As Taiwan looks toward net-zero by 2050, the Environment Ministry and Education Ministry have joined hands to launch the country’s first online climate change course exclusively for high school students. Environment Minister Peng Chi-ming (彭啓明) explained that the course aims to teach high schoolers the latest climate policy and diverse perspectives and cultivate a generation capable of taking meaningful climate action.

Peng said that building climate literacy among young people is the most important survival skill the government can give the next generation. “Today’s high school students will be around 40 years old in 2050. They believe that if our generation doesn’t make the effort today, they will be the ones to suffer later. Given today’s adolescents already have such strong convictions, we built a course to help them better understand what happens year after year at international climate conferences,” he said.

The course brings together speakers from seven professional fields and translates dense climate science and net-zero policy into language accessible to young people. Peng himself contributes as a policy architect, covering the global outlook and national strategy on climate change. National Taiwan Normal University Distinguished Professor Yeh Shin-Cheng (葉欣誠), who studies climate literacy, will also contribute to the course, as well as three high school teachers from around Taiwan who specialize in climate change education and two members of the National Climate Change Committee.

As the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) produces new developments every year, Peng said the online course will be updated annually to keep pace with the latest international trends.

Per the head of the Environment Ministry’s Climate Change Administration, Wen Yu-yun (溫育勇), the course was launched on Wednesday on the Education Ministry’s free interactive learning platform. Students can log in via mobile phone, tablet, or laptop, and within two weeks of completing the course and passing an online test, they will receive an electronic certificate.