Education is considered to be the roadmap for tackling the global challenges. Climate change, is a wicked problem that threatens the continuity of life (Lehtonen, Salonen & Cantell, 2019). Throughout the last decade, efforts to reorient education to more radical and deliberate forms of learning, seem too vague and insufficient to respond to the urgent call of youth for an education that should promote action in the face of the current climate emergency. The role of education seems to be, and remain uncertain concerning questions as to how we approach education for climate action. Critical issues for strengthening climate action through education include shifting away from standardization and social reproduction and towards education for all and social change, from discipline based education, towards project based education, from knowledge based education towards value driven education, and from traditional forms of teaching towards more deliberate and action oriented pedagogies. These issues seem more demanding considering that many research findings regarding youth climate change knowledge, climate change concern and climate change action indicate that there is: a) knowledge misconceptions on climate change , b) gaps between knowledge and action and c) a low self-efficacy to participate in climate actions (Kolenatý, Kroufek & Cincera, 2022; Scoullos & Zachariou; 2022). Based on the above considerations the aim of this paper is to: identify the inherent ingredients of climate action in relation to the model of Anticipation-Action-Reflection, (OECD 2019) to examine the pedagogies that lead to climate action (“Walk to talk”, Whole School Approach, community based learning, peer learning), and c) to discuss the main characteristics of the education that leads to climate action (agency, political will, rethinking teaching techniques, supporting teachers) (Monroe,Plate, Oxarart, Bowers, & Chaves, 2017). The above issues will be: examined under the lens of various programs that applied in Cyprus the period 2018-2022, such as the international program “Unesco Associated Network Schools” and the national programs “Action for Climate Change: The Climate calls for S.O.S.” and discussed in accordance with international and regional ESD Frameworks such as the implementation framework of the UNECE Strategy for ESD 2021-2030, the ESD Mediterranean Action Plan 2030, the UNESCO ESD#2030 etc (UNECE 2022; UNESCO 2020) that developed for supporting countries to work more effectively in the field of ESD and Climate Change Education. Our aim within this discussion is to contribute to the wider dialogue concerning which education for climate action we are aiming for.

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