSP contributed significantly to Kerala achieving literacy levels that equal those in wealthy countries. Since 1972, KSSP has been a movement for the “mass dissemination of science for social change”, inspiring people’s science movements, with the same objective, across India (Right Livelihood, 1996).
KSSP was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, which is also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, in 1996, for “its major contribution to a model of development rooted in social justice and popular participation” (Right Livelihood, 1996).
Education for Values
My framing of the challenge facing humanity of providing for 10 or so billion people by 2100 might convey the impression that population growth is the only or main threat to the planet. In fact, rapidly growing consumption, in the rich countries, but also among the burgeoning middle classes in the global south — and the consumerist manufacturing of endless wants and social pressures to keep up with the Joneses that drives it — is at the heart of the problem.
Note in this regard that the per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in low-income and low-middle income countries were only 2.8 and 3.0 tCO2e respectively, as against 12.6 tCO2e in the high-income countries, in 2022 (Jones et al., 2024; Ritchie, Rosado and Roser, 2020). Using data from this source and population data from the UN Population Division (2024), we can see that the Canadian population of a mere 38.8 million, with a 20.3 tCO2e per capita GHG emissions, produced 3.1 times the total GHG emissions that the Bangladeshi population of 169.4 million did, with a 1.5 tCO2e per capita GHG emissions; and nearly one-fifth of the total emissions that the Indian population of 1.43 billion, with a 2.9 tCO2e per capita GHG emissions, did in that year. The USA, with a population of 341.5 million, was responsible for 23.8 times the total Bangladeshi, and 1.67 times the total Indian, GHG emissions in the same year.
The contribution of the countries in the global south to historical greenhouse gas emissions is exceedingly low. Europe and North America accounted for only 9.3% and 4.7% respectively of the world’s population in 2022, but were responsible for 31.4% and 28.4% respectively of total cumulative CO2 emissions globally between 1751 and 2022. On the other hand, Asia and Africa accounted for 59.2% and 18% respectively of the global population in 2022, but were responsible for 33.5% and 3% respectively of total cumulative CO2 emissions from 1751 to 2022. And India, the world’s most populous country, with around 18% of the world’s population, accounted for a mere 3.5% of total cumulative CO2 emissions from 1751 to 2022 (Andrew and Peters, 2023 via Our World in Data).
While these figures show the severe disparities in terms of global greenhouse gas emissions across countries and regions, it is important to note that there are significant disparities in this regard even within countries and regions. While the average GHG emissions per capita are low in South and Southeast Asia and in Sub-Saharan Africa, the disparity in per capita GHG emissions between the top 10% and the bottom 50% of the population in these regions is very large, relative to that in Europe or North America. In the former two regions, the top 10% of the population emit 11.2 and 15 times the GHG emissions per person respectively, relative to the bottom 50%; in Europe and North America, these ratios are 5.8 and 6.6 respectively (Chancel, 2022).
The above three paragraphs demonstrate the need to ensure not only inter-generational, but also intra-generational equity, between and within countries and regions, as well as the need for students to learn about these imperatives, in the global south as much as in the global north.
Meeting the central challenge for humanity, which I earlier framed as one of providing for a global population of over 10 billion by 2100, and alleviating poverty, deprivation, and the vast inequalities that exist, while also preserving the integrity of our planet’s life support systems, will depend importantly on our ability to enhance well-being for all, particularly for the most disadvantaged, across the world, while minimizing material and energy resource flows in the aggregate.
Material conditions of living, and income, wealth and consumption contribute to happiness and well-being, but rich social relationships and interactions; treating everyone with respect, dignity, and compassion; and a meaningful, purposeful life dedicated to a cause larger than oneself, are at least as important. Moreover, these psychological and social factors are not resource-intensive. These insights from the science of well-being (Barrington-Leigh, 2017), which echo ancient wisdom, must therefore be an essential part of education for sustainability. I elaborate on these important factors below.
The Harvard Study of Adult Development, perhaps the longest in-depth longitudinal study of physical and mental well-being among adults, began in 1938 with 724 participants, comprising 268 sophomores at Harvard and 456 young adults from poor neighbourhoods in Boston, and now includes 1,300 descendants of its original participants. The study has followed the participants throughout their lives starting in their teens, regularly monitoring in detail their physical health as well as their lives and relationships (Mineo, 2017; Mineo, 2023; Waldinger, 2015).
