All 14,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University of Barcelona will have to take a mandatory course on the climate crisis from the 2024 academic year. The university will also offer a climate-issue training programme for its 6,000 academic staff.
The decision came after a week-long sit-in occupation by activists. They also demanded that the university rejects funding from businesses that profit from fossil fuels. So far, the organisation has refused to do so.
The module will be worth five credits. Each credit represents 25 hours of study, with 15 at home and 10 in class. A committee of experts and academics primarily nominated by the activists will meet to discuss the content of the course.
Many universities offer courses on climate change, usually electives. The University of Barcelona is the first in the world to make it mandatory, according to The Guardian. World universities pledge to become carbon neutral at some point in the future. For example, University College London strives to have net zero-carbon buildings by 2024 and to be a net zero-carbon institution by 2030.
Times Higher Education also has a ranking for the top 100 universities for climate action. In 2022, first place went to The University of Tasmania, while the University of Barcelona failed to make a list.
Elia Kabanov is a science writer covering the past, present and future of technology (@metkere)
Illustration: Elia Kabanov feat. MidJourney.