Climate Change Education to Be Compulsory in Italy

Critics of a plan to require Italian students to learn about climate change and sustainability say climate action can't wait for the next generation to come of age.

1 minute read

November 15, 2019, 11:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Climate Change

a katz / Shutterstock

"Italy’s education minister said Tuesday that its public schools would soon require students in every grade to study climate change and sustainability," reports Jason Horowitz.

The education minister, Lorenzo Fioramonti, is a member of the country's Five Star Movement, which "has long put environmental concerns at the heart of its identity," according to Horowitz.

"Starting in September 2020, he said, teachers in every grade will lead lessons in climate change and environmental sustainability. That 33-hour-a-year lesson, [Fioramonti] said, will be used as a pilot program to ultimately fold the climate agenda of the United Nations into the entire curriculum.

The news about Italy's new environment education program came just days before a high tide sent waters flooding into the heart of Venice.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019 in The New York Times

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