I convene and teach the graduate module ‘Climate change: science, society and policy’ (ENV-M594) for the MSc in Climate Change. For academic year 2009/10 this will run during Semester 2 (January to April). To view the full syllabus click here: ENV-M594 2009/10 syllabus.
I also teach on a number of other undergraduate courses, offering lectures on the physical and social history of climate change for first year historians and lectures on climate scenarios and adaptation for final year environmental scientists. This year (2010) I am also contributing a seminar to a new graduate level inter-disciplinary series examining intersections between culture and environment.
Synopsis for ENV-M594: Climate Change: science, society and policy
Climate change – the anthropogenic shaping of the global climate system, or ‘global warming’ – has become a defining phenomenon of the new century. It is one of the most salient public issues in UK society and, increasingly, worldwide. Assessing and managing the risks posed by climate change, now and in the future, is a major driver of national policy and international diplomacy, is an issