Environmental Education for Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Abstract

Abstract Environmental education has become a strategic pillar for addressing climate change challenges and advancing sustainable development; however, empirical gaps persist in the systematic characterization of its approaches, dimensions, and implementation patterns, particularly in developing contexts. This study aims to describe the characteristics of scientific production on environmental education related to climate change and sustainable development through a descriptive diagnostic analysis. A qualitative approach was adopted, combining bibliometric techniques and content analysis applied to a corpus of 500 documents indexed in Scopus, retrieved using a structured search equation. The results reveal significant thematic fragmentation, with a predominance of studies focused on climate change, knowledge, and awareness, alongside a low level of integrated convergence between environmental education, climate change, and sustainable development. Methodologically, survey-based and cross-sectional designs dominate, while mixed and longitudinal methods remain marginal. In addition, environmental and public health dimensions are overrepresented compared to social, equity, and governance components. From a geographical perspective, scientific production is concentrated in Europe, North America, and Asia, whereas Latin America and Africa show limited representation. The study concludes that environmental education for climate change and sustainability has achieved notable progress in awareness-building, yet continues to face structural gaps in formal training, interdisciplinary integration, and context-sensitive evidence generation. These findings provide a valuable diagnostic baseline to inform future research agendas and support the design of education policies aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.