Teaching the Climate Crisis in Today’s University
Why students’ feelings about climate change are reshaping how we teach it
Students today haven’t simply learned about the climate crisis - they’ve grown up inside it. Extreme weather, political stalemate and constant coverage have formed the backdrop to their childhoods.
By the time they reach university, many carry a mix of determination, fear and exhaustion. They want to help fix things. They’re also anxious about their futures and unsure what real change looks like.
New research explores this tension. Through interviews with students, it reveals something important: young people are motivated, thoughtful and politically aware, yet they often feel stuck between two powerful forces.
On one side is the urgency of the climate crisis; on the other is the reality of a university system that treats them as consumers preparing for high‑stakes job markets.
Many students described feeling pulled apart by this. They understand the root causes of the crisis. They know that individual lifestyle tweaks won’t solve a problem driven by powerful industries and governments. But if the only real solution is to transform the entire economic system, where does that leave someone who simply needs to choose their next step after graduation?
This is where climate education can unintentionally make things harder. Critical teaching helps students see the structures behind the crisis - and that’s vital. But if everything is framed as a failing system with no realistic way through, it can turn hope into a disappearing resource.
Several interviewees said their classes left them feeling informed but directionless. They had the diagnosis, but no sense of what to do with it.
The authors propose a different way forward: radical pragmatism. It’s a middle path - not diluted, not cynical. It accepts the scale of the crisis but keeps the door open for meaningful action. Instead of treating critique as the end point, it connects big political ideas to the everyday decisions students actually face.
Radical pragmatism does three things especially well.
First, it focuses on stories of real change. Students said they wanted examples of people and movements making progress - not miracle fixes, but practical wins led by communities, activists and organisations. These stories help counter the feeling that everything is too large to influence.
Second, it treats career choices with respect. Many students will work in finance, consulting, government or policy - sectors deeply involved in shaping climate responses. Rather than dismissing those paths, radical pragmatism asks: how can critical thinkers make change from within? What pressure points exist? What influence do individuals have when they carry strong values into powerful institutions?
Third, it uses hope as a tool rather than a mood. Hope isn’t about pretending things are fine. It’s about imagining a future worth working toward, and then breaking it down into steps that feel achievable. When students do this work themselves - mapping the path between the world they want and the world they live in - they leave the classroom feeling more grounded and less overwhelmed.
Climate education shouldn’t just tell students what’s wrong. It should help them build the confidence, imagination and agency to act - wherever they find themselves. Radical pragmatism doesn’t soften the truth. It simply keeps students in the story, not outside it.
Karamchedu, A., Natarajan, N., & Bema‑Kwakye, C. (2026). Teaching the climate crisis in the neoliberal university: towards a radical pragmatism in climate education. Journal of Geography in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2026.2652090
Dr Ambarish Karamchedu teaches in the Department of International Development at King's College London, focusing on the political economy/ecology of uneven development, agrarian and environmental change.
Dr Nithya Natarajan is a Senior Lecturer in International Development. Her work focuses on South India and Cambodia, and explores agrarian change, rural-urban livelihoods, labour precarity, gender and debt.
Cheriesse Bema‑Kwakye is a Researcher at the African Leadership Centre, with active research projects across the Dickson Poon School of Law and the Department of International Development at King's.