Educating for Earth: How Higher Education Shapes Global Sustainable Development

Aberdare Cisticola

12-10-2025

“Conservation without Dao is like a river without fish. The fish are not numbers. They are rhythms. I do not disturb the rhythm. I join it.”

In Kingfisherish Wandering [1]

© Trash

Higher education has long been seen as the cornerstone of human progress, but its influence extends far beyond classrooms and laboratories. A recent global study by Li, Sun, and Li [2] examined how improvements in university quality affect both economic and ecological sustainability across 61 countries from 2000 to 2022. By constructing a Comprehensive Index of Higher Education (CIHE) and an Ecological–Economic Sustainability Development Index (EESDI), the authors reveal how education acts as a hidden driver of sustainable development—and how its benefits ripple unevenly across regions.

Using a spatial Durbin model, the study found that countries with stronger higher education systems generally exhibit higher levels of sustainability, as education fosters innovation, green technology, and awareness of environmental stewardship. However, the results also uncovered striking geographical contrasts. In Europe and the Americas, higher education showed positive spillover effects, improving sustainability not only domestically but also in neighboring countries through talent exchange and cross-border knowledge flows [3]. In contrast, many Asian, African, and Oceanian regions displayed a siphon effect—where well-developed education systems attract resources, talent, and capital from nearby nations, thereby hindering their neighbors’ sustainable growth.

Moreover, the study identified a Matthew effect, where already-advanced countries with strong educational and technological infrastructures continue to progress faster, widening the global development gap [4]. Yet, in developing regions, investments in higher education yield particularly strong benefits, significantly raising their EESDI scores and creating new pathways for sustainable transformation.

Viewed through the Nature Quotient (NQ) framework, this study underscores how higher education can enhance humanity’s ecological intelligence—the ability to harmonize with natural systems through understanding, innovation, and cooperation [5]. When education nurtures ecological literacy, it elevates collective NQ, enabling societies to align economic activity with planetary boundaries. This alignment cultivates not only individual peace (by fulfilling intellectual and ecological needs) but also social peace, as shared knowledge reduces inequality and fosters collaboration across nations [6].

Ultimately, the research highlights education’s dual role as both a catalyst and a balancer of global sustainability. To promote an eco-surplus future, countries must not only strengthen their universities but also ensure equitable knowledge sharing—turning education from a competitive advantage into a cooperative instrument for planetary well-being.

References

[1] Nguyen MH. (2025). Kingfisherish Wandering. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVLLLXNW/

[2] Li D, Sun X, Li T. (2025). Promoting global sustainable development: spatial spillover effects of higher education on economic and ecological sustainability. Discover Sustainability, 6, 266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01009-y

[3] Khurshid N, et al. (2023). Asymmetric effect of educational expenditure, knowledge spillover, and energy consumption on sustainable development: nuts and bolts for policy empirics. Heliyon, 9(8), e18630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18630

[4] Lewin-Epstein N, Semyonov M. (2013). Immigration and wealth inequality in old age: the case of Israel. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 33, 56-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2013.02.001.

[5] Vuong QH, Nguyen MH. (2025). On Nature Quotient. Pacific Conservation Biology, 31, PC25028. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC25028

[6] Nguyen MH, Ho MT, La VP. (2025). On “An” (安): Inner peace through uncertainty, nature quotient, and harmony with Dao. http://books.google.com/books/about?id=NIKMEQAAQBAJ