Amazingly, the study has found that it is close, meaningful, and trusting relationships with family, friends, and even acquaintances, rather than personal achievement, wealth, fame, or even genetics, that are important for life-long happiness and well-being. This finding has been confirmed by other studies as well. Indeed, according to George Vaillant, a previous director of the study, “When the study began, nobody cared about empathy or attachment. But the key to healthy aging is relationships, relationships, relationships.” (Mineo, 2017). And according to Robert Waldinger, the present director of the study, the most significant predictors of both physical health and mental well-being of the participants in their 80s was not physical health indicators such as blood pressure or cholesterol, but rather, how satisfied they were with these relationships, in their 50s (Mineo, 2023). Waldinger’s excellent TED talk (Waldinger, 2015), which has now been viewed nearly 50 million times, in which he distills the key lessons from the Harvard study, is well worth watching.
While the quality of our relationships is vitally important for our health and well-being, a meaningful, purposeful life is, too. Many studies have shown that a life of purpose dedicated to a cause larger than oneself reduces stress, depression and anxiety, and contributes to mental health and well-being (APA, 2023: Bishop, 2023).
A sense of purpose in life is essentially an “abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that’s both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world. A sense of purpose often is other-focused, something that can improve the lives of others, something bigger than yourself.” (Bishop, 2023). Indeed, the more other-focused, and constructively engaged in the lives of others, we are, the less pre-occupied with our own anxieties and challenges, and the happier, we are likely to be.
A meaningful and purposeful life can be focused on a lofty goal, but not necessarily so. Giving of oneself through service to others, through activities such as volunteering or participation in community groups, can also provide a strong sense of purpose; and the more we engage in activities with others to achieve a common purpose, be it a charity drive, a soup kitchen, or an environmental or political campaign, the better our social relationships are likely to be — as Waldinger points out — which in turn are likely to contribute far more to well-being than income or wealth, as the Harvard Study of Adult Development demonstrates (Mineo, 2023).
Also critically important for well-being is treating everyone with respect, dignity, and compassion. Policies to reduce inequality are crucial in this regard; the countries with the lowest inequality, mainly in Scandinavia, are also the happiest. But policies to invest in public goods, which everyone in society can access and enjoy regardless of income, allow both the rich and the poor to live in dignity, even when there is inequality (Barrington-Leigh, 2017).
As Barrington-Leigh (2017) points out, all of the above factors – rich social relationships; treating everyone with respect, dignity, and compassion; and a meaningful, purposeful life – are non-material and can therefore contribute significantly to well-being while also being “easy on the earth”, thus generating a “happy synergy” between sustainability and well-being. It is also likely that, as life satisfaction and well-being improve due to these factors, the desire for material consumption might also diminish, further strengthening this synergy. Interestingly, the study by Guven (2012) suggests that this might be the case. Besides, as the recent study by Galbraith et al. (2024) has shown, there are many small-scale communities outside the mainstream across the world who report, despite having very low incomes, high levels of life satisfaction similar to those in high-income countries, thus reinforcing the findings of the Harvard and other studies that high income and material consumption levels are not essential for happiness and well-being.
Finally – intelligent policy-making is of course important for fostering human well-being, social justice, and ecological sustainability over the long term, but education for values will also be crucial in this regard. Since early life experiences significantly affect outcomes throughout people’s lives (Barrington-Leigh, 2017; Mineo, 2017), it would be best to teach children, right from when they are in school, the importance of, for example, emotional resilience; treating everyone with respect, dignity, and compassion; and friendship, sharing, and giving, rather than only training them for academic performance and personal advancement.
The Dalai Lama has on numerous occasions decried the importance given to what he calls “material values” in education, and has talked about the need for children to be taught “emotional hygiene” — see this video (Foundation for Universal Responsibility, 2022), for example.
In Denmark, which has consistently ranked as the world’s second happiest nation since 2018, after Finland (Helliwell, et al., 2025), learning empathy is considered to be as important as learning mathematics, and is taught as a core part of the Danish school curriculum all the way from pre-school to high school. Jessica Alexander (2016), who co-authored a book on the teaching of empathy in Denmark, based on extensive interviews with teachers and students in the country’s schools, argues that empathy, which is essentially the ability to put oneself in another’s shoes and understand their situation, plays an important role in fostering social relationships, which, as we have seen, are crucial for happiness. An interesting example of the teaching on empathy in Danish schools is the weekly “Klassen Time” or “the Class’s Hour”, which happens from the first day of school until students graduate at age sixteen. During the “Class’s Hour”, all the students collectively talk about their problems, and find solutions to them, based on, as one of the teachers Jessica Alexander and her co-author interviewed said, “real listening and real understanding” (each of these sessions ends with the class sharing a cake that the students have taken turns to bake!).
It is not merely university curricula, but innovative programmes in schools such as this one, and public education and activism as in the case of the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, that will be vital for sustainability and well-being over the long term.
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Madhav Badami (madhav.badami@mcgill.ca) teaches in the School of Urban Planning and the Bieler School of Environment at McGill University. His teaching and research interests are in environmental policy and planning, urban infrastructure and services, urban transport, and environment and development. 
