Accelerating progress on sustainable development goals: Assessing secondary school students’ knowledge of climate change actions

Abstract

Abstract The youth plays significant role in realising the sustainable development goals (SDGs). What young people know about the SDGs and how to engage with the SDGs can contribute significantly to the realisation of the SDGs within the shortest possible time. Specifically, climate change is central to the SDGs because of its substantial nexus with economic, social and environmental outcomes for all regions of the world. Thus, this study investigates climate change awareness among secondary school students to guide climate change mitigation strategies and practices among young people for the attainment of the SDGs. The study adopts a qualitative research approach using content analysis of the essays on climate change written and presented by students of different secondary schools in Ota, Nigeria. The analysis reveals, among other things, that the students are knowledgeable about climate change and that their schools are the most prevalent source of climate change knowledge. The most-reported climate change effect from the essays include: rise in global temperatures, melting of ice, flooding, rise in sea level, drought, extinction of terrestrial and marine life and health challenges. Common mitigation strategies suggested by the students entail awareness, tree planting, use of low carbon vehicles, use of energy-saving bulbs, reduction of carbon emissions, and recycling of waste. With adequate climate change knowledge and mitigation strategies, many young people can contribute and engage practically with the climate change discourse, thereby improving the climate change statistics in their regions and accelerating progress on the SDGs.