Art as an enrichment tool for climate literacy: a literature review

Abstract

Faced with a materialistic and consumerist paradigm of civilization, a Western culture is appearing which, although it values certain ways of thinking, has lost its relationship with nature. In its insatiable voracity for resources, it may place the planet on the brink of environmental bankruptcy. Recognizing the seriousness of environmental problems and the urgent need for solutions, the scientific and educational community has issued warnings, recommendations, and targets to increase environmental awareness and education, recognizing education as a key factor in changing behavior and attitudes. Debating on new strategies, methodologies or approaches to learn and raise awareness on climate change, there is a great challenge, given the urgency to mitigate the problem and raise awareness among the population. There is also a growing importance that education needs to reinvent itself to talk about the problem, as literature reports that there is a deficit of school teaching about climate change, but the question remains "how?" How can we engage children and young people, tomorrow's adults, in such a complex topic that is perceived as something abstract, and distant? This article is a literature review on the contributions the arts have in raising awareness of the climate crisis, being an area with potential, but untapped.