• • “to ensure the direct provision of the right to education in most circumstances”359 “to establish ‘minimum educational standards’ to which all educational institutions established in accordance with article 13 (3) and (4) are required to conform” and “maintain a transparent and effective system to monitor such standards” Possible Impacts of Climate Change on the Right to Education The right of children and adults to education may be disrupted in many ways due to the impact of climate change on government infrastructure and vulnerable populations. The example of Bangladesh is illustrative of how extreme weather events can interfere with the enjoyment of this right. For example: [I]t is estimated that 63 million children in Bangladesh may become physically and socially vulnerable due to increased frequency and enormity of hazards like floods, cyclones and storm surges, tornadoes, riverbank erosion, drought and sea level rise. Physical vulnerability may include death, injury, diseases, physical abuse, chronic malnutrition and forced labour. Social vulnerability may include loss of parents and family, internal displacement, risk of being trafficked, loss of property and assets, and lack of educational opportunities. Schools themselves may be washed away by lash flood, tidal flood and rain floods, or destroyed by cyclones. Pupils may be deprived of access to their school because of interference with transportation. Repairs, mitigation, and mitigation strategies may occasion important strains on national budgets and the quality of education. Finally, increased vulnerability of certain populations because of extreme weather events may force certain children out of school and into the workforce before the end of their education. These and similar impacts must be expected in regions that, like Bangladesh, will be affected by an increase in such meteorological phenomena.360 9.2 Understanding the Right to Education in the Context of Climate Change Mitigation Policies Education is an essential element of the global response to climate change. UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova has stated that “responding to climate change starts with education.”361 Since mitigating and adapting to climate change will require profound changes to shift away from carbon-intensive lifestyles, there are thus substantial linkages between climate change and education. Nevertheless, the connection between States’ climate change mitigation policies and potential impacts on the right to education are less obvious. At the international level, the right to education is one of the few economic, social and cultural rights that have been directly addressed within the UNFCCC. Article 6 of the UNFCCC addresses the issue of climate change related education, training and public awareness, with the aim of developing and implementing educational and training programmes on climate change. Further, in article 10(e) of the Kyoto Protocol, State parties pledge to “cooperate in and promote at the international level, and, where appropriate, using existing bodies, the development and implementation of education and training programmes.” In this respect, the State parties to the UNFCCC adopted the New Delhi Work Programme in 2002. This Programme was a “five-year country-driven work 89