We are pleased to share with you the publication of our new book, Education and Learning for Sustainable Futures: 50 years of learning and environmental change. This book explores fundamental questions about how the role of education has evolved over the decades since the pivotal 1972 Stockholm Conference, which brought environmental learning to the forefront of global awareness.

Co-authors, Daniella Tilbury and Thomas Macintyre and myself, have attempted to find some answers by tracking through the decades (1970-2020) the development of narratives, thinking, and practice of learning and education in support of the environment and sustainability. What is clear is that the profile and presence of learning and education for the environment has been elevated in today’s policy discourses and communities of practice. Yet, our analysis identified some clear differences in the way education and learning for the environment has been approached over time. 

In our new book, we trace these changes over the decades while looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities of the future.  A key wildcard in this journey is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which holds immense potential to bridge digital and green agendas, enabling smarter environmental management and driving innovation toward a sustainable future. However, we also address critical concerns: data privacy breaches, outsourcing human thinking to profit-driven algorithms, exacerbation of inequalities, and the environmental footprint of AI infrastructure.

This book provides a light way into the history, developments and prospects of the field of Environmental and Sustainability Education.

Full reference:

Macintyre, T., Tilbury, D., & Wals, A. (2024). Education and Learning for Sustainable Futures: 50 Years of Learning for Environment and Change (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003467007

Wish to read more? Our book is open access thanks to the funding of the Dutch Government that funded this publication: https://www.routledge.com/Education-and-Learning-for-Sustainable-Futures-50-Years-of-Learning-for-Environment-and-Change/Macintyre-Tilbury-Wals/p/book/9781032727912

Our thanks also go to Stakeholder Forum and to @JanGustav for his leadership role in the Stockholm+50 reflective dialogues, and to UNEP/ the Swedish Government for spurring us on to track the historical development of education and learning for the environment. We are also grateful to @Routledge for taking an interest in publishing the text.