Italy will be the first country to make climate change lessons mandatory for schoolchildren.

Lorenzo Fioramonti, Italy’s education minister, said that he wants to make the Italian education system the first that “puts the environment and society at the core of everything we learn in school,” and has mandated that all state schools must now dedicate one hour per week to discuss climate change issues. Lessons will begin at the start of the next academic year.

To go along with the lessons, standard subjects, such as geography, mathematics and physics, will also be studied, but instead of the traditional approach, the students will study the subjects from the perspective of sustainable development, the former university economics professor said.

Not everyone is happy with the new decision. Fioramonti has faced much criticism, especially for his involvements with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement that encouraged students to skip school and take part in climate protests.

Fioramonti has also written several books and has been a target of the right-wing opposition since becoming a minister in the coalition government.

Apart from his fire for climate change issues, Fioramonti also proposed new taxes for airline tickets, plastic and sugary foods to raise funds for education.