The International Climate Initiative (IKI) supported an effective model for climate change education in Guangdong Province, China, through IKI Small Grants. From May 2023 to December 2024, Zhongshan Xiaolan Low Carbon Development & Promotion Center, a local NGO from Southern China, has implemented a climate change education project benefitting students and teachers. The aim was to raise awareness about why reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to tackling climate change and promoting sustainable development.
IKI Small Grants
IKI Small Grants supports projects and organisations worldwide that tackle climate change, address local adaptation, and conserve forests and biodiversity. Achieving the global and national targets formulated in the Paris Agreement and the CBD requires the active participation of all social groups worldwide, especially on the local and regional level. However, local organisations often lack access to international funding, or financing mechanisms are not tailored to their specific needs. With the IKI Small Grants programme, founded in 2019, the IKI reaches out to small regional, national, and local organisations and their decentralised solutions. It is specifically aimed at organisations that already have experience in local project implementation and want to grow further.
Raising climate change awareness in primary schools
The NGO in Guangdong has developed an effective climate change education model which encourages students and teachers to understand climate change and points out how they might jointly address it. Students from the 4th to the 7th grade participate in various school activities aimed at raising awareness of climate change and its effects. Teachers facilitate open space workshops with students, motivating them to share ideas and innovative approaches towards climate-friendly behaviour. They often use video and slide presentations about climate change, but also help students visualise their concepts and actions using flipcharts and markers.
Teachers not only work on greenhouse gas inventories in their schools, but also develop implementation plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to their inventory, carbon emissions in schools come predominantly from electricity on campus and transportation by shuttle bus. Implementation plans offer specific suggestions for schools explaining what they did well and what they need to improve. Engaged teachers act as multipliers.
Furthermore, a working group of teachers and project staff has developed a resource kit consisting of:
- Lectures and PowerPoint presentations including basic scientific information on climate change.
- Research topics to help primary students build an emotional tie to nature and planet.
- Games to strengthen both climate-friendly attitude and climate action by facilitating extracurricular activities.
After refining the resource kit through trials in two pilot schools, it is now applied in eight other schools.
Public Participation
The project has been honoured as one of the top ten exemplary cases in Public Participation for Ecological Environmental Protection in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. Apart from supporting schools in the city, the IKI Small Grant also supported five schools in rural areas, contributing to the local carbon-neutral demonstration work through climate change education.
Zhongshan Xiaolan Low Carbon Development & Promotion Center, the local NGO, has successfully invited all schools in Shenwan Town of Zhongshan City to actively participate in their endeavours, and it pioneers fostering public participation at the local level. The IKI Small Grant served as a catalyst to advance climate change education locally and the resource kit supported by the IKI Small Grant is now being replicated in various communities. Experienced project staff engages with community workers and residents, empowering them to act as multipliers, raising awareness, strengthening skills, and stimulating willingness for tackling climate change.
