The current essay discusses the contemporary climate crisis and the possibilities of inserting environmental education in this debate. It refers to an interface between the theme research and theoretical assumptions of Political Ecology, Critical environmental education, Complexity thinking and Giddens' and Beck's Risk Sociology. The article affirms that besides relative uncertainties that still surround climate change debates, they constitute the main global contemporary environmental problem. A lot of studies show the intensity and frequency of extreme climatic events all over the world and its harmful effects on health, public welfare, food safety and environmental and social heritage. However, the problem invisibility in daily life, the effects of controversies and economic lobbies, the inertia of governments and institutions related to this theme have shown that formulating effective responses to the climatic impasse has not followed the increasing public awareness on this problem. What set of factors justifies this paradox? This article assumes that current debates have been guided by reductionist, technicalist and conservative responses - the Dynamic Conservatism - that are not able to understand the problem in its whole complexity and, therefore, of formulating strategies capable to reverse it or, at least, to minimize its potential impacts. It considers, therefore, that environmental education can contribute with this effort of renewing the problem understanding and the actions of individuals, institutions and other public and private actors involved with that issue.
climate change; environmental education; complexity