Our Scotland, Our Future: Public Engagement Strategy for Climate and Nature - CRWIA

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal

Evidence from:

Existing research/reports/policy expertise

1. Supporting Young People as Genuine Political Actors in Climate Decision-Making (Arnot et al., 2023, Health Promotion International)

Children and young people are largely excluded from meaningful climate policy and decision-making processes, despite being among those most affected by the climate crisis. Decision makers must go beyond consultation and create genuine structures that give young people decision-making power, address barriers to participation, and treat them as legitimate political actors rather than future citizens.

2. Just Adapt: Engaging Disadvantaged Young People in Planning for Climate Adaptation (Davies & Hügel, 2021, Politics and Governance)

Researchers tested targeted workshops with students from a disadvantaged Dublin school and found that participation improved their understanding of climate science, adaptation, and policy-making, while increasing their confidence to engage in future climate action. The authors conclude that achieving climate justice requires inclusive, place-based and interactive educational approaches that actively support disadvantaged young people to participate in climate adaptation planning and decision-making.

3. Climate Anxiety in Children and Young People and Their Beliefs About Government Responses to Climate Change (Hickman, C. et. al., 2021, The Lancet)

The study surveyed 10,000 young people aged 16 to 25 across 10 countries and found widespread climate anxiety, with 59% reporting they were very or extremely worried about climate change and many experiencing emotions such as sadness, anxiety, anger, helplessness, and guilt. More than 45% said these feelings negatively affected their daily lives, while many expressed pessimistic views about the future and believed adults had failed to protect the planet. The researchers found that climate distress was strongly linked to perceptions that governments were not responding adequately to the climate crisis, with many young people reporting feelings of betrayal and a lack of trust in government action.

4. Using Empirical Science Education in Schools to Improve Climate Change Literacy (Kumar, P. et. al. 2023, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews)

The study evaluated the “Heat-Cool Initiative,” a hands-on STEM education programme delivered in five UK schools, where 103 primary and secondary students used infrared cameras to investigate urban heat and climate-related issues. The programme significantly improved climate change literacy, with knowledge scores increasing by 9.4% among primary pupils and 4.5% among secondary pupils, demonstrating the effectiveness of experiential, technology-enhanced learning. The authors conclude that interactive, age-appropriate STEM education can strengthen climate literacy, increase student engagement with climate issues, and help equip young people with the skills needed to contribute to future climate change solutions.

5. Children Can Foster Climate Change Concern Among Their Parents (Lawson, D.F., et. al., 2019, Nature Climate Change)

The study found that children can influence their parents’ views on climate change through intergenerational learning, with parents becoming more concerned about climate change after their middle school-aged children participated in a climate change education programme. The effect was particularly strong among male and politically conservative parents, groups that initially showed lower levels of climate concern, suggesting that children can help overcome social and ideological barriers to climate engagement. The researchers also found that daughters were especially effective at increasing their parents’ climate concern, highlighting the potential for school-based climate education to create impacts beyond the classroom and into families and communities

6. Identifying Effective Climate Change Education Strategies: A Systematic Review (Monroe et al., 2017, Environmental Education Research)

The systematic review analysed 49 evaluated climate change education interventions and found that the most effective programmes make climate change personally relevant to learners and use active, engaging teaching approaches rather than relying solely on information delivery. It identified four additional strategies that consistently support learning: deliberative discussion, interaction with scientists, addressing misconceptions directly, and participation in school or community projects. The authors conclude that successful climate change education should combine scientific knowledge with participatory and action-oriented learning experiences that help learners understand, discuss, and respond to climate issues in meaningful ways.

7. Quality Child–Parent Relationships and Their Impact on Intergenerational Learning and Multiplier Effects in Climate Change Education: Are We Bridging the Knowledge–Action Gap? (Parth, S., et. al., 2020, Sustainability)

The study examined whether young people participating in a climate change education programme could transfer climate knowledge and influence to their parents through intergenerational learning. It found a clear multiplier effect, with parents showing increased climate change knowledge, more frequent and higher-quality discussions about climate issues with their children, and improvements in child-parent relationships. However, while knowledge and communication increased, these changes did not consistently translate into more climate-friendly behaviours, leading the authors to conclude that strong child-parent relationships are an important factor in helping bridge the persistent knowledge-action gap in climate change education.

