The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze how geography textbooks written for ten- to twelve-year-olds construct the topic of sustainable development. Furthermore, its purpose is to assess how the textbooks' environmental discourses relate to pupils' emotional coping strategies. The analyses are conducted through an analysis scheme, knitting together theories of mainly Norman Fairclough, John Dryzek and Maria Ojala. Delimitations include only analyzing textbooks in geography covering sustainable development and only analyzing textbook content related to the ecological dimension of sustainable development. In all, four geography textbooks are analyzed. The results show that the textbooks all construct sustainable development through, or relate it to, economic and political terms and prerequisites. It is therefore suggested that the textbooks have, what John Dryzek calls, reformist environmental discourses. A broadening of perspectives, by complementing the textbooks’ reformist discourses with messages of more radical solutions to environmental issues, is suggested in order to prevent the risk of pupils otherwise perceiving the tuition on sustainable development as being trivializing. Regarding how the discourses relate to pupils' emotional coping strategies, the results imply that the textbooks endeavour fostering, what Maria Ojala calls, meaning-focused strategies. However, the analysis highlights flaws in their endeavour, including a lack of proposals for concrete individual action and concrete collective action for the environment and climate. It is suggested that the flaws may instead lead pupils to employ, what Ojala calls, emotional- or problem-focused strategies, which are associated with a lesser environmental commitment and negative emotions for the individual respectively.