Climate Impacts for German Schools—An Educational Web Portal Solution

Abstract

Climate change education is one of the integral components within the global Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) initiative by the United Nations. However, it is not trivial to bridge the gap between complex scientific information and the requirements of education. Now the educational portal www.KlimafolgenOnline-Bildung.de offers a solution by preparing scientific knowledge about climate impacts in Germany for interdisciplinary use in schools. Tailored climate science fundamentals and background information were provided to help teachers and students to develop an understanding of the complex relationships of climate change in different sectors like climate, agriculture and forestry. The strength of this solution lies in its direct regional reference, and the option to interactively explore scientific climate data. It raises awareness for immediate effects of climate change on the individual living environment. This paper outlines the development process for the web portal, and the lessons learned. The underlying development process was based on workshops and surveys with teachers. Teaching material was developed to integrate climate change knowledge into school lessons, such as background information on data uncertainties and scenarios. As one of the results in six “research workshops” conducted students can now explore, compare and discuss climate change impacts in different sectors as well as suitable adaptation measures.