Lesson 3: Exploring Climate Change Solutions

Write the following scenarios on the board. Ask students to brainstorm the outcomes for each strategy. Then, discuss the outcomes together. 

Ask students: What do the first four examples have in common? What do the last two have in common?

Introduce the idea that some strategies address the cause of a problem, while others help people prepare for or reduce the effects of a problem.

• Define the following terms: 
  • Mitigation: Addresses the causes of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions or increasing carbon removal.
  • Adaptation: Addresses the effects of climate change by reducing vulnerability to climate impacts or preparing for changing conditions.
• Explain that some solutions do both. Ask students to brainstorm examples such as:
  • Planting trees: stores carbon, reduces the urban heat island effect, and provides shade.
  • Restoring wetlands: helps manage flooding and stores carbon.

Ask students:

• Is one approach better than the other?
• Why might a community need both adaptation and mitigation strategies to effectively address climate change?

Communities respond to climate change in different ways based on their knowledge, experiences, cultures, and relationships with place. Some solutions use new technologies, while others build on practices and knowledge developed over generations.

Encourage students not to think of adaptation and mitigation as competing approaches. Both are important for effectively addressing climate change.

This short activity introduces the idea that not every climate-related action is automatically a good solution. 

Ask students to volunteer climate solutions and create a list of 5-10 examples on the board.

Then ask students: What questions would you need to ask before deciding whether a solution is actually a good idea?

Create a list as a class. Examples include:

• What evidence shows that it works?
• How much does it cost?
• Who benefits?
• Who pays?
• Does it create other problems?
• Can everyone access it?
• How long does it take?
• Is it realistic to implement in our community?
• Who already has knowledge or experience with this solution?

Display this Climate Solution Evaluation Framework for students. Explain that a strong climate solution should be:

🌎 Effective– Does it address the climate problem?

📊 Evidence-based– What evidence shows that it works?

👥 Equitable– Who benefits? Who or what might be left out or negatively affected?

🏘️ Locally relevant– Does it address a problem that actually exists in this community?

⚙️ Feasible– Is it being implemented in the community or would it be realistic to implement?

🔄 Sustainable– Can it continue working over time?

Choose 2-3 winning videos from the CAVU YouTube Channel to watch as a class. As a class, assess each solution using the Climate Solution Evaluation Framework. Ask students to identify evidence from the video that supports their assessment.

Recommended videos:

•  “Project Tapari” (3:59) by Arpan Bahadur Dotel, Mamina Hang Rai, Xavier International College, Nepal
• “A Breath of Change” (3:59) by Shubh Shrivastava, Cambridge School Indirapuram, India
• “New Mexico Cougars & Climate Change” (3:54) by Serenity, Selena, Santiago at Nex+Gen Academy

Consider analyzing an example of an Indigenous-led climate solution: 

• Holding on to the Corn (5:55)
• Optional Discussion Questions:
  • How do Indigenous communities use both adaptation and mitigation to create climate solutions?
  • What can we learn from this Indigenous-led approach to addressing climate change? How does it reflect knowledge, relationships, or practices connected to place?

Assign students randomly into groups. Each group should choose one solution from the Climate Solution Cards featuring real strategies that communities are already using.

Each group should discuss the following questions for the solution they chose:

• What problem does this address?
• Is it adaptation, mitigation, or both?
• How does it work?
• What evidence would we need to know whether it works?
• Who benefits?
• What challenges or tradeoffs might exist?
• Could it work in our community?
• What would need to change to make it work here?
• Who would need to be involved?
• What would the first few steps be?

Ask each group to develop a 30 second pitch to share with the class answering the following prompt: We think this solution could/couldn’t work in our community because… To make it happen, the first step would be…

Share this important takeaway point for developing solutions: Notice that we didn’t start by inventing brand-new solutions to climate change. Instead, we investigated existing solutions, asked why they work, and if they could be used in our community. Innovation doesn’t always mean inventing something completely new. Sometimes innovation means taking an existing idea and making it work in a new place, for a new group of people, or in a better way. Implementation does not have to mean carrying out an entire solution. A meaningful project might pilot one component, test an idea, contribute to an existing effort, or take a concrete first step.

Now is a good time to show and discuss the 2026/27 CIC Judging Rubric. (It’s completely updated from last year’s rubric, so read it closely even if you’ve done CIC before!). Explain a few key things:

• Scoring: A video that earns 3s– Meets Expectations is considered a strong contender for CIC awards. A video that earns some 4s– Exceed Expectations is considered a very strong contender for CIC awards. It’s unlikely that any video earning 2s or 1s will be strong enough to earn an award or honorable mention.
• Relevant criteria: Specifically discuss the criteria for “Solution Design” and “Local Action & Community Impact” 
  • A project does not have to be implemented to meet the expectations of these criteria.
  • If students implement their solution, they should document what they did, who was involved, and what they learned.
  • If students do not implement their solution, they should develop a clear, realistic plan for how it could be implemented locally by others or by the students themselves.
  • Discuss: Are you interested in implementing your solution? If so, what would it take to make that happen? If not, what would a realistic implementation plan look like?

Students work in their chosen groups for the CIC project to complete LESSON 3: CLIMATE SOLUTION EXPLORATION PLAN in their CIC SECONDARY STUDENT WORKBOOK. 

• A solution that could address this problem:
• Is it:
  ☐ Mitigation
  ☐ Adaptation
  ☐ Both
• How does the solution work?
• How could this solution be implemented locally—by us or by others?
• What challenges or barriers might we face?
• Who would need to be involved?
• What do we need to find out before moving forward?

For the final question, encourage students to develop a list of rigorous research questions for assessing the effectiveness and feasibility of this solution. They will be using these questions for their research in the next lesson. To help students consider the following:

• Does it work? What evidence shows that this solution reduces the impact? How effective has it been in other communities?
• Is it appropriate here? Does our community have the conditions needed for this solution? Where has a similar solution been successful?
• What would it take to implement? How much would implementation cost? What materials, infrastructure, or expertise would be required? What stakeholders, policies, permissions would be involved?
• Who is affected? Who would benefit? Who might not have access? Could the solution create unintended consequences?
• What does the community think? Who should we interview? What perspectives are missing? What do people who experience this problem think should happen?

Each individual or group of students should now make a preliminary claim about the solution they chose using this sentence frame. Record these in the CIC SECONDARY STUDENT WORKBOOK. 

We think __________ could help address __________ in our community because __________. Before we move forward, we need to find out __________.

Provide this example of a preliminary claim: We think planting more trees could help reduce extreme heat around our school because trees provide shade and can cool surrounding areas. Before we move forward, we need to find out where temperatures are highest on campus and whether there are places where trees could actually be planted.

Have students share these with their classmates for feedback.