By Kim Pallozzi, consultant at Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF)
When it comes to Canadians and climate change, it’s educators who are feeling the heat.
Despite a growing number of Canadians believing that climate change education should be the responsibility of all teachers, very few feel supported in fulfilling the demand. With 1,000 hours of instruction time per school year, only half of teachers spend between 1 and 10 hours on the topic, but why?
Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF), a Canadian charity that works to integrate sustainability education into Canada’s school system, released its third climate change and education survey titled From Awareness to Action: Canadians on Climate Change and Education – 2025 National Report. With feedback from educators, students, parents, and the general population, the document gives an in-depth analysis of the uniquely Canadian perspective on the intersection of climate change and the education system. The survey results, which included more than 4,200 participants from coast to coast, provide a clear guidepost to where Canadians currently stand and highlight key pathways to moving forward. The following is a quick snapshot of some of the key takeaways.
The LSF Survey results show that over half of Canadians, 67%, believe the world is facing a climate crisis. In addition, 87% would be willing to make changes in their lives to help reduce its detrimental effects. However, negative emotions surrounding the issue, including anxiety (40%), frustration (34%), and fear (26%), are currently overpowering feelings of hope (23%), motivation (14%), and confidence (9%).
Surprisingly, Canadians also report feeling more informed about the subject, but their knowledge of its main drivers has decreased since the previous LSF survey in 2022. Many believe the primary cause is a hole in the ozone layer, and not due to greenhouse gas emissions and human activities, such as deforestation, agricultural practices, manufacturing, and more. Only 47% say human activities are at the source, while 50% know carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are at the phenomenon’s core. Yet conversely, 67% of Canadians state that they believe scientific facts and evidence over any other information sources.
Canadians are also struggling to distinguish between real and false climate facts, and want schools to help. Only 17% of those surveyed have confidence in doing so as disinformation continues to spread worldwide. A staggering 79% of Canadians are requesting that schools establish more robust climate literacy programs to go beyond the facts and focus on critical thinking skills to better counteract climate change misinformation.
Over three-in-five (62%) of Canadians want climate change education to be a high priority for schooling. Furthermore, 54% feel that the education system should do much more to educate youth about the issue. That said, it must be recognized that teachers have made incredible strides since the last LSF survey conducted in 2022. Up to 70% of teachers educate and inform students about the issue, and 65% encourage better lifestyle changes and consumer choices. Also, actions such as eco-projects (54%), engaging in peaceful dissent (37%), and raising funds (32%) have also significantly risen over the past three years.
Although climate change education can be woven into all subjects and grades, in 2025, 20% of teachers did not cover it in any subject they taught compared to 32% in 2022. While 51% of educators taught about climate change in 2025, most spent just between 1 and 10 hours on the topic in a course or in the school year. This is an increase from 43% in 2022. It must be recognized that despite best efforts and intentions, for many schools, the increasing responsibilities and heavy workloads of teachers have upended some of these initiatives. Improved support must be implemented to help educators achieve these goals.
Even with the strong demand for climate change education to be a high priority in the classroom, only 22% of educators feel supported by their principal and school board to do so. In relation, 60% are asking for more professional development, 51% are seeking more climate change resources and activities, and 42% are requesting more strategies to help students learn and identify disinformation. Notably, in 2022, only 17% of teachers felt that parents disapproved of climate issues being taught, and that number has since increased to 35% of teachers in 2025. This may be partly due to partisan influences, “doom and gloom” fatigue, and concerns over their child’s anxiety levels.
In the face of these barriers, and circling back to an earlier concern, the number one factor that prevents educators from teaching climate education must be addressed and remedied is the lack of time. 66% of teachers report needing more time within a course and/or school year to introduce the topic of climate change, a significant challenge that has increased from 50% in 2022.
Climate change continues to be a critical issue, and Canadians of all ages are apprehensive about its current and future effects. There’s a call for the education system to prepare students with the knowledge, practical skills, critical thinking abilities, and problem-solving innovation techniques necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Some of the key action items to improve climate change education in schools that emerged as a result of the 2025 LSF survey include:
In short, it is important to recognize that educators are also continually learning and navigating their own journey alongside their students in the classroom. With varying experience levels, differing comfort levels with specific subject matter, and a host of additional challenges that the teaching profession can impart, progressing at your own pace with climate change education is essential. Baby steps are in effect big steps, and should be acknowledged as such.
To learn more and for additional resources, we invite you to visit the LSF National Survey Results page and Learning for a Sustainable Future’s website.
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