CLIM-ACCIÓN: EDUCATIONAL
ALLIANCE FOR CLIMATE ACTION

CLIM-ACCIÓN: EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR CLIMATE ACTION

CONTEXT | OBJECTIVES | ABOUT THE PROJECT | RESOURCES
NEWS | GALLERY

In the face of the climate emergency and the need to build more desirable futures, schools become strategic nodes to drive just transitions towards sustainability. They are spaces where today’s decision-makers—and those of tomorrow—are formed, and communities capable of mobilising profound transformations.

Schools are meeting places, drivers of change, and essential public infrastructures for collective well-being. They inspire and educate in new ways of living, relating to one another, and caring for the environment. When a school transforms, its community and the surrounding territory transform with it.

However, despite their immense potential, education for sustainability and climate action remains insufficiently integrated into curricula, teacher training, and whole-school projects. Recognising and strengthening this role is key to building possible and desirable futures.

Thematic area:
Just transitions, Educational environments

Lines of work:
Multistakeholder alliances

Territory:
Madrid

Duration:
February 2023 to present

Status:
In progress

Partners:
Fundación Montemadrid, Institute of Education Sciences of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, itdUPM.

Thematic area:
Just transitions, Educational environments

Lines of work:
Multistakeholder alliances

Territory:
Madrid

Duration:
February 2023 to present

Status:
In progress

Partners:
Fundación Montemadrid, Institute of Education Sciences of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, itdUPM.

In the face of the climate emergency and the need to build more desirable futures, schools become strategic nodes to drive just transitions towards sustainability. They are spaces where today’s decision-makers—and those of tomorrow—are formed, and communities capable of mobilising profound transformations.

Schools are meeting places, drivers of change, and essential public infrastructures for collective well-being. They inspire and educate in new ways of living, relating to one another, and caring for the environment. When a school transforms, its community and the surrounding territory transform with it.

However, despite their immense potential, education for sustainability and climate action remains insufficiently integrated into curricula, teacher training, and whole-school projects. Recognising and strengthening this role is key to building possible and desirable futures.

Thematic area:
Just transitions, Educational environments

Lines of work:
Multistakeholder alliances

Territory:
Madrid

Duration:
February 2023 to present

Status:
In progress

Partners:
Fundación Montemadrid, Institute of Education Sciences of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, itdUPM.

In the face of the climate emergency and the need to build more desirable futures, schools become strategic nodes to drive just transitions towards sustainability. They are spaces where today’s decision-makers—and those of tomorrow—are formed, and communities capable of mobilising profound transformations.

Schools are meeting places, drivers of change, and essential public infrastructures for collective well-being. They inspire and educate in new ways of living, relating to one another, and caring for the environment. When a school transforms, its community and the surrounding territory transform with it.

However, despite their immense potential, education for sustainability and climate action remains insufficiently integrated into curricula, teacher training, and whole-school projects. Recognising and strengthening this role is key to building possible and desirable futures.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this project is to strengthen education for climate action in educational institutions as a whole-school endeavour, aligned with the City of Madrid’s agenda.

Through a comprehensive approach, the aim is for schools to become key actors in the transition towards more sustainable and just futures.

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OBJECTIVES

The objective of this project is to strengthen education for climate action in educational institutions as a whole-school endeavour, aligned with the City of Madrid’s agenda.

Through a comprehensive approach, the aim is for schools to become key actors in the transition towards more sustainable and just futures.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this project is to strengthen education for climate action in educational institutions as a whole-school endeavour, aligned with the City of Madrid’s agenda.

Through a comprehensive approach, the aim is for schools to become key actors in the transition towards more sustainable and just futures.

APPROACH

The project promotes climate action in the school environment through two main strategies: first, by connecting and strengthening existing initiatives; and second, by integrating a climate action perspective into school curricula. This approach is implemented through:

Identification and systematisation of educational programmes for climate action in schools.
Connecting initiatives and actors. Rather than creating new programmes, the aim is to amplify existing ones.
Creation and facilitation of an Educational Alliance for Climate Action in the city of Madrid.
Strengthening teacher training.
Experimentation through pilot projects and practical initiatives.

WORK STREAMS

REPOSITORY OF EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES FOR CLIMATE ACTION

We developed a tool to compile and systematise educational programmes and resources on sustainability and climate action offered by different organisations to schools. Initially focused on Madrid, this repository facilitates the search for initiatives and the connection between entities. We also produced a scientific article analysing these programmes, assessing their main characteristics, their alignment with the current educational framework, and proposing improvements to enhance their impact.

If you know of a programme that should be included in the repository, you are invited to fill out this form.

