Dehradun | 24 June 2026
In a significant global initiative to explore the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI), sustainability, and education, UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) in collaboration with the Weidong Cloud Education Group organized an international webinar titled "Advanced AI Applications for Greening Education" on 24 June 2026. The webinar brought together educators, researchers, policymakers, and academic leaders from different countries to discuss how AI can contribute to environmental sustainability and support greener education systems worldwide.
Representing SCERT Uttarakhand, Ramesh Prasad Badoni, IT Faculty, National ICT Awardee, and Fulbright Scholar, participated in the international event and engaged with experts and educators from across the globe. The webinar focused on transforming educational practices through AI-enabled solutions that support climate action, environmental awareness, and sustainable development goals.
Opening Session
The webinar was formally opened by Tatiana Suhova from UNESCO IITE, who welcomed participants and highlighted the importance of empowering educators with practical knowledge and innovative approaches to integrate sustainability and emerging technologies into teaching-learning processes. She emphasized that education institutions play a vital role in preparing future generations to address environmental challenges through responsible and ethical use of technology.
Distinguished International Speakers
The webinar featured a series of keynote presentations delivered by internationally recognized experts.
Sonia Savci (UNESCO Headquarters)
Topic: Greening Education in the Age of AI: Opportunities, Risks, and Questions Ahead
Ms. Sonia Savci introduced UNESCO's Greening Education Partnership and discussed how education systems can become more climate-responsive and sustainability-focused. She highlighted four major pillars of action:
- Greening Schools
- Greening Curriculum
- Greening Teacher Training and Education Systems
- Greening Communities
She posed four critical questions for educators worldwide:
- What does it mean to teach with AI for sustainability?
- How do we prepare learners to navigate AI critically in an era of misinformation?
- What is the environmental footprint of AI itself?
- How can education actively shape greener and more responsible AI futures?
Her presentation emphasized climate literacy, media and information literacy, responsible AI use, and integrating sustainability values into AI competency frameworks for students and teachers.
Dr. Margarita Pavlova
Education University of Hong Kong
Topic: AI and Greening Education for Sustainable Development
Dr. Pavlova explored the transformative potential of AI in supporting sustainability. She demonstrated how AI technologies can help society measure, optimize, and transform environmental systems through smart agriculture, resource management, renewable energy solutions, climate monitoring, and sustainable innovation.
She stressed that sustainability must become a core competency within education systems. Through concept-based learning and real-world problem solving, students can learn to apply AI for environmental monitoring, data analysis, pattern recognition, and sustainable decision-making.
Several inspiring examples were shared, including smart environmental systems, carbon footprint measurement tools, sustainable city planning, AI-powered agriculture, and innovative clean-air technologies such as smog-free towers.
A key takeaway from her session was that education should move beyond memorization toward meaningful learning that enables students to understand and solve sustainability challenges.
Dr. Oksana Novikova
UNESCO Chair on Distance Education in Engineering, State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI), Russia
Topic: AI Applications for Greening Education: Creativity, Reliability and Critical Thinking
Dr. Novikova demonstrated practical AI applications that educators can use immediately in classrooms and training programs. Her presentation showcased several tools and platforms for environmental learning, content creation, and educational innovation.
The tools highlighted included:
- ChatGPT
- Canva AI
- Gamma AI
- Tome AI
- Kandinsky
- Suno AI
- Google AI for Earth
- Microsoft AI for Earth
- Planet Labs
- Julius AI
- PlantNet
- iNaturalist
She explained how these tools can support lesson planning, environmental data analysis, biodiversity identification, simulations, project-based learning, and interactive educational content.
She also emphasized three important principles while using AI:
- Critical Thinking
- Balance between Technology and Human Interaction
- Data Security and Ethical Use
Prof. Madya Dr. Nurfaradilla Mohamad Nasri
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia
Topic: Shaping Sustainable Futures through AI Literacy: Insights from Teacher Education and Practice
Prof. Nasri focused on preparing future generations through AI literacy and sustainability-oriented education. She challenged educators with an important question:
"By 2030, do we need graduates who can simply use AI, or graduates who can solve climate change, energy challenges, food insecurity, and environmental degradation using AI?"
She presented UNESCO's AI Competency Framework for Teachers, which includes:
- Human-Centred Mindset
- Ethics and Responsible Use
- Foundations and Applications of AI
- AI Pedagogy
- Lifelong Professional Development
Her presentation demonstrated that when AI is connected to authentic sustainability challenges, student engagement increases, collaboration improves, and learners become more reflective about their social and environmental responsibilities.
She also highlighted the importance of developing "Green Skills" and noted that the future workforce will require environmental literacy, digital literacy, AI literacy, and problem-solving capabilities to support sustainable economies.
Key Themes Discussed During the Webinar
Throughout the webinar, experts highlighted several important themes:
- Integration of AI with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
- Climate Change Education and Environmental Literacy
- Responsible and Ethical AI Use
- Green Skills Development for Future Employment
- AI Competency Frameworks for Teachers and Students
- Environmental Data Analysis and Monitoring
- Combating Climate Misinformation
- Sustainable Innovation through Digital Technologies
- Open Educational Resources and Digital Public Goods
- Teacher Capacity Building for AI-enabled Learning
Relevance for School Education in Uttarakhand
The discussions were particularly relevant for Uttarakhand, where SCERT is actively promoting digital transformation through initiatives such as AI-enabled MOOCs, DIKSHA content development, PM eVIDYA channels, virtual classrooms, Innovation and Design Thinking programs, and technology-based teacher professional development.
The ideas shared during the webinar align closely with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), and UNESCO's vision for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Participation from SCERT Uttarakhand
Representing SCERT Uttarakhand, Ramesh Prasad Badoni actively participated in the international discussions and interacted with experts from UNESCO and partner institutions. The webinar provided valuable insights into integrating AI, sustainability, environmental literacy, and future-ready skills into school education.
The participation reflects SCERT Uttarakhand's commitment to adopting global best practices and strengthening teacher capacity in emerging educational technologies while promoting environmentally responsible and sustainable learning systems.
The UNESCO international webinar successfully demonstrated that Artificial Intelligence can become a powerful force for environmental sustainability when guided by ethical principles, critical thinking, and learner-centred approaches. The experts collectively emphasized that the future of education lies not merely in teaching students how to use AI, but in empowering them to use AI responsibly to address real-world challenges and build a greener, more sustainable future for all.