Italy – Education reform making sustainability learning compulsory

In 2019, Italy became the first country in Europe to make sustainability and climate crisis compulsory subjects for school children in the age ranging from 3 to 19 years old.  Law number 92, proposed by the former Minister of Education Lorenzo Fioramonti, was approved. According to this law, schools within the country are required to dedicate roughly 33 hours per school year to teaching these two subjects and incorporating elements of the UN Agenda 2030 into schools subjects commencing in September 2020, while also adapting the teaching of subjects such as geography, mathematics, and physics, to incorporate the perspective of sustainability. The ultimate goal of this reform is to put the environment and society, their relationship, and the impact the human society is placing on our planet at the core of the Italian education system. The reform aims to turn schools into sustainability reference centres for their territories and the communities that inhabit them.