New syllabus: Italy introduces the subject "Climate Change"

Homework to the two-degree goal? A test of global greenhouse gas emissions? Such topics could soon be queried in public schools in Italy. Education Minister Lorenzo Fioramonti is planning a new school subject from next school year: climate change and sustainable development.

Italy would be the first country in the world to integrate this subject into the curriculum, said the politician of the five-star movement told Reuters.

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Starting in September 2020, students should be able to deal with topics related to climate change 33 hours a year, ie at school once a week. The new subject is therefore mandatory for all school classes.

Sustainability as a central educational goal

For example, children between the ages of six and eleven could, in the future, deal with different cultures in relation to their environment, Fioramonti told The New York Times. High school students, on the other hand, would be more concerned with the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including how to live sustainably or protect the oceans from pollution.

But subjects such as geography, mathematics or physics should also be taught in the future with a view to sustainable development, said Fioramonti. Instead of just talking about places and countries, one wants to look in geography, for example, the human influence on different areas of the earth.

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"The entire Ministry of Education will be changed to anchor sustainability and climate centrally in our education system," said the Minister of Education. In September, he encouraged students to participate in the climate protests rather than attend classes - and was heavily criticized by the opposition.