Estonia
Estonia
Estonia
example, that in the 15-29 age group, 23% of respond- ents are often or almost all the time concerned about environmental problems. In 2019 a Youth Environ- ment Council was established at the Ministry of the Environment. The Youth Environment Council is both an advisory and decision-making body that represents the environmental interests of young people and youth organisations both locally and internationally. The Council aims to involve young people in environ- mental debates and policymaking. It has participated in many working groups at the Ministry of the Envi- ronment, provided input for environmental legisla- tion and contributed to the environmental education of young people. One of the Council's major ongoing projects is the provision of training courses on envi- ronmental issues in schools, which give students new knowledge and broadens their horizons. • In 2020, the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with Estonian and foreign experts published a report enti- tled Global Education in Estonia, which showed that a rising number of young people are interested in climate change. There are more and more groups of young people protesting against the lack of national efforts to combat climate change. • The Environmental Board is a government agency affiliated with the Ministry of the Environment. It is responsible for fostering a sense of responsibility among the people of Estonia in regard to nature, and offers environmental education programmes. In 2021, the Estonian Government formed an expert group known as the Green Policy Steering Committee to coordinate the implementation of green policies in Estonia. The Key Principles of Climate Policy until 2050 are the basis of Estonian climate policy. One of the poli- cies is to raise public awareness of climate change miti- gation. Knowledge, skills and attitudes will be promoted at all levels of education including non-formal environ- mental education.
Policy developments According to the Sustainable Development Reports for 2021 and 2022 , Estonia ranks 10 out of 193 UN Member States when comparing progress on implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals . The Strategy for Estonian Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid 2016–2020 mentions, amongst several other goals, Estonian development cooperation to foster environ- mentally friendly development and raising awareness of the Estonian public, particularly younger people, of development cooperation, humanitarian aid and global development problems. Although the strategy ended in 2020, the activities are to be implemented until 2023. According to Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, climate-related topics are a key priority for the Estonian government and there is a clear intention to achieve the European climate neutrality objective by 2050 . As an EU Member State, Estonia is also committed to the European Green Deal . In Estonia, climate protection is a cross-cutting topic involving several ministries and governmental organisa- tions. Key stakeholders here are the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research, the Education and Youth Board, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Environmental Board. • The Ministry of Education and Research and the Education and Youth Board published a joint report "Is the Estonian young person a world citizen?" (Kas Eesti noor on maailmakodanik?) that analyses the results of the OECD Pisa 2018 survey for Estonia. The PISA 2018 survey examined, among other things, young people's attitudes to global issues. The report reveals that Estonian young people are quite aware of global issues. The most prominent topics were climate change and gender equality. • The Ministry of the Environment commissions regular surveys on public environmental awareness. The last survey was realised in 2020. The surveys show, for
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