In this article Michael Riley and Alison Kitson seek to unlock the potential of the secondary history curriculum to educate young people about the current ecological and climate crisis in ways that might also inform their thinking about how to create a more sustainable future. The article (which mirrors a parallel piece in the current issue of Primary History) begins by illustrating the potential of a focus on art as a means of stimulating young people’s thinking about the four transitions in human history that helped to shape our current crisis. It then outlines a series of important principles for building more environmental history into secondary school history and concludes by suggesting some new approaches to current curriculum content.