It is close to 15 years since the first edition of this text was published in 2010, and then translated into Korean in 2014. The second edition was published in 2015 and translated into Chinese in 2018. Much has happened in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) since then. Hence, the case for a third edition was persuasive. When the first edition was written, the text demonstrated mainly an Australian orientation, while the second edition expanded authorship to include more international chapters. This third edition builds on the work of all previous authors and, as editors, we argue that the content of the two previous editions continues to be highly relevant! This third edition offers a much wider range of chapters from around the globe and almost double the number of authors, though it continues to maintain its Australian applicability. We reflect that Australian ECEfS benefits from the ideas and experiences of authors beyond Australia, just as we believe Australian perspectives have much to offer readers internationally.

The key principles of this text have not changed in this third edition, especially its child agency and rights focus. We continue to argue that children’s voices are integral to implementing ECEfS. The editors and authors remain fundamentally committed to advocating for and profiling the capabilities and rights of young children as active thinkers and doers, who can enact so much in their own contexts to shift ideas and practices towards sustainable solutions. This text is not a response that seeks to shift responsibilities from adults to children, asking next generations to fix what todays adults leave behind. It remains a book of positive thinking and actions showing what early education communities can do when children, educators and parents work together towards living sustainably. The book continues to be about learning and taking action to ‘make a difference’ within the scope of children’s own lives and contexts, and identifying the power of ECEfS as a catalyst for transformative change.

In this chapter, the authors reiterate matters they consider essential for the future development of ECEfS. There are three key essentials proposed in this final chapter – communities of practice; teacher education; and curriculum policy review – to further progress and deepen systems thinking across the early childhood education field for sustainable futures.

In this chapter, these four co-authors emphasise the importance of sustainability for the future of people and planet, given that the case for all human and non-human inhabitants has never been clearer. Through an account of Mia’s doctoral study, they challenge readers to provide young children with meaningful opportunities to participate in conversations about the Earth’s future. More importantly, they argue for children’s concerns to be heard and their ideas acted upon. To this end, the chapter offers research-based strategies for early years educators, especially in the first years of schooling, given that the research was conducted with children aged from 6 to 8 years. They developed the 4C Pedagogical Framework for transformational early childhood education for sustainability as a valuable tool for this purpose.