CFR Education from the Council on Foreign Relations is releasing a comprehensive library of accurate, accessible, and authoritative teaching and learning resources on climate change and its implications for global issues and foreign policy. Explore these free resources and their accompanying teaching materials.
Explore the Topics
- Understanding the Causes of Climate Change
- How to Mitigate Climate Change
- How the World Can Adapt to Climate Impacts
- Climate Policy: Opportunities and Obstacles
- Energy Challenges in the Face of Climate Change
- What Is Geoengineering?
As a part of the Council on Foreign Relations’ commitment to addressing climate change, CFR Education is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Coursera to create a three-course specialization on climate change. Coming in 2025!
Full Library of Climate Resources
Understanding the Causes of Climate Change
- The Greenhouse Effect
- How Climate Change Can Get Even Worse
- How Humans Cause Climate Change
- Who Releases the Most Greenhouse Gases?
How to Mitigate Climate Change
- How To Lower Energy-Sector Emissions
- How to Lower Industry-Sector Emissions
- How to Lower Transportation-Sector Emissions
- How to Lower Buildings-Sector Emissions
- How to Lower Agriculture and Land-Use Emissions
How the World Can Adapt to Climate Impacts
- Protecting Global Food and Water Supplies in a Warming World
- How to Address the Economic Costs of Climate Change
- How Climate Change Reduces Biodiversity
- Climate Change Threatens to Displace Many People
- How Climate Change Threatens National Security
- How Does Climate Change Affect Our Health?
- How Climate Change Worsens Inequality
Climate Policy: Opportunities and Obstacles
- How Climate Change is a Collective Action Problem (video)
- How Are International Agreements Helping Fight Global Warming?
- How the Paris Agreement Helps Stop Climate Change (video)
- What Is a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism?
- What Are Market-Based Solutions for Mitigating Climate Change?
- What Is the Inflation Reduction Act?
- What Is Climate Finance?
- How Regulations Help Fight Climate Change
- How to Make the Green Transition Just and Equitable
- How State and Local Governments Can Fight Climate Change
Energy Challenges in the Face of Climate Change
- How Renewables Can Boost a Country’s Energy Security (video)
- How Electrification Can Reduce Emissions
- Why Energy Storage is Essential for a Green Transition
- How Earth’s Minerals Are Helping the World Meet Its Climate Goals
- Why Electric Grids Need to Be More Resilient
- How Energy Conservation Can Help Fight Climate Change
Geoengineering
Teaching Resources
High School
- High School Essay & Discussion Questions covering causes of climate change, mitigation, climate impacts and adaptations, energy challenges, policy levers, geoengineering and climate videos
- Climate Change: Introduction (Lesson Plan)
- Climate Change: Who Releases the Most Greenhouse Gases (Lesson Plan)
- Climate Change: Coffee and Costs (Lesson Plan)
- Climate Change: Mitigation (Lesson Plan)
- Climate Change and Infectious Diseases (Lesson Plan)
- AP Environmental Science Alignment Page
Higher Education
- Higher Education Essay & Discussion Questions covering causes of climate change, mitigation, climate impacts and adaptations, energy challenges, policy levers, geoengineering and climate videos
- Create A Mitigation Awareness Video (Activity)
- Climate Prompts: Fact or Fiction? (Activity)
- Solar Geoengineering Mini Simulation Activity
Climate Change Simulations
- Hurricane in the Caribbean
- Solar Geoengineering
- Stopping Deforestation in the Amazon
- U.S. Arctic Policy
- Should the United States Ratify the Law of the Sea?
- Global Climate Change Policy (National Security Council)
- Global Climate Change Policy (UN Security Council)
Explore Library of Climate Events
- Engaging Students in Interdisciplinary Climate Education (Recording on edWeb, November, 2024)
- Higher Ed Webinar: Teaching Climate Change (Recording on CFR Education, November, 2024)
- Teaching Climate Change Across Disciplines in 2025 (SXSW EDU, March 2025)
- Climate Change: What Your Students Want to Know AND What They Can Do About It (Recording on Share My Lesson, March 2024)
Stay Updated
- Subscribe to the CFR Education newsletter from the Council on Foreign Relations to receive free teaching and learning resources straight to your inbox.
CFR Education from the Council on Foreign Relations aims to close the global literacy gap in our country by providing accessible, accurate, and authoritative resources that build the knowledge, skills, and perspective middle, high school, and higher education students need to understand and engage with today’s most pressing global issues.