In this paper we draw attention to the possibilities of the philosophical perspectives of cosmopolitanism in the development of ESD. We argue that one challenge facing the development and implementation of ESD is the finding of balanced ways to deal with the normativity dilemma that take both the search for consensus and universal claims and particular contexts and dissensionseriously. The paper begins with a brief sketch of environmental andsustainability education in transition and a problematisation of the universal characteristics of ESD. Drawing on the recent works of Martha C. Nussbaum, Peter Kemp, Kwame Anthony Appiah and Sharon Todd, we then explore how scholars with different cosmopolitanism approaches balance between the cultivation of universal values and individuals’ autonomous thinking and relate these approaches to ESD. Our overall claim is that ESD is in need of a critical discussion and exploration of ESD as a political project with dissonant voices that takes the particular human encounter into consideration.