As much as climate change is a threat to us, it’s an even bigger threat to our children. That’s why it’s a bit shocking that no country has made courses on climate change a mandatory part of the education curriculum. That is, until now.

This week, Italy announced that it will become the world’s first country to institute a mandatory course on climate change and sustainable development in all public schools. Now, when kids show up at school next September, they’ll have about an hour a week (or 33 hours per year) of a climate-change-related course. The Education Ministry will develop the curriculum with the help of scientific experts.

Along with the climate change-specific courses, other subjects such as geography and physics will also incorporate a sustainable development lens. With Italy implementing this much-needed curriculum, hopefully, it will spur other countries, such as the US, to follow suit.