Climate change education in Thailand: from curriculum presence to system coherence and climate-smart schools

Climate change education (CCE) in Thailand faces significant challenges, despite its presence in national policy and curriculum. Implementation is fragmented, teacher training is insufficient, and climate-related disruptions to schooling are widespread. A recent survey highlighted that all schools experienced extreme weather events, most teachers lack CCE training, and the country's climate risk ranking has deteriorated significantly.

Why it matters

The systemic failure in climate change education and preparedness poses a significant long-term risk to national human capital development and societal resilience. Effective integration of CCE is crucial for equipping future generations to adapt to and mitigate escalating climate impacts, which are already disrupting essential services like education.

Key insights

• National policy documents and curriculum frameworks include provisions for climate change education.
• Empirical evidence indicates that CCE implementation is fragmented.
• Teacher preparation for CCE and climate preparedness is largely inadequate, with over 80% of teachers lacking formal training.
• Climate hazards are already disrupting schooling at scale.
• A 2025 national survey of 329 schools reported that every school had experienced at least one extreme weather event in the preceding three years.
• Thailand's position in the Global Climate Risk Index 2026 rose sharply to 17th place.

Source

Frontiers in Education — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1894980