The role of equity and lifestyles in education about climate change: experiences from a large-scale teacher development program, Canadian

The industrialised nations represent 20 % of the world popula-tion, but cause 75 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. While developing nations can more or less remain where they are, industrialised nations need to reduce emissions by 85 % in order to achieve sustainability and provide everyone with an equi-table share of the global greenhouse gas “budget. ” Such reduc-tions have drastic bearings on lifestyles. While adults may find it hard to deal with changes, students seem more accepting, but may not have the skills to critique complex arguments, or the understanding necessary to make sustainable lifestyle choices. This paper describes a large-scale teacher development pro-gram, and a personal greenhouse gas calculator and supporting teacher and student resources that have been included in the program as a major component