Barcelona University to launch world’s first mandatory climate crisis module

Inspired by The Guardian 

Another successful climate crisis protest in Barcelona with a groundbreaking outcome. From 2024 all students at the University of Barcelona will have to take a mandatory module on the climate crisis. It will be the world’s first mandatory climate crisis course.

It’s a result of a protest of the anti-fossil fuel organisation End Fossil Barcelona. Activists conducted a 7-day sit-in occupation at the university, demanding that the university will reject funding from oil company Repsol and other fossil businesses. This demand is not (yet) met by the university, but the demand for a mandatory climate crisis course  – backed by professors – will be met.

The course will not only tackle technical aspects of climate change, but will also include the current civilisational crisis in all its historical, cultural, social and economic complexity. The module will be designed by a group of faculty representatives proposed by the students.

Barcelona’s university is the first in the world to implement such a course in the curriculum for all students and sets an example for the rest of the academic world. In an official statement the university said:

“Reversing the current climate emergency requires, first and foremost, ensuring that the professionals of the future have the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to be actors of the social transformation concerning the climate emergency. Universities play a fundamental role in this objective.” 

In the meantime, the End Fossil: Occupy! movement will keep on occupying schools and universities throughout Europe to demand for the ending of fossil fuels. Let’s hope they will be as successful as in Barcelona.

A Dutch university contributes to a greener planet in its own way. In partnership with European organisation LifeTerra, it gifts all graduate students a tree in a new forest in the Netherlands. You can read more about the green graduation gifts in this BrightVibes article.