The following excerpts on Alberta’s oil and gas industry and climate change appear in The Guiding Framework for the Design and Development of Kindergarten to Grade 12 Curriculum, Alberta Education, April 2024
“Students will recognize their shared responsibility for environmental stewardship and sustainability. They will engage in discussions on Alberta’s natural resources, including oil sands, oil, natural gas, minerals, agriculture, and forests, in building and sustaining Alberta’s economy, creating jobs, ensuring prosperity, and enabling a high quality of life.
They will know the global significance of Alberta’s vast oil reserves and Alberta’s reputation as the most ethical producer of oil in the world. They will also understand the importance of natural resources in enabling and sustaining Alberta’s society and Albertans’ quality of life. Students will learn about advancements for cleaner extraction of natural resources and about renewable energy sources.”
Science
Students will learn
- about environmental stewardship and sustainability, with content about natural historic and prehistoric cycles of climate change; and
- scientific data related to human impacts on the environment and climate, including global warming.
Social studies
Students will learn
- about economic development and environmental stewardship and sustainability.
A matter of policy
The ATA has three policies acknowledging that climate change is a critical challenge that is caused by human activity and that call for curriculum that explicitly addresses this subject.
