Italy to Require Climate Change Education in Schools by 2020

Italy is incorporating climate change and sustainability lessons in its curriculum, making it the very first country to do so. Starting next school year, primary and secondary school students in the country will be required to complete 33 hours of climate change and sustainability education. This was according to Italy’s education minister Lorenzo Fioramonti, who is an environmental advocate. He explained that the ministry is implementing these changes to put the environment at the core of Italy’s education. The initial plan is to use fairy tales to discuss sustainability and climate change to students aged six to 11. Middle schoolers are expected to learn some technical information about climate change, while high school students will tackle the United Nations’ (UN’s) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through existing school subjects. For example, instead of focusing on locations in geography, the subject will now also cover the impact of human actions on the planet. A group of experts will be involved in the preparation of the new curriculum. Among those who will evaluate it are experts from top universities like Harvard and Oxford. Once the curriculum is revised, teachers will be trained by January 2020 to teach it. Edoardo Zanchini, a vice president of an environmental group in Italy, said that teaching sustainability in schools is very important. However, he warned that the responsibility of dealing with environmental issues should not be passed down to younger generations and that the world can no longer wait for them to act. According to a UN study, the world needs to act urgently within the next decade to prevent extreme calamities caused by global warming in the future.