Opinion
The greatest missing ingredient in climate education is not information but social influence.
My experience as a Climate Champion in the Growing Green Generation Project, a four-week Climate Education Program organized by the Special Adviser to the Enugu State Governor on Climate Policy and Sustainable Development, in partnership with the office of the First Lady, and the Enugu State ministries of Environment and Education, taught me this.
I was assigned to Goshen Star College, Enugu, for an experiential climate change campaign with the students.
Our approach wasn’t limited to classroom teaching or assignments; we were equipped with series of hands-on activities during the program.
The students were taught that waste is not entirely useless. Our partner from Dosky Arts Quest taught the students how non-biodegradable waste could be converted into usable products and art, so as to shield the environment from suffering from our waste.
There was also a tree-planting exercise, where students planted both economic and ornamental trees around the school, and then, with the help of the school management, we took steps to turn this new understanding into a living legacy.
We established a Climate Action Club, a structured space where students can continue to discuss, learn, lead, and champion the campaign for eco-friendly habits within their school and the society.
However, as time went on, I began to notice a troubling pattern.
At first, students were excited and interested in the program, but by the second week, I noticed that some of the students who had been the most enthusiastic no longer attended climate club meetings.
As I began to explore the reason for the emerging trend, I became aware of the influence of peer pressure and how students’ attitudes are shaped by their environment, and not just the lesson content.
Very often, we have been focusing on curricula, lesson plans and knowledge. Of course, these are all important, but incomplete without factoring in the social environment where this knowledge is supposed to live, and how culture shapes whether students act on the knowledge they are given.
What happens after the lesson ends, and peer pressure enters the scene? A student can understand climate change and still avoid carrying a reusable bottle or joining the eco club because friends think it’s weird, nerdy or boring.
When these go unchallenged, the risk is climate education staying knowledge without action, and it doesn’t stop at schools.
Students who care about the climate are often labelled by their peers with such words as “preachy, woke, doomsdayer, tree-hugger,” and so many other derogatory labels.
While negative peer pressure can suppress participation in climate action as the social cost of joining outweighs the perceived benefits, interestingly, it can also be a powerful ally.
Climate education programs need to tap into peer networks instead of only focusing on curriculum.
For a lot of young people, belonging matters more than facts.Climate clubs are designed to leverage positive peer pressure.
If information tells students why climate action matters, climate clubs help answer the question, who around me is already doing it?
But there is a paradox: the very mechanism climate clubs are supposed to harness—peer influence—is often the first obstacle they must overcome before they can create it.
Some students quietly confessed they feared their friends would mock them, thinking that climate clubs were merely about “carrying plastic and trash.”
When young people internalize and carry these negative norms into homes and communities, the ripple effect starts to change behavior beyond the classroom.
What begins as the fear of being mocked for joining a climate club can gradually become a culture where environmental responsibility itself is viewed with suspicion or ridicule.
We should rethink how climate clubs are positioned. Too often, they are treated as niche groups for a handful of environmentally conscious students rather than communities that any student would be proud to join.
The solution to this is to make climate clubs the cool clubs where being a recycling champion carries status that will move students to ask “Why am I not part of this?” instead of “Will my friends laugh if I join?”
Climate clubs should be among the most visible and aspirational communities in a school, where environmental leadership carries prestige.
Student leaders, athletes, artists, prefects, and influential students should be encouraged to champion them, helping to redefine what participation represents.
When students see these figures leading green projects, it makes participation feel normal and even admirable. Activities should be creative, collaborative, and engaging.
And just as schools celebrate excellence in sports, debate, music, and academics, they should also celebrate climate leadership.
The objective is not merely to recruit more members, but to flip the social norm.There is an old saying, “Show me your friends, and I will show you your future.”
It endures because it captures a simple truth: the people around us shape the people we become, and the same is true of climate action.
If we want young people to become lifelong stewards of the environment, we must shape not only what they know but also the communities they belong to. Because in the end, climate action is contagious.
By Melitus Onyechonam Okogu
Climate Education Champion
F.O
Tags: Chuwumerije Okereke Climate Education