Co-Creating Innovative Climate Policy Frameworks for Urban Decarbonization: High School Engagement in Carbon Pricing

Lurdes Ferreira^1*Luis Pereira Dias²JULIA SEIXAS²Luísa Schmidt³

• ¹CEiiA- Center of Engineering and Development, Matosinhos, Portugal
• ²Universidade Nova de Lisboa Centro de Investigacao em Ambiente e Sustentabilidade, Caparica, Portugal
• ³Universidade de Lisboa Instituto de Ciencias Sociais, Lisbon, Portugal

Urban energy transition requires innovative approaches that make key climate policy tools, such as carbon pricing, actionable and understandable for younger populations and local communities. This study addresses how the co-development of carbon pricing processes in secondary schools can promote CO₂ emissions reduction and students' awareness of their role as agents of change in the community. An action research-based case study conducted in a Portuguese public high school with a group of 10th and 11th-grade students, combining a participatory and experiential learning methodology. Students monitored their commuting-related carbon footprint using digital tools and co-developed a simulation of a carbon pricing mechanism. They collaborated in assigning an economic value by finding a cost factor based on their experiential learning for the avoided emissions achieved. The approach fostered students' understanding of carbon pricing while driving measurable reductions in behavior change through commuting-related emission: 31% lowered emissions and 7% reported zero emissions by walking. The students co-created a simplified, context-based model of carbon pricing, reinforcing pro-environmental behavior and offering a model that can inform local climate policy and sustainability goals. This method bridges theoretical knowledge and practical action, enhancing climate literacy and enabling student participation in local governance. School commuting served as an effective platform for testing complex climate tools. The climate policy tool evolved into an educational one, fostering agency and participation in local climate governance. The method provides a potential transferable framework for integrating advanced climate policy tools into educational practice.