Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill [HL]

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 16th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I draw the attention of the House to my interests as set out in the register, particularly my membership of Peers for the Planet. It is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone—aka 001. I know that she has done great work on biodiversity through, for example, the Woodland Trust.

I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Knight of Weymouth, on securing this slot and on promoting his Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill. Its principal object is, in my opinion, laudable and totally unexceptional. It would ensure that climate change and sustainable citizenship were a part of the national curriculum to be taught in maintained schools in England—“Hear, hear” to that.

We have lived through, and are living through, an extraordinary period. It has focused our minds on what is essential like never before. It has shown us the importance of forward planning, locally, nationally and globally, in relation to the pandemic but, at the same time, we all know there is another daunting challenge: that of climate change. It is an existential challenge that has been there all our lives but certainly has not diminished of late.

The 2015 Paris climate change conference referenced by the noble Lord, Lord Knight, was a key moment—a grasping of the challenge. I was there; I recall it. But much more needs to be done, as the noble Lord said. There was reference there to the importance of education in schools, and we need to grasp that. We have a great opportunity here. Individual Governments coming together at this year’s COP in Glasgow presents opportunities, and I hope that our Government and others, businesses, faith institutions and other organisations respond with imagination and vision.

This measure introduced by the noble Lord, Lord Knight, is important both in what it seeks to do in action terms, in schools and for our schoolchildren, as well as symbolically. It is a simple measure but would make a real difference now and for the future. It will show future generations that we did at last seize this opportunity to ensure that clear strategic thinking and policy is taught in schools on the overwhelming challenge of our age.

I am very afraid that the response of the Department for Education, which is looking at bringing forward a natural history GCSE in response to the crisis, does not nearly meet the challenge of the age. This needs to be compulsory and present a breadth of vision. It needs to be practical and capture the nation’s imagination, particularly that of schoolchildren and teachers. So far, that is missing—we need a lion and we have been offered a mouse.

Along with the noble Lord, Lord Knight, I agree that this is a no-brainer. It has the support of the Committee on Climate Change, Climate Assembly UK, children, teachers and the public. It is high time that the Government stopped dithering and did something. It is indeed a no-brainer.