The inception of the CCFP marked the commencement of a series of 11 classes, featuring a diverse panel of 15 guest speakers from Indonesia, Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, and MENA region. Topics covered in these sessions included VUCA, blue and green economics, environmental law, disability rights, SDGs4, climate change awareness, loss and damage, corporate environmental strategies, soil microbes, and healthcare in the context of climate change.

Our Climate Action Project seeks to tackle the absence of Environmental Education (EE) and Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) for young people (aged 16 -25) in Eastern Indonesia. Despite the global risks of climate change, many young people lack knowledge on how to address it. Studies show that young people in Eastern Indonesia performed poorly on sustainability literacy tests and still lacked sustainability knowledge despite their pro-environment stance. Thus, colleges and universities should enhance students' perception and self-efficacy in environmental education to increase their interest, knowledge, and practical skills in environmental protection (Li et al., 2024). Hence, there is an urgent need to offer EE and ACE to empower youth to address climate change within their communities, given the dearth of opportunities, resources, and meaningful climate education in college curricula. To tackle this challenge, we provided various activities such as climate curriculum, climate courses, case studies, discussions, campaigns, and climate action initiatives, offering insights and practical approaches to address climate issues at different levels, from grassroots to global paradigms. With three core pillars—Climate Learning, Climate Campaign, and Climate Action—the Climate Catalysts is committed to safeguarding the Earth for a greener future.

The Climate Catalysts journey has been an eye-opening experience, revealing the pressing need for environmental education and climate empowerment among university students in eastern Indonesia. Continuous evaluation allowed us to refine our strategies, while the transformative impact on students was evident as they became proactive agents of change within their communities through our three key activities but not limited to: 5-Week Climate Catalysts Fellowship Programme (CCFP); 2-Week Capstone Project Development; and 1-Week “School of Nature”. Moving forward, sustainability and continuity remain key priorities as we strive to create a greener, more sustainable future through education and grassroots activism.