International Climate Goals
Provided by: OER Project|Published on: July 24, 2025|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Civics
Authors: OER Project: Climate
Location: Earth
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this OER Project: Climate lesson, students investigate the effectiveness of international climate goals by working with global emissions data, exploring policy case studies, and comparing the outcomes of agreements like the Paris Agreement, Montreal Protocol, and Kyoto Protocol.
- Activities, videos, and discussion prompts guide students in linking climate targets to practical actions, examining fairness in climate responsibility, and suggesting strategies for stronger international cooperation.
- The lesson includes a document-based writing task that functions as an assessment for the entire unit, enabling students to draw on evidence from multiple lessons to construct and defend their arguments.
- This is one of many lessons in the online Climate course by OER Project.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The skill of breaking down goals into actionable steps is an important one that students can use in their daily lives.
- This module provides a variety of resources to help students dig deep into their research.
Prerequisites
- To access the Teacher Guide and other teaching materials, teachers will need to create a free account. The module itself can be accessed without an account.
- Students should have a basic understanding of climate change.
- Teachers will need to have students check the box below the video for it to pause for the Key Ideas.
Differentiation & Implementation
- In this module, social studies and language arts teachers can collaborate, with students learning about and evaluating the policies and measures during social studies class time and covering the research and writing portion in their language arts classes.
- Teachers may want to introduce the vocabulary listed in the teaching guide ahead of time, especially for English language learners.
- This video may be useful in helping students evaluate effective practices for international collaboration to solve a problem.
This resource introduces students to the history and challenges of international climate goals. Throughout, focus is placed on linking policy with sound climate science, and every major international climate agreement is discussed. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
