Environment
The solution to the current climate crisis, the greatest long-term threat to humanity, lies in a complete change in the way we behave and how we treat nature. And a global change of such magnitude, capable of making us all aware that we need to play an active role in the sustainability of the planet and in the future of our species, will only be possible by making use of the most powerful tool we have for the positive transformation of society: Education. And more specifically, environmental education, for which today we are celebrating World Day.
We are facing a situation for which man is both the cause and the solution. It is no longer necessary just to act, but to do so urgently. That is why the recent Glasgow Pact, which followed on from COP 26, talked about making the 2020s 10 crucial years for climate action and support.
The current diagnosis shows however that there is a gap between ambition and action. To close this gap we need to mobilise social will towards a climate response. For both Endesa and the Endesa Foundation, articulating responses on the path towards sustainability is a crucial task in our daily activities. In the case of the Foundation, environmental education is a strategic factor. We work day after day to increase the awareness of our young people and make them critically aware of the problem we face. We should also highlight their talent and their ability to contribute to a solution. In collaboration with the educational community and with the European Foundation for Society and Education, we are developing projects like the Eco-Innovation Awards, which combine dissemination, innovation and education to acknowledge and disseminate best practices in our schools. We are promoting knowledge about the responsible and efficient use of energy among young people, with initiatives such as Endesa Educa.
We are also promoting "Ecobarometer", the analysis of the attitudes and needs of our young people with regard to environmental education. According to the latest edition in 2021, their strongest demand is to give more preponderance to environmental content in the classroom.
This result highlights their desire to learn to contribute, perhaps because they are the ones who will inhabit a future planet that has been seriously damaged by irresponsible behaviour in the present. A humanistic approach to our way of life will help us understand that we need to live together with all the beings around us. An essential return to nature, because the more humanity weakens the environment, the more we undermine our own future.
Public opinion, and more specifically that of young people, is reacting and moving more and more along the path towards sustainability. Endesa and the Endesa Foundation aim to support this momentum. We are working for society and we would like to be where society is, with a commitment to an inclusive and fair future with opportunities for everyone. And this necessarily involves the present when every day needs to be a World Day for Environmental Education.
