We live in the world where people are forced to leave their home regions due to climate change. Many countries receive climate refugees who have had to leave their homes because of natural disasters. In developing countries, hundreds of millions of people already feel the impacts of climate change. Farming has become more difficult, global temperature is rising and animal species have become extinct.

Less dramatic but noticeable consequences have had an impact on sports and fashion. Winter games have been postponed due to lack of snow and marathon runners have ended up in the hospital because of increasingly common heat waves. The fashion industry has suffered economic loss due to the fact that there is less demand for winter collections, e.g. nobody needs a down jacket in warm winters.

Our daily activities accelerate climate change whether we want it or not. Keywords – in addition to greenhouse effect, decreasing biodiversity and whirlwind – are moderation, climate-friendly shopping, solar power and cycling. Basic climate change vocabulary also includes words like “media literacy”, “communication”, “voting”, “argumentation skills”, “lobbying” and “demonstrations”.

The United Nations plays a central role in organizing intergovernmental action against climate change. The basic principles of global climate politics were agreed on at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. Its objective is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a harmless level. The framework sets no binding limits on emissions for individual countries. The limits were set later in the Kyoto Protocol, ratified by the most industrial nations, extended to the year 2020.

In December 2015, the Paris Agreement, slated to start in the year 2020, was adopted. The agreement states that each country determinates and plans its own contribution to mitigate global warming. In order to ratify the agreement, each country has to approve and sign it, then enter the agreement into force through ratification by the ultimate decision making body.

Tackling climate change requires the countries of the world to cut their emissions. Internationally agreed action is necessary at the very latest after a climate agreement has been being adopted. In addition, participation in mitigation efforts is needed across society from diverse industries to active citizens. However, significant emission cuts do not necessarily require new innovations or big investments. There are already effective tools to fight against climate change, and if everyone would take action now, there would be a strong positive impact, not only on tackling emissions but also on human health and the use of natural resources.

The Paris deal binds more and more countries to do their part in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and meeting the commitments agreed upon. However, global climate protection does not start with the Paris Agreement. Mitigation activism is not a new thing: many individuals and organizations have been working on it for quite some time at the local, national and international level. This has borne fruit; for instance, in energy production as more and more countries are investing in large solar power plants.

Globalization, accelerated by the rapid development of information and communication technology, poses challenges to cultural diversity and may lead to increasing numbers of people competing for decreasing amounts of resources. However, at the same time it provides a chance for a new type of dialogue between different cultures. Improving cross-cultural communication, recognizing cultural diversity and understanding the unity of all humankind may increase solidarity. Respect for cultural diversity, tolerance, dialogue and cooperation based on trust and understanding are the best guarantees for global peace and security.

International cooperation requires the ability to understand the viewpoints of those who come from different cultures and seek potential solutions together. Language skills are the foundation of cross-cultural communication. International climate negotiations are an example of a situation in which a collective strong will is needed in order to reach consensus.

The stakes in climate change education classes are not as high as at international climate conferences, but learning to feel empathy for people who live on the other side of the world is nevertheless an important aspect in motivating students to tackle global climate change. It is useful to contemplate and discover together how climate change affects daily life around the world and what people in different cultures are doing to combat it.

As a topic, climate change opens up an entire spectrum of communications, thus it is important to remain alert about the intentions behind the texts and news. In addition to correct and effective communication, there is a great deal of well-meaning but flawed information, beliefs and rumours, as well as intentional misleading by climate deniers. Therefore, every message on climate change should be met with criticism. From the media literacy perspective, climate change is an exceptionally juicy topic.

You might want to choose a selection of newspaper stories about climate change and discuss with students how they aim to affect readers’ attitudes or behaviour, which sources have been used and whose interests the texts serve. Increase engagement by encouraging students to find connections between the stories and their daily life. You might also want to discuss misleading and inaccurate texts and their possible sources and intentions.

When it comes to climate change issues, critical media literacy is a must. It is also important to be able to create and produce messages in a wide variety of media modes: well-thought-out social media updates, letters to the editor, citizen initiatives, speeches and campaign advertisements. In addition to written texts, videos play an important role by combining text, music and moving picture.

Not only writing skills matter, but also performance and social interaction skills are crucial. It is important to learn how to explain your opinion in a debate or negotiations in a calm and nuanced manner. In addition, how you express yourself in a meeting, deliver an effective speech or presentation is also vital. Language plays an important role in honing and practicing these skills. Climate change solutions can also be created in language class.

Climate change is a topic that elicits a whole scale of emotional reactions. Regardless of the nature of your personal responses, it is important to try to accept and process your emotions, for instance, through talking. Difficult emotions triggered by climate change can also be discussed in class in your mother tongue.