Sustainability courses to become compulsory in French universities

Minister unveils measures to “speed up” universities’ efforts on environmental issues

A module on the environment and sustainability is to become compulsory for French undergraduate students. It forms part of a plan by France’s government to speed up higher education engagement on decarbonisation and the ‘ecological transition’.

Speaking at an event at the University of Bordeaux on 20 October, Sylvie Retailleau, the minister for research and higher education, said that “by 2025 at the latest” all students in France, whether in public or private institutions, would receive multidisciplinary education in sustainability at the start of their studies.