AI tools in Education for Sustainable Development & Sustainable use of AI tools
On 21 January 2026, the Education for Climate Community Café will explore AI & Climate Action, focusing on both the sustainability impact of AI and its role in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
The session will feature contributions from Michael Shannon on AI in agroecology learning, Katerina Spitsa on inclusive playground design with preschoolers, Katerina Vigkou on AI for local sustainability projects, Guillaume Martel on frugal and sustainable AI use, and Roxane Maar on the ethical and human dimensions of AI in schools.
With breakout discussions planned on smart prompting and the future of AI in education, the café will invite participants into lively dialogue and reflection, reinforcing the importance of integrating AI thoughtfully into teaching and learning.
If you’d like to share how you are using AI and offer a short mini‑presentation, feel free to reach out to Community Manager, Trine Larsen, at trine.larsen@education-for-climate.eu
Join us to listen, learn, share, and co-create!
Cafe Resume:
The Café brought together a diverse group of 68 participants from across Europe and beyond, creating a lively and international exchange.
The discussions and mini-presentations centered on the opportunities and challenges of using AI in ESD as well as sustainable AI use. The discussions especially took off in the two break-out rooms, where one room focused on ethical AI use and the future role of AI in schools, and the other room had a sustainable AI prompt training.
Participants reflected on:
• AI in teaching and learning: how to integrate it responsibly, safeguard against errors, and maintain creativity and critical thinking.
• Sustainability concerns: raising awareness of the environmental footprint of using AI and the importance of balancing benefits with ecological costs.
• Youth and schools: emphasising the need to build critical thinking, collective responsibility, and informed decision-making around AI use.
• Resource sharing: members exchanged tools, platforms, and reports that could support educators and communities in exploring AI for climate action.
The tone was constructive and forward-looking, with participants eager to continue collaboration beyond the Café. The session closed with strong interest in creating an AI Challenge Group where members can share resources, scenarios, and practical experiences. The group is live, and we implore you to join us in there to keep the knowledge-sharing and cooperation going!
Rewatch the café
Hey all, thank you for a most wonderful café!
I have created a group where we can continue the discussions from the café, as well as use the space for sharing resources: https://education-for-climate.ec.europa.eu/community/group/124/stream
You can also find the group by clicking on the search feature (loop icon) at the top of the page and typing: AI in Education for Sustainable Development
I will continue to populate the group with the resources that were shared during the cafe.
Before I bid you all a nice weekend, please take a second to fill out this survey so we know what type of cafes you would like to see in the future :)
Survey: https://education-for-climate.ec.europa.eu/community/form/co-creating-t…
Please note, a recording of the cafe will be uploaded to this page when it's ready.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Hi all, the recording of the café is now available! You can find it in the description of the event, further up. Have a great day!
/ The Secretariat
Thank you for the information provided.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to attend this Community Café! It was truly inspiring to hear the diverse perspectives on the intersection of AI and Education for Sustainable Development.
I particularly appreciated the insights from the presenters on [mention a specific topic like: agroecology learning or inclusive playground design] and the breakout discussions on smart prompting. It is encouraging to see such a dedicated community co-creating a more sustainable future through thoughtful technology use. Looking forward to the next one!
Dear Trine,
Thanks for sharing the briefing and recording!
Kind regards
Thank you so much for this opportunity to participate in this Community Café!
Agroecology seems like a very interesting field of work to me, and I really enjoyed hearing the wonderful proposals that were presented. I'm learning so much. Thank you.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to participate in this Community Cafe, to disseminate our project and to exchange wonderful ideas with other educators.
Thank you so much for this opportunity
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this Community Cafe.
Please log in or sign up to comment.