In the course, which first analyzes the international conferences dedicated to the environment from which the concept of sustainable development emerges, a strategic objective for the present and for the future of man and his activities, the object, subjects and main environmental policy instruments currently used by market economy countries and developing countries. A theoretical treatment of the economic choices made by the European Union is carried out towards a new "circular" economy model that respects the environment, which does not produce waste that creates wealth and well-being through the reuse and regeneration of resources. A second and shorter part develops the themes of development and underdevelopment and the impact of individuals on the ecosystem and on environmental imbalances. The problem of global governance, the development of global economic organizations and their relations with the countries of the southern hemisphere will also be addressed.

At the end of the course the student will have acquired:
(1) Knowledge and ability to understand: understand the relationships between man and nature and the long journey towards voluntarism. The possibility of mitigating the economic impacts on the fundamental matrices of the earth, taking its cue from it to follow the circular economy path.
(2) Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: use and management of environmental impact assessment tools including the EIA, the VAS and the VINCA and the construction of matrices useful for the classification of the trends of the main EU environmental indicators.
(3) Autonomy of judgment: ability to analyze and interpret environmental impact phenomena through the right choice of specific indicators useful for the relationships of various kinds that are increasingly created between environment and economy.
(4) Communication skills: acquisition of a technical language and development of synthesis documents capable of providing the immediacy of the phenomena, relationships or impacts that one wants to communicate.
(5) Learning skills: the analytical tools developed during the course will provide the student with critical, communicative and in-depth study skills in an autonomous way.