New research from ARACY and UNICEF Australia shows climate change is already disrupting early childhood education across Australia, and confirms solar and battery power for early learning centres is one of the clearest fixes on the table.
A major new report released today, 800,000 Days of Learning at Stake: Building climate-resilient early childhood education across Australia, reveals that one in six early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Australia (more than 2,000 preschools, kindergartens and long daycare centres) closed at some point in 2025 due to bushfires, cyclones and floods. Together, these closures cost Australian children under five almost 800,000 days of early learning.
Parents for Climate advised ARACY and UNICEF Australia in the development of this report, and we're proud to support its findings and its six recommendations for building climate-resilient early learning.
We're particularly encouraged to see Recommendation 3: creating incentives for the rollout of solar, battery and energy-efficient upgrades for not-for-profit early learning centres, reflected so clearly in the report. It's a direct endorsement of our Solar Our Learning campaign, which has long argued that solar and batteries for every Australian school and early learning centre isn't just good for the climate, it's good policy: cutting running costs, keeping the lights and air conditioning on during blackouts, and helping centres reopen faster after disasters. The report cites our research showing solar could save the early learning sector up to $100 million in running costs.
The report lands at a critical moment. With the Australian Government's $1 billion Building Early Education Fund already rolling out, there's a genuine opportunity to build climate resilience into new and upgraded centres from day one — rather than paying to retrofit later.
Solar and batteries are one piece of the puzzle. Parents for Climate is calling on state and federal governments to act on all six of the report's recommendations together: prioritising investment in underserved and high-risk communities, fairer funding models, solar and energy-efficiency incentives, national design blueprints for climate-adaptive centres, sustainability training for educators, and stronger disaster management support. Solar and batteries are just one piece of the solution. It needs to sit alongside the full package of reforms this report sets out.
Nic Seton, CEO, Parents for Climate: "Every parent knows what it means when childcare closes at short notice. It upends work, routines and a child's sense of safety. This report shows that's happening on a huge scale, and it's only going to get worse without action. Solar and batteries for early learning centres is one of the fastest, cheapest ways governments can act right now — it cuts bills, keeps centres running through blackouts, and gets kids back to learning sooner after a disaster. We've been calling for this through Solar Our Learning, and it's fantastic to see it backed by the evidence in this report."
"We were glad to work alongside ARACY and UNICEF Australia on this report. With a billion dollars already committed to new early learning infrastructure through the Building Early Education Fund, governments have a once-in-a-generation chance to build climate resilience in from the start. That means solar on the roof, but it also means better-designed buildings, properly funded services in high-risk communities, and educators equipped to support kids through disasters. We're calling on state and federal governments to adopt all six recommendations together."
Read the full report, 800,000 Days of Learning at Stake, at aracy.org.au or unicef.org.au.
Add you support to our campaign for cost-saving solar and batteries in all schools and childcares here: https://www.parentsforclimate.org/solarourlearning