AN INTERACTIVE online map showing the world’s first eighty UN climate change teachers will be launched at Saracens School in Colindale London today, as part of the Lord Mayor’s London Climate Action Week.

The aim is to highlight the need for a climate change teacher in every school in the UK.

The new climate change teacher course enables teachers to encourage and generate social innovation, and prepare today’s youth to protect the planet.

Melanie Harwood and Denise Meissner, the education specialists who launched the project in partnership with UN:CC Learn were in agreement. “We are delighted to share the map with our partners and supporters of the project. We have been overwhelmed with the support and interest in the United Nations climate change teacher programme. It has become a global movement in just two months.”

Over 1,973 teachers have already signed up so far and there are teachers from more than 27 countries involved.

The innovative first phase of the programme was launched on April 22 and is fully funded for primary school teachers, secondary school teachers and further education college teachers worldwide. All they need to do is log onto the UN climate change teacher academy to access the free lessons and CPD. Once teachers have completed the five units of the climate change teacher course, they will be accredited by UN CC:Learn to deliver climate change facts and mitigation best practices. The online training for teachers in primary and secondary schools has been designed to equip educators with the knowledge and confidence to deliver lessons on the topic of climate change to their class and across the school curriculum.

The very First 80 UK climate change teachers have been invited to take part in an initial trial of the eduCCate Global Programme which will deliver hundreds of cross-curricular climate literacy lessons for all age groups.

Angus Mackay, director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research said: “We are delighted to be able to support this important educational initiative in the United Kingdom.

"Anyone below the age of 20 is part of the ‘climate generation’ living all or most of their lives having to deal with climate change. The climate change teacher training academy is an excellent idea because it will give children an intuitive understanding of the issues and it is solutions based."