ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND GLOBAL CLIMATE GOVERNANCE: CHALLENGES TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LAW AND THE FORMATION OF ECOLOGICAL SUBJECTS

Abstract

The intensification of climate change has consolidated the environmental crisis as one of the major contemporary challenges, requiring integrated responses that articulate legal, educational, and political dimensions. In this context, this article aims to analyze the legal and formative implications of Environmental Education in addressing the climate crisis, with an emphasis on its relationship with climate governance and the principle of intergenerational responsibility. This study adopts a qualitative approach, with an exploratory and analytical-interpretative nature, developed through bibliographic and documentary procedures. National and international legal frameworks were analyzed, as well as theoretical contributions from the fields of critical Environmental Education and Environmental Law. Content analysis was employed as the analytical technique, enabling the organization of data into thematic categories. The findings reveal that, although there is a robust legal framework recognizing the right to an ecologically balanced environment and the importance of education, there remains a significant gap between normative provisions and their effective implementation in educational practices and public policies. Furthermore, Environmental Education, when grounded in a critical and interdisciplinary perspective, demonstrates the potential to mediate the relationship between legal norms and social practices, contributing to the formation of ecological subjects and the strengthening of environmental citizenship. It is concluded that the effectiveness of Environmental Law in the context of climate change depends on the consolidation of a critical Environmental Education, articulated with climate governance and guided by principles of socio-environmental justice and intergenerational responsibility. Finally, the study highlights the need to strengthen integrated public policies and to expand formative practices committed to social transformation.