8. You and CO₂: A Public Engagement Study to Engage Secondary School Students with the Issue of Climate Change (Rudd, Horry & Skains, 2020, Journal of Science Education and Technology)

The study evaluated “You and CO₂,” a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) programme that engaged secondary school students in exploring climate change through carbon footprint analysis, interactive digital storytelling, and creating their own digital fiction projects. The findings suggest that combining scientific learning with creative and participatory activities helped students connect climate change to their own lives, encouraging reflection on both individual responsibility and their capacity to influence wider societal change. The authors conclude that integrating arts-based approaches with climate science can be an effective way to increase engagement with climate change, making complex environmental issues more meaningful and accessible to young people.

9. Climate change – public engagement strategy: mid-point review (Scottish Government, 2025)

The mid-point review found that children and young people have been engaged primarily through the Climate Action Schools programme, which reaches over 1,160 schools annually and supports climate learning and action. The review identifies education as a key mechanism for building climate awareness and participation, while highlighting the value of linking learning to community climate action and policy engagement. It concludes that further efforts are needed to ensure inclusive and meaningful participation opportunities so that young people can help shape Scotland's climate response.

10. Learning for Sustainability (SQA)

Learning for Sustainability promotes a whole-school approach that embeds sustainability, global citizenship, and outdoor learning across teaching, school culture, and community engagement. It aims to equip all learners with the knowledge, skills, values, and confidence needed to contribute to a sustainable and equitable future. The approach recognises sustainability as a shared responsibility across the entire school community rather than a single subject area.

11. Children’s constructive climate change engagement: Empowering awareness, agency, and action (Trott, C. 2020, Environmental Education Research)

After a 15 week participatory climate education programme for 10 – 12 year olds, authors observed an increase in children's climate change knowledge while also building their sense of empowerment and motivation to act. Rather than leading to despair, greater awareness was associated with stronger feelings of agency and willingness to engage in climate action. The study concludes that participatory and action-focused climate education can help young people become informed and active contributors to climate solutions.

12. Misinformation: Susceptibility, Spread, and Interventions to Immunize the Public (Van der Linden, S., 2022, Nature Medicine)

The review finds that misinformation spreads effectively by exploiting cognitive biases, emotions, and social networks. Evidence suggests that preventative approaches such as prebunking and media literacy interventions can build resilience to misinformation before people encounter it. The author concludes that strengthening psychological immunity to misinformation is more effective than relying solely on correcting false claims after they have spread.

13. Truth About Youth: Our 2025 Insights Survey (Young Scot, 2025, YoungScotCorporate)

Young Scots’ Truth About Youth: Our 2025 Insights Survey of 2590 children across Scotland in 2025 reported that education (63%), climate change (70%) and weather changes (47%) were some of the most important issues for young people in Scotland right now.

Feedback from stakeholders

14. Three external stakeholder workshops were held on 29 July, 4 August and 5 August 2026 with representation from participants/ organisations directly involved in children’s climate engagement. These include local authorities, climate action hubs, Keep Scotland Beautiful and YouthLink.

Participants were asked for feedback on the objectives and outcomes of the draft PES, and for organisations to discuss and share the relevance of the new PES framework to their work and priorities for climate engagement.

During these workshops with external stakeholders to hear views on the draft PES refresh participants relayed:

• the change in objective to ‘voice’ from ‘participate’ is positive because it provides more scope to support safe debate and conversation as well as encourage public input into local decision making.
• children’s views need to be heard and that children should have a genuine role in decision making
• adaptation should be consistently reflected alongside mitigation and nature; recognising that the public do not draw lines between these different elements
• barriers such as cost, housing, transport, connectivity, time pressures and local capacity constraints should be considered
• trusted messengers should be supported with evidence-based communications, shared narratives and guidance on responding to misinformation.
• flexibility should be built in for local delivery, regional variation and use of local case studies.
• more references should be made to health, wellbeing, cost savings, resilience, nature recovery and wider social and economic benefits in the Theory of Change.

Feedback directly from children and young people

15. Climate Crisis Education (Children’s Parliament, 2025).

In 2025, the Children’s Human Rights Defenders group, a group of Members of the Scottish Children’s Parliament, brought their top concerns, based on survey data of children in Scotland, to the Executive Team in Scottish Government and made the following requests;

1. The first is we would like to improve government communication with children in Scotland because they don’t know enough about what is actually going on in Scotland for the climate crisis.

2. Our second key message is positive climate education. Not all children are getting equal climate education. We would like to take part in real events with real people, to improve climate education for children, all over Scotland.

3. Lastly, children in Scotland would also like to be involved in learning about climate change, so that they can understand more about climate change, but it is also the adult’s responsibility to make this possible. Our key ask to you is to let us be involved in climate week, but we think this would be a great opportunity for children all over Scotland. Those that maybe don’t get the greatest climate education will have the chance to take part in fun activities and learn!