COP29 is less than one month away. During the conference in Baku, we will be working with our strategic partners and young people to advocate for the role of education, arts and culture in addressing climate change and to share learning and global best practice. See how we are supporting COP and COY, and discover ways you can get involved and be inspired.
We’re also sharing our new strategy to address climate change, latest updates from our global climate projects and programmes, and findings from our latest Climate Connection evaluation.
Climate Connection updates
Read our new climate change strategy
Our new strategy to address climate change sets out the British Council’s response to the climate crisis. It defines how we will address climate change by engaging with people globally through arts and culture, education and the English language. It also demonstrates how we will continue to meet our commitment to operating in an environmentally responsible manner.
Building on our support of COP26, COP27 and COP28, we’re leading and collaborating on a special programme of events during COP29. Join us at the conference Blue Zone and Green Zone for panel sessions, theatre performances, film screenings and networking events. Our full programme of COP29 activities is on our website.
We are a Silver Sponsor of COY19, the world’s largest youth-led climate conference, hosted each year by YOUNGO, the youth constituency of the UNFCCC. Happening in Baku, from 7 to 9 November, COY19 will unite young leaders from across the world for climate action and advocacy.
We’ll also be running a session on our new global research about the skills young people need to contribute to a just transition. You can find out more about this research at our next Youth Connect Live session.
How you can get involved in the Climate Connection
We are running a host of new opportunities and activities in the lead-up to and during COP29. Our ‘get involved’ page is your one-stop shop for finding ways you can take part, from online events, to free training courses, to lesson plans and classroom resources.
On 31 October, we’re hosting a global online session for young people around the world who are passionate about climate action.
Youth Connect Live: Building an Inclusive Climate Future will explore how we can we build greener economies that embrace fairness, and how to ensure these practices benefit young people, both now and in the future. Join us at 14.00–15.30 UK time to hear expert insights on fostering inclusive practices for the green transition and ensuring young people are at the heart of this transformation.
You will also have a chance to contribute to a campaign that will be showcased at COP29 and COP30 which will seek to answer the question: what skills do young people need to be part of a just transition?
Together, we can ensure that young people from around the world are at the heart of climate solutions.
Join our free online courses on sustainable living
Our Learning for a Sustainable Future course is back, running from 7 October to 10 November.
Climate change, gender equality, health, social equity, and inclusion are issues that affect us all, impacting human well-being. Understanding how to live sustainably is a challenge that connects us all. Join a global professional and personal learning journey towards a sustainable future. This course will enhance your understanding of critical global issues and inspire you to think about how you can act both personally and locally.
Gain insights into effective strategies for improving sustainability, by examining values and motivations and learning how to empower others to take meaningful action. Dive into global, community and educational settings to craft your own informed approach to some of today’s most pressing issues. Learn methods for bringing some of the activities and issues covered in the course to your own teaching and educational practices.
We’re also running a special ‘Live at COP29’ edition of the course, which runs throughout the conference and draws upon the issues being discussed and responses to these.
Take our course to explore climate change in your English lessons
Our Climate Action in Language Education online professional development course is now open for enrolment.
The course is designed to help teachers integrate environmental issues into English language teaching by equipping learners with the language skills to understand, discuss and engage critically with climate change issues and to take and sustain meaningful and impactful action to protect the environment.
It includes a dedicated Facebook community of course participants, with up-to-date insight, resources and innovative ideas to try out; engaging discussions; live events with the course tutor and language teaching experts; and a workbook with additional learning content and resources.
The course consists of nine hours of self-study training.
During October and November, we are hosting mock climate conferences for students in Cardiff, Edinburgh, London and Baku usingthe World Climate Simulation game, to let them experience what it's like to be part of the UN climate change negotiations.
If you’re a school interested in climate change, you can join the action by downloading the game and organising you own climate debate at school, either online or face to face.
Led by a facilitator in the role of a UN leader, students act as delegates representing different nations, and work through rounds of negotiations to propose climate pledges.
It’s also a great activity to do with your international partner school.
We are continuing to support the University of Exeter’s award-winning programme We Are The Possible, by building on legacy activity to extend the reach of two new education and culture focused initiatives, all to be featured at COP29.
Schools across the Ocean will engage young students in Azerbaijan, the UK and the UAE in climate and ocean literacy through creative workshops.
Bright Light Burning, a theatre performance by the Theatre of Others, aims to raise awareness of the global climate crisis.
Land of Fire: 12 Stories for 12 Days of COP29 is a bilingual (English/Azerbaijani) anthology. These new narratives were co-created by bringing together more than 400 climate scientists, health professionals, educators, translators, storytellers, youth leaders, students, and artists from the UK, UAE and Azerbaijan, and a global community of health professionals from the Planetary Health Alliance.
We are continuing to support the Youth Negotiators Academy to deliver their Climate Youth Negotiator training. This year has seen an unprecedented 257 young people from 63 countries receive the training, which prepares them to negotiate as part of their country delegations at COP29. We’re also supporting the trained cohort to attend the conference in Baku and face-to-face training at ADA university.
In partnership with Black Mountains College, in Wales, we have launched an online course on Climate Adaptation for Creatives, exploring the role of arts in climate and environmental action. Around 120 participants are taking part from the UK and Wider Europe, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Marking its 60th anniversary, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards 2024 took place in London on 8 October. Earlier this year, the British Council supported a mentoring programme for young nature photographers, Wildlife Photographer of the Year Academy workshops, organised in collaboration with the Natural History Museum in London, Urban Forum Kazakhstan and moc in Uzbekistan.
We’ll also be featuring our Cultural Protection Fund at COP29, which has provided over £50 million in funding to 159 projects in 19 countries, including climate-related projects, since 2016.
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