The earthquake damaged school buildings in the Sindhupalchowk district.  

 

In classrooms across the Solomon Islands, teaching is undergoing a transformation. Responding to the region’s vulnerability to rising tides and destructive floods, education is being reshaped to help students ‘think green’ and take action for a more sustainable future. Supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the program is helping secondary schools deliver crucial green skills and knowledge to build resilience for the islands’ communities and industries. As the threats posed by the climate crisis grow and livelihoods and jobs continue to change, the classroom is becoming the frontline of adaptation.

 

Increasingly, people across Asia and the Pacific are experiencing the effects of climate change, and communities are seeking new ways to coexist with the planet in harmony. ADB is helping countries harness this momentum, inspiring innovation and resilience to turn the climate challenge into an opportunity. From small island communities to Asia’s rapidly growing cities, ADB’s investments are equipping people with the knowledge and skills they need to adapt and prosper in a changing world.

 

From recovery to readiness

 

In 2024, ADB’s Climate Change and Education Playbook set out a new vision for how the region can tackle the climate crisis head-on. Systems that put inclusive education and training at the heart of skills development, ensuring the participation of women, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, are fundamental to making the green transition equal and fair. Shifting from a position of recovery, the region is getting ready to build a more resilient and inclusive carbon-neutral future.

 

Developing a green mindset

 

Today’s young learners will play a key role in shaping a more sustainable future. Education that helps them build knowledge and develop green mindsets will inspire them with confidence to become the changemakers of the future.

 

The Solomon Islands, where rising seas threaten homes and livelihoods, is already making this happen with ADB’s support. The Senior Secondary Education Improvement Project is taking a holistic approach to redesigning its senior secondary education by embedding gender-inclusive green skills development at the heart of the learning program.  With a focus on delivering practical skills in all aspects of the curriculum, students have the opportunity to connect subjects such as mathematics, economics, and agricultural studies to their environment, giving them real-life context and meaning.

 

Another essential part of this programme is facilitating the professional development of teachers and school leaders to become experts and mentors in up-to-the-minute climate-resilient education. Capacity-building in disaster preparedness is a fundamental aspect, as this helps limit educational disruption when crisis hits. The project also supports the upgrade of facilities and infrastructure at ten schools, utilizing eco-friendly materials selected to withstand local climate risks. The result is an evolving education system bringing climate learning and action to life.

 

In island nations, where climate impacts are most severe, the greening of education is a crucial step toward helping communities adapt and thrive.

 

From classrooms to campuses: Higher learning for a greener future

 

While classrooms plant the seeds for green thinking, tertiary education is helping learners become green experts.  Across Asia and the Pacific, universities and vocational education are emerging as hubs of innovation and green skills delivery, preparing the workforce that will drive the region’s shift to a low-carbon future.

 

The ADB-supported Assam Skills University (ASU) in India is embracing a 360-degree approach to climate education. Across the green-certified campus, climate literacy is incorporated into all undergraduate programs. Programs targeting priority sectors such as construction, agriculture, and forestry are helping build a green-skilled workforce ready to connect with industries in the area. The university’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation supports climate-focused start-ups and helps students explore solutions for some of the state’s biggest environmental challenges. The increase in the number of skilled workers is expected to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of key industries in Assam and the Northeastern region.

 

In the People’s Republic of China, the ADB-financed Guangxi Baise Vocational Education Development Project helped to turn Baise University into a living laboratory for green innovation. Its Green Sustainability Center connects teaching, campus management, and community engagement under one sustainability strategy. Lifelong learning is prioritised by the university’s flexible pathways between vocational, higher, and adult education, while community engagement initiatives have raised environmental awareness and action among students and staff.

 

ADB investments in tertiary education are shaping programs that respond to the needs of the environment and the labor market. Universities are helping the next generation hone their innovation and problem-solving skills, turning their knowledge into positive climate action.

 

Greening the workforce

 

While universities prepare the next generation of green innovators, industries need skilled workers who can help make sustainability a reality today. As the global trend for eco-friendly goods increases, companies realise that going green is good for both business and the environment. But without the right skills, progress stalls and competitiveness decreases. The development of a capable workforce is therefore crucial to keep the green transition moving forward.

 

In climate-impacted Bangladesh, the ADB-financed Skills for Industry Competitiveness and Innovation Program is helping address this problem. By training and reskilling workers and managers, it combines technology and sustainability to modernize production, reduce resource consumption, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. In the region’s most important sectors such as clothing manufacturing,  textiles, and light engineering, specialized training labs are providing workers with the hands-on experience to master green technologies, including energy-efficient manufacturing and waterless dyeing. The benefits of this initiative are far reaching, skilling up to 22,000 workers.

 

With targeted interventions like this, ADB is helping companies boost productivity, move up the value chain, and drive long-term economic prosperity across the region.

 

Greener schools, stronger futures

 

As countries strive for greener economies and climate-ready workforces, ADB’s focus on stronger and smarter infrastructure means that learning can continue, even when disaster strikes.

 

In Nepal, ADB’s Disaster Resilience of Schools Project is rebuilding schools to be both earthquake- and climate-resilient, including equipping classrooms and computer labs with reliable solar energy. The disaster preparedness training provided to both teachers and students means that a decade after the 2015 earthquakes, these schools have become dependable safe spaces, successfully delivering continuous learning. The ADB-supported Orchlon School Green Campus in Mongolia is the country’s first climate-resilient school, helping to minimise learning disruption caused by the country’s harsh winters and extreme summers. In Pakistan, ADB’s installation of solar panels across 12,000 girls’ schools in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces significantly improved the learning environment for more than 1.4 million students. Coming under the Access to Clean Energy Investment Program, this has delivered reliable electricity powers fans and air conditioning during the scorching summer months. Targeted training programs have also equipped school staff with the skills to maintain the systems themselves.

 

A region learning to grow differently

 

Across Asia and the Pacific, countries are shifting from merely enduring the impacts of climate change to taking proactive action to manage them. Education is emerging as one of the most decisive forms of climate action, equipping people with the skills and the mindset to embrace change and drive it forward. As the risks of climate change intensify, so too will the demand for workers with the skills to design, build, and lead in an environmentally-friendly way. For ADB and its partners, this means deepening collaboration across education, labor, and environmental sectors to embed green skills education at the heart of national strategies.

 

Although the future is uncertain, positive change is taking root, one skill and one classroom at a time. With every new lesson learned, Asia and the Pacific moves closer to a greener, more resilient, and higher-skilled future.