Mediterranean universities have one more week to join a region-wide mapping of climate teaching, after the organisers of the Euromed climate education survey extended its deadline to 30 October 2026. The survey will feed a searchable inventory of climate-related academic programmes to be published before the UN climate conference COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.
The Euromed University Initiative for Climate Action, launched in 2025 by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and UNIMED, the Mediterranean Universities Union, is behind the mapping. According to UNIMED, more than 100 higher education and research institutions have already joined the initiative by endorsing its shared commitment, the Girona Manifesto.
Euromed climate education survey: what the extension means
The survey, available in English and French, takes around 30 minutes to complete. Each institution is asked to submit a single response reflecting its official position, put together through internal consultation across its relevant offices and services. UNIMED updated its invitation on 22 October 2026, with the deadline extended to 30 October 2026.
All higher education and research institutions based in a UfM member or observer state can contribute, whether or not they have endorsed the Girona Manifesto. The mapping is built from three sources: a desk review, the standardised survey and targeted interviews.
The work is coordinated by Professor Adil Salhi of Abdelmalek Essaâdi University in Morocco and the University of Girona in Spain, co-coordinators of the UNIMED Subnetwork on Climate and Environmental Change. The UfM has entrusted UNIMED with technical assistance to carry out the first two priorities of the initiative: mapping the existing climate-related academic offer and developing curriculum guidelines.
What the mapping will produce
According to UNIMED, the survey answers will enrich an inventory of climate-related academic programmes across the Euro-Mediterranean region, delivered as a digital publication and a digital platform. The inventory is due to be published before COP31.
Alongside the mapping, the initiative is developing curriculum guidelines to support universities in embedding climate education in their courses, and a Master Class for academic leaders, programme directors and faculty deans that translates the mapping and the guidelines into institutional practice.
Two events at COP31 in Antalya, which runs from 9 to 20 November 2026, will present the project’s findings and the next steps of the Girona Manifesto community.
Four pillars of the Girona Manifesto
The Girona Manifesto, developed around four pillars, asks institutions to advance regional cooperation in climate education, make climate education a curricular baseline, include students in climate governance and action, and support innovation smart hubs.
By joining, institutions commit to enhancing regional cooperation in climate education, embedding sustainability across curricula, empowering students to shape climate governance, and fostering green innovation through living labs, sustainable campuses and entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Why the Mediterranean focus matters
The initiative was unveiled at COP30 in Belém in November 2025. Its stated aim is to amplify the regional and global visibility of local action and to position Mediterranean universities as key actors in the transition to a just, resilient and sustainable future.
According to the UfM and UNIMED launch material, the Mediterranean region faces accelerating climate impacts and is warming around 20 percent faster than the global average, with rising sea levels, extreme heat, biodiversity loss and water scarcity threatening ecosystems, economies and human well-being. Climate education, the initiative argues, is how universities can turn knowledge into the skills and values societies need for that transition.
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Key facts
- The Euromed climate education survey is open until 30 October 2026, in English and French, and takes around 30 minutes.
- More than 100 higher education and research institutions have endorsed the Girona Manifesto.
- The mapping will become a searchable digital inventory and platform, published before COP31 in Antalya (9–20 November 2026).
- The initiative is coordinated by the Union for the Mediterranean and UNIMED, with scientific support from Morocco and Spain.
- The Mediterranean is warming around 20 percent faster than the global average, according to the initiative’s launch material.
