It is similar to language or mathematical literacy- a person needs to know the alphabet, grammar, and vocabulary in order to communicate in a language; one must know what numbers mean, as well as basic addition, subtraction, etc., in order to do household math. It seems obvious that people need to use language and numbers, but why should we be climate-literate?

Because the climate and ecological emergencies are the biggest existential threats to human civilization and the natural world that we have ever faced; and they require immediate collective action to give us a chance at a livable world in the coming decades.

It is imperative that every citizen in a democracy understand the scale and urgency of the actions that need to be taken, and what is at stake, so that we are able to judge whether the ‘solutions’ offered us are appropriate- if they are enough to avoid catastrophe.