Climate Ambassador Programme

Climate Ambassadors:
Turning Climate Ambition into Climate Action in Education

The Climate Ambassadors scheme exists to provide free expertise and support to nurseries, schools and colleges in England to develop and deliver impactful climate action plans.

Our nine regional hubs in England support the development of the peer-to-peer networks that enhance climate action across the whole education system.

Funded by the Department for Education (DfE), we work in partnership to help education settings in the UK take action to become more environmentally sustainable and climate resilient – and to better prepare young people to live in a world with a changing climate.

Impact so far

The Climate Ambassadors scheme was initially developed by the University of Reading and STEM Learning in response to the National Climate Education Action Plan. Originally launched in 2022 with the support of more than 20 UK institutions, the scheme started to unlock and connect world-leading climate and sustainability expertise in the UK with schools and colleges across the country at no cost to the education setting.

Climate Ambassadors was explicitly referenced in the Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, published in April 2022. The strategy states: “By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan” and Climate Ambassadors are identified as supporting settings in the delivery of these plans.

In the first 18 months, the scheme saw around 230 Climate Ambassadors reach more than 80,000 learners and teachers in over 500 schools and colleges. In December 2023, the DfE commissioned a consortium, led by the University of Reading and EAUC, to expand the Climate Ambassadors scheme to reach every education setting in England, at pace. Backed by £2 million of funding, Climate Ambassadors will provide all 30,000 settings with access to tailored advice and support in developing a climate action plan.

Find out more about Climate Ambassadors on our website.