Looking back to look forward: what sixth form students remember learning, and wanted to learn, about climate and net zero in KS3

We are the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) for the Net Zero Education project within the University of Oxford’s Department of Education. We are a group of 25 students aged 16-18 from across England. Dr Amelia Farber is the researcher who assisted the YAB.

Authors: Iris Harding, Ruby Wightman, Charlotte Rainer, Edward Ormandy, Emily Flewitt, Gargi Nayak, Helena Lomax, Leo Hawkins, Stuthi Kandasamy, Aarav Volvoicar, Pranav Sareen, Sayem Ahmed Sayed, Aivy Abraham, David Phillips, Diego Lafazanidis, Emily Botham, Emma Holmes, Jack Beckenham, Joseph Cockburn, Maria Ungureanu-Lupes, Melissa Foster-Turner, Ryan Khatib, Samarth Agnihotri, Stanley Lawrence, Vak Nayak, Amelia Farber, Isobel Talks

This blog builds on work done within the Net Zero Education research project within the University of Oxford’s Department of Education. The project sought to learn from Key Stage 3 teachers if and how they are including the concept of net zero emissions within climate change education. Net zero is a key issue that is not currently part of the Key Stage 3 (11–14-year-old students) curricula, nor any curricula globally (Puttick et al., 2026). Both the research project leads, and the Youth Advisory Board believe that teaching students about net zero is an essential part of climate education, and something that students have a right to learn about.

Understanding what previous students wish they had been taught about climate change and net zero emissions gives valuable insights into how young people feel about this topic and where they feel their education fell short. Therefore, the YAB took it upon ourselves to write this piece. Given the current lack of student voice in shaping the KS3 curriculum (and broader UK curriculum – see the Youth Shadow Panel Final Report, 2025), these first-hand perspectives offer essential guidance that should be valued and actively utilised. We draw on the personal experiences of our 25 sixth form students from a wide range of schools across England, all of whom are members of the Net Zero Education YAB. By collecting written insights from our members, we assessed commonalities in what students recall about learning about climate change net zero and highlight key areas for improvement.

Net zero is a scientific concept that refers to the goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions to stop global warming, and thus mitigate further climate change (Fankhauser et al., 2022). To reach net zero emissions globally, we must urgently and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase sequestration (removals of existing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere) (Fankhauser et al., 2022). Net zero, therefore, is a solution to climate change and can be taught as such (Puttick et al., 2026).

When looking at previous students’ perspectives regarding what they would have wanted to learn about net zero, the key takeaway was that YAB members would have wanted to learn about net zero emissions in KS3 – as part of their climate change education. YAB members noted that any climate change education they had received often lacked information about local and global actions, initiatives, government policies and other solutions currently being undertaken to tackle the climate crisis – and net zero is the biggest solution. Including net zero emissions as the major global solution to climate change can instil hope in and inspire students and even pre-empt some of that climate anxiety that teachers want to avoid.

Detailed information on technologies used to reach net zero targets, such as Direct Air Capture, Carbon Dioxide Removals, greening the energy grid, reforestation, and ultra-efficient building strategies (Allen et al., 2022) are often not mentioned in classrooms. YAB members made a secondary point here, noting that often, climate education focuses on natural carbon sinks, such as rainforests, and while these are important, information on technology-based capture strategies are required for reaching net zero (Fankhauser et al., 2022) and thus essential in assuring students that not all hope is lost and that net zero is achievable.

Many students felt that the KS3 curriculum failed to give real life practical examples of how we as a community can work to fight climate change, let alone reach net zero, with many wishing for more content on both individual actions and on community, organisation, and government-led initiatives that students can be involved in or champion/vote for to reach net zero.

YAB members also felt that there was a lack of education about how climate change and the drive to reach net zero emissions are affecting the whole world. Current, not years-old, case studies of the impact of climate change and of net zero targets and actions globally, would be motivating. A mix of local examples – such as the first climate refugees in Wales and the increased wildfires in Scotland and across the UK – and other global events beyond ice caps and sea level rise would deepen students’ understanding of climate change and thus the need to reach net zero emissions. Teaching about the benefits locally of achieving net zero emissions, including better human health/lower health risk from climate change, cheaper energy prices, increased biodiversity, new green jobs, can also serve as a way to have students feel more engaged in their local area.

On a positive note, many students appreciated the fact that climate change-caused events are not sugar coated and would like the education surrounding these events to remain fully transparent, a point that YAB members noted was often disputed by teachers who feel that words like ‘catastrophic’ should not be used as the assumption is that they could build climate fear. An education about how serious and detrimental the effects of climate change, and thus the need to reach net zero emissions will help to inspire the younger generation to act on this.

Students also felt that net zero and climate change were only tackled in geography, when net zero and climate change impact all subjects. Many students felt that the ethical side of why we need to reach net zero and how to do it, and climate justice, could be explored more instead of just having the focus be on the science.

Another point was the wish for education on net zero to be more hands-on. Students noted it was difficult to visualise concepts like carbon footprints. Some students suggested learning outside the classroom could include visiting a solar or wind farm or green building site, nature preservation site, or conducting carbon capture experiments.

To conclude, the concept of net zero emissions is missing from the KS3 curriculum and students want it included in their school-based learning. There are many areas where they feel the KS3 curriculum could evolve for educating on the topic of net zero and climate change.

For further resources please check out the Oxford Net Zero Education Framework – https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Net-Zero.pdf

If you would like to talk with the researchers on the Net Zero Education project on how to include net zero in your classroom (in any subject) please contact amelia.farber@education.ox.ac.uk or steven.puttick@education.ox.ac.uk

References:

Allen, M. R., Friedlingstein, P., Girardin, C. A. J., Jenkins, S., Malhi, Y., Mitchell-Larson, E., Peters, G. P., & Rajamani, L. (2022). Net Zero: Science, origins, and implications. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 47(1), 849–887. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112320-105050

Fankhauser, S., Smith, S. M., Allen, M., Axelsson, K., Hale, T., Hepburn, C., Kendall, J. M., Khosla, R., Lezaun, J., Mitchell-Larson, E., Obersteiner, M., Rajamani, L., Rickaby, R., Seddon, N., & Wetzer, T. (2022). The meaning of net zero and how to get it right. Nature Climate Change, 12(1), 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01245-w

Puttick, S., Talks, I., Farber, A. and Healy, G. (2026). Five arguments for including Net Zero in the curriculum. [online] Bera.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/five-arguments-for-including-net-zero-in-the-curriculum [Accessed 15 Jun. 2026].

Youth Shadow Panel. (2025). Youth Shadow Panel Final report. Youth Shadow Panel. https://shadowpanel.uk/about/final-report