The Art of Green Finance

Education might just be the most important tool we have during the climate crisis unfolding before us. This is a big claim, so, can I back this up?

Education is not just the key to raising awareness about climate change itself, it is also important for informing people about ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and is crucial for teaching people about how to deal with the effects of climate change.

In the UK, attitudes towards climate change range from scepticism at one extreme to worry and doomerism (which can also result in climate in-action) at the other extreme. Since the hottest summer on record in the UK of 2022 when concern about the climate crisis peaked, leadership from the government on the climate crisis took several knocks with resultant loss of international standing in this domain. Instead we have seen climate-sceptic think-tank funded MPs promoted to key roles and an increase in attacks on climate change focused policies from the right-wing press (in particular from The Sun and The Daily Mail newspapers). In the face of this, it is perhaps unsurprising that concern about climate change amongst the UK population has fallen back slightly. However, the vast majortity of the UK population remain concerned about climate change and keen to see further action towards net zero. This reflects attitudes right across the industrialised nations as well as in many middle- and lower-income countries. We need these people in the middle (the vast majority) to be well-educated about climate change and to actively look at what impact they can have in reducing emissions in both their personal and professional lives. We also need our children to be well educated about climate change so that they can make educated predictions about future weather events and prepare for the effects of climate change. Knowledge about climate change could also provide inspiration for a route into a future-proofed potentially well-paying climate focused job.

In middle income countries, there are often large disparities between different sections of the population. Education can help level up these disparities, opening up better-paid more stable job opportunities for people with the right level of education. This can provide an income that can allow people to better protect themselves against the impacts of climate change.

In the global South, where populations are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, prompt education about the climate crisis may give people enough time to build a degree of climate resiliance or to adapt to climate change (for example, planting trees for shade or improving housing to withstand storms).

Worldwide, general education of women in particular has long been correlated with reduced infant mortality and smaller families. Making sure that the education delivered is of high quality is also key to these outcomes. Given that a larger future population would need more food (Nb. agriculture is a big source of greenhouse gases) and that larger populations also produce more greenhouse gas emissions in general, global education and thereby a smaller global population is a hugely important means of limiting the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Although education alone does seem to have an impact on family size, education teamed with good family planning has an even bigger impact.

Convinced? Then, let’s look at what you can do.

I’m struggling financially. What can I do?

If you are in debt, deal with this first and come back to this question later. If you are just about managing or are managing well despite working to a tight budget, there is still lots that you can do to support education.

Start by educating yourself on climate change if you haven’t done this already. Mike Berners-Lee’s There’s no Planet B is still the most accessible book for explaining the climate crisis and generating ideas for how you can have an impact. You could get this from your local library but it’s a book I like to return to and therefore to have on my bookshelf, so a second-hand copy might be even better. If you don’t enjoy reading books or struggle to find time to read, watch David Attenborough’s Climate Change – The Facts on the BBC’s iPlayer first to provide you with some motivation.

If you have children, talk to them about climate change. School age children in the UK will already be very familiar with the topic. As parents, we need to demonstrate that we are making changes and not make children feel like they are solely responsible for coming up with solutions. Children should be aware of challenges ahead but not be so worried that there are no solutions that they feel helpless. Talk to them about success stories. Sign up for a weekly newsletter from Positive news. Positive news is a great source of environmental good news stories and manages to provide these stories without hiding from realism.

If you are on a tight financial budget but are time-rich, consider volunteering. You could volunteer to support education locally. This could be as simple as offering to read with children in your local primary school. Or volunteer to teach English to refugees. Today, most refugees in the UK are fleeing from war or human rights abuses but in the future we may see an increase in refugees from climate affected countries. If you would prefer to directly teach about climate-related issues, look at what your local climate action group are doing and see if there are any educational opportunities to work with them. If you are based near London, you could volunteer for Climate Ed. Another alternative would be to fundraise for an educational charity. Read more about global educational charities below.

If you are convinced about the importance of education and are considering your career options or looking for a career change, consider training as a teacher. Qualified teachers could consider a sabbatical to teach abroad.

I’m doing ok and would like to spend my charity budget on education projects.

Great! Your money is likely to have the biggest impact in lower-income countries and in countries where access to universal education is limited. It’s really only not-for-profit organisations that are working on education projects in the poorest areas of the world. In these areas, there may be no easily available electricity supply let alone reliable access to the internet so technology based solutions are not really viable.

However, even if you have decided to support educational charities in lower-income countries, it is difficult to know which charities are the most effective and therefore which charities to support because evidence about educational outcomes is often limited. Teaching at the Right Level Africa is one charity that is using an evidence-based approach and aiming for quality education for all pupils and therefore could be a good charity to support.

Be slightly wary about supporting charities that provide materials only (either written or electronic) but little actual teaching input as these interventions are unlikely to improve educational outcomes based on evidence available to date.

I’ve max’ed out my charity budget. I have an investment budget. Should I invest in publically listed education companies?

Buying shares in publically listed educational companies may provide funds for educational projects targeting middle-income countries or people with educational challenges in developed countries. However, this is not the main aim of publically listed education companies; their aim is to make a profit for their shareholders. It is worth noting that buying shares in educational companies is unlikely to result in significant educational opportunities being funded in lower-income countries (where education is arguably most needed) and if this is your main motivation, look at charitable giving (above).

However, if you are an ethical investor, could the education sector prove to be a good investment as well as being ethically sound? Let’s look at potential profitability first:-

The education sector is predicted to expand over the next 25 years as middle- and lower-income countries look to improve the education of their growing populations. Based on this fact alone, educational companies could be a good investment. However, education is a broad area and there are potential issues in many of the educational subcategories.

Educational companies span the full range of educational levels from pre-school to university level and may span different countries and populations. In general, educational companies listed on the London and New York stock exchanges tend to fall into one or more of several main categories; traditional face-to-face tuition (often in private institutions such as nurseries, private schools or colleges), companies producing educational or exam materials and companies using internet based technology for educational purposes (Edtech). Several companies operate across a combination of the above.

Traditional educational investments such as face-to-face teaching and publishers of written educational materials were significantly disrupted by Covid-19 lockdowns, and simultaneously, Covid-19 lockdowns also demonstrated the potential of Edtech. Edtech companies are the exciting (relative) newcomers on the block and are attracting considerable investment. However, Edtech companies are also likely to be riskier investments as many of these technologies are new and unproven.

In addition, looming in the background is artificial intelligence. It is predicted that AI will significantly disrupt the education sector; AI could out-compete some companies’ products by providing the same service but more quickly and less expensively. Alternatively, AI could provide a boost for educational companies that are able to use AI to their advantage.

The next consideration is whether educational companies are ethically sound. Let’s be clear, educational companies are, by their nature, more ethical than many other sectors such as tobacco, oil and gas and arms, but educational companies may not be entirely benign. For example, private educational companies may be argued to undermine national educational programmes and create societal disparities based on income. Companies producing exam materials are open to intense criticism if mistakes are found in materials they have produced, particularly if this affects the educational options of children involved. Edtech companies are subject to data collection and security concerns. Accessibility is also a concern around Edtech including issues around affordability and the digital divide. Therefore, before investing, it is important to research individual educational companies thoroughly. Tip: – a Google search using the company name + the search term “controversies” will reveal current and historical issues. Some of these issues might make you hesitant to invest in the searched company. Unfortunately, few of the largest education companies come out entirely unscathed using this method. It is then up to you to consider how much bearing to place on each of these controversies before deciding to invest.