CLIM-ACCIÓN ALLIANCE

We have built an alliance among actors and organisations working on climate action in schools to foster joint work and strengthen existing initiatives. The Alliance holds regular sessions to share experiences, analyse good practices, and co-design proposals.

In the first phase, we focused on identifying key areas of transformation towards sustainability within schools. We then created a pathway that integrates climate action education into all aspects of school life. The results were key to the Alliance’s contribution to the Environmental Education for Sustainability Dialogues (EAS Dialogues) within the new Environmental Education Action Plan for Sustainability (PAEAS II 2026–2032).
In the second phase, the Alliance developed a collaborative guide on how to open schools to their neighbourhoods. The aim is to support schools in these processes and help scale these types of experiences.

PILOT PROJECTS IN EDUCATIONAL CENTRES

Since 2023, we have developed pilot projects in two schools located in Madrid neighbourhoods with high levels of vulnerability. These pilots aim to strengthen the actors involved and activate synergies with existing programmes, promoting a whole-school approach. This involves incorporating climate action in a coherent and transversal way into the curriculum, school culture, everyday organisation, and the dynamics of each educational community.

PONCE DE LEÓN EDUCATIONAL CENTRE: At the Ponce de León Educational Centre—a publicly subsidised bilingual school (oral language and sign language) of Fundación Montemadrid located in the Usera district (Madrid)—one of the pilot projects is underway. It focuses on curricular review to strengthen the ecosocial approach. Teachers from all educational levels, from early childhood to vocational training and special education, participated in a training programme aimed at integrating this perspective into annual curricular planning and learning situations. This process was carried out in collaboration with FUHEM. We are also supporting the centre in evaluating and reflecting on the application of this approach in the classroom. At the same time, we are preparing a publication compiling examples and key lessons learned from the curricular review and the creation of ecosocial learning situations.
RAMÓN MARÍA DEL VALLE-INCLÁN PRIMARY SCHOOL: CEIP Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, located in the San Blas–Canillejas district (Madrid), is the second school implementing a pilot project. As part of this project, the school has carried out a participatory process with its educational community to define a shared commitment to integrating climate action in the school and its surroundings, and to strengthen its ties with the neighbourhood. Through workshops inspired by the Ecotopías methodology—which invites students to imagine and project more desirable futures for their school and neighbourhood—children shared their ideas to make their school more sustainable. Similar sessions were held with teachers and local stakeholders.
As a result, the event ClimaX: Valle-Inclán, corazón de San Blas was held—a day designed and led by the students, bringing together various neighbourhood actors to reimagine a more collaborative and sustainable San Blas. Continuing this vision of opening up to the neighbourhood, the school hosted the ViveConvive Festival in its playground in May 2025, where new community ideas and proposals were gathered to continue building the school as a driver of local transformation. This process has been carried out in collaboration with Zuloark and Antonella Broglia.

MASTER’S DEGREE IN TEACHER TRAINING

Teacher training is a key lever for ensuring an education oriented towards climate action. For this reason, we designed and implemented an elective course within the official Master’s Degree in Teacher Training for Secondary Education, Baccalaureate and Vocational Training at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).

The course, titled Education with an Ecosocial Perspective, offers future teachers a holistic understanding of contemporary challenges, along with tools, experiences and resources to integrate sustainability, equity and social transformation into their educational practices. Its purpose is to promote the transversal incorporation of the ecosocial approach across the curriculum.

The curricular design of the course is the result of collaboration between Clim-Acción and FUHEM.

TARGET COMMUNITIES AND ENTITIES

RESULTS

The state of the art of educational initiatives for sustainability and climate action available in Madrid was compiled, systematised and analysed.
A collaborative space among different actors was created, promoting a more holistic framework to work with schools through a whole-school approach.
The importance of integrating climate action transversally into the curriculum and connecting it to the city’s climate agenda was strengthened.
The understanding of schools as essential agents of just urban transitions was reinforced.

APPROACH

The project promotes climate action in the school environment through two main strategies: first, by connecting and strengthening existing initiatives; and second, by integrating a climate action perspective into school curricula. This approach is implemented through:

Identification and systematisation of educational programmes for climate action in schools.
Connecting initiatives and actors. Rather than creating new programmes, the aim is to amplify existing ones.
Creation and facilitation of an Educational Alliance for Climate Action in the city of Madrid.
Strengthening teacher training.
Experimentation through pilot projects and practical initiatives.

WORK STREAMS

REPOSITORY OF EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES FOR CLIMATE ACTION

We developed a tool to compile and systematise educational programmes and resources on sustainability and climate action offered by different organisations to schools. Initially focused on Madrid, this repository facilitates the search for initiatives and the connection between entities. We also produced a scientific article analysing these programmes, assessing their main characteristics, their alignment with the current educational framework, and proposing improvements to enhance their impact.

If you know of a programme that should be included in the repository, you are invited to fill out this form.

CLIM-ACCIÓN ALLIANCE

We have built an alliance among actors and organisations working on climate action in schools to foster joint work and strengthen existing initiatives. The Alliance holds regular sessions to share experiences, analyse good practices, and co-design proposals.

In the first phase, we focused on identifying key areas of transformation towards sustainability within schools. We then created a pathway that integrates climate action education into all aspects of school life. The results were key to the Alliance’s contribution to the Environmental Education for Sustainability Dialogues (EAS Dialogues) within the new Environmental Education Action Plan for Sustainability (PAEAS II 2026–2032).
In the second phase, the Alliance developed a collaborative guide on how to open schools to their neighbourhoods. The aim is to support schools in these processes and help scale these types of experiences.

PILOT PROJECTS IN EDUCATIONAL CENTRES

Since 2023, we have developed pilot projects in two schools located in Madrid neighbourhoods with high levels of vulnerability. These pilots aim to strengthen the actors involved and activate synergies with existing programmes, promoting a whole-school approach. This involves incorporating climate action in a coherent and transversal way into the curriculum, school culture, everyday organisation, and the dynamics of each educational community.

PONCE DE LEÓN EDUCATIONAL CENTRE: At the Ponce de León Educational Centre—a publicly subsidised bilingual school (oral language and sign language) of Fundación Montemadrid located in the Usera district (Madrid)—one of the pilot projects is underway. It focuses on curricular review to strengthen the ecosocial approach. Teachers from all educational levels, from early childhood to vocational training and special education, participated in a training programme aimed at integrating this perspective into annual curricular planning and learning situations. This process was carried out in collaboration with FUHEM. We are also supporting the centre in evaluating and reflecting on the application of this approach in the classroom. At the same time, we are preparing a publication compiling examples and key lessons learned from the curricular review and the creation of ecosocial learning situations.
RAMÓN MARÍA DEL VALLE-INCLÁN PRIMARY SCHOOL: CEIP Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, located in the San Blas–Canillejas district (Madrid), is the second school implementing a pilot project. As part of this project, the school has carried out a participatory process with its educational community to define a shared commitment to integrating climate action in the school and its surroundings, and to strengthen its ties with the neighbourhood. Through workshops inspired by the Ecotopías methodology—which invites students to imagine and project more desirable futures for their school and neighbourhood—children shared their ideas to make their school more sustainable. Similar sessions were held with teachers and local stakeholders.
As a result, the event ClimaX: Valle-Inclán, corazón de San Blas was held—a day designed and led by the students, bringing together various neighbourhood actors to reimagine a more collaborative and sustainable San Blas. Continuing this vision of opening up to the neighbourhood, the school hosted the ViveConvive Festival in its playground in May 2025, where new community ideas and proposals were gathered to continue building the school as a driver of local transformation. This process has been carried out in collaboration with Zuloark and Antonella Broglia.

MASTER’S DEGREE IN TEACHER TRAINING

Teacher training is a key lever for ensuring an education oriented towards climate action. For this reason, we designed and implemented an elective course within the official Master’s Degree in Teacher Training for Secondary Education, Baccalaureate and Vocational Training at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).

The course, titled Education with an Ecosocial Perspective, offers future teachers a holistic understanding of contemporary challenges, along with tools, experiences and resources to integrate sustainability, equity and social transformation into their educational practices. Its purpose is to promote the transversal incorporation of the ecosocial approach across the curriculum.

The curricular design of the course is the result of collaboration between Clim-Acción and FUHEM.

TARGET COMMUNITIES AND ENTITIES

RESULTS

The state of the art of educational initiatives for sustainability and climate action available in Madrid was compiled, systematised and analysed.
A collaborative space among different actors was created, promoting a more holistic framework to work with schools through a whole-school approach.
The importance of integrating climate action transversally into the curriculum and connecting it to the city’s climate agenda was strengthened.
The understanding of schools as essential agents of just urban transitions was reinforced.

APPROACH

The project promotes climate action in the school environment through two main strategies: first, by connecting and strengthening existing initiatives; and second, by integrating a climate action perspective into school curricula. This approach is implemented through:

Identification and systematisation of educational programmes for climate action in schools.
Connecting initiatives and actors. Rather than creating new programmes, the aim is to amplify existing ones.
Creation and facilitation of an Educational Alliance for Climate Action in the city of Madrid.
Strengthening teacher training.
Experimentation through pilot projects and practical initiatives.

WORK STREAMS

REPOSITORY OF EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES FOR CLIMATE ACTION

We developed a tool to compile and systematise educational programmes and resources on sustainability and climate action offered by different organisations to schools. Initially focused on Madrid, this repository facilitates the search for initiatives and the connection between entities. We also produced a scientific article analysing these programmes, assessing their main characteristics, their alignment with the current educational framework, and proposing improvements to enhance their impact.

If you know of a programme that should be included in the repository, you are invited to fill out this form.

CLIM-ACCIÓN ALLIANCE

We have built an alliance among actors and organisations working on climate action in schools to foster joint work and strengthen existing initiatives. The Alliance holds regular sessions to share experiences, analyse good practices, and co-design proposals.

In the first phase, we focused on identifying key areas of transformation towards sustainability within schools. We then created a pathway that integrates climate action education into all aspects of school life. The results were key to the Alliance’s contribution to the Environmental Education for Sustainability Dialogues (EAS Dialogues) within the new Environmental Education Action Plan for Sustainability (PAEAS II 2026–2032).
In the second phase, the Alliance developed a collaborative guide on how to open schools to their neighbourhoods. The aim is to support schools in these processes and help scale these types of experiences.

PILOT PROJECTS IN EDUCATIONAL CENTRES

Since 2023, we have developed pilot projects in two schools located in Madrid neighbourhoods with high levels of vulnerability. These pilots aim to strengthen the actors involved and activate synergies with existing programmes, promoting a whole-school approach. This involves incorporating climate action in a coherent and transversal way into the curriculum, school culture, everyday organisation, and the dynamics of each educational community.

PONCE DE LEÓN EDUCATIONAL CENTRE: At the Ponce de León Educational Centre—a publicly subsidised bilingual school (oral language and sign language) of Fundación Montemadrid located in the Usera district (Madrid)—one of the pilot projects is underway. It focuses on curricular review to strengthen the ecosocial approach. Teachers from all educational levels, from early childhood to vocational training and special education, participated in a training programme aimed at integrating this perspective into annual curricular planning and learning situations. This process was carried out in collaboration with FUHEM. We are also supporting the centre in evaluating and reflecting on the application of this approach in the classroom. At the same time, we are preparing a publication compiling examples and key lessons learned from the curricular review and the creation of ecosocial learning situations.
RAMÓN MARÍA DEL VALLE-INCLÁN PRIMARY SCHOOL: CEIP Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, located in the San Blas–Canillejas district (Madrid), is the second school implementing a pilot project. As part of this project, the school has carried out a participatory process with its educational community to define a shared commitment to integrating climate action in the school and its surroundings, and to strengthen its ties with the neighbourhood. Through workshops inspired by the Ecotopías methodology—which invites students to imagine and project more desirable futures for their school and neighbourhood—children shared their ideas to make their school more sustainable. Similar sessions were held with teachers and local stakeholders.
As a result, the event ClimaX: Valle-Inclán, corazón de San Blas was held—a day designed and led by the students, bringing together various neighbourhood actors to reimagine a more collaborative and sustainable San Blas. Continuing this vision of opening up to the neighbourhood, the school hosted the ViveConvive Festival in its playground in May 2025, where new community ideas and proposals were gathered to continue building the school as a driver of local transformation. This process has been carried out in collaboration with Zuloark and Antonella Broglia.

MASTER’S DEGREE IN TEACHER TRAINING

Teacher training is a key lever for ensuring an education oriented towards climate action. For this reason, we designed and implemented an elective course within the official Master’s Degree in Teacher Training for Secondary Education, Baccalaureate and Vocational Training at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM).

The course, titled Education with an Ecosocial Perspective, offers future teachers a holistic understanding of contemporary challenges, along with tools, experiences and resources to integrate sustainability, equity and social transformation into their educational practices. Its purpose is to promote the transversal incorporation of the ecosocial approach across the curriculum.

The curricular design of the course is the result of collaboration between Clim-Acción and FUHEM.

TARGET COMMUNITIES AND ENTITIES

RESULTS

The state of the art of educational initiatives for sustainability and climate action available in Madrid was compiled, systematised and analysed.
A collaborative space among different actors was created, promoting a more holistic framework to work with schools through a whole-school approach.
The importance of integrating climate action transversally into the curriculum and connecting it to the city’s climate agenda was strengthened.
The understanding of schools as essential agents of just urban transitions was reinforced.

RESOURCES

Repository

Valle-Inclán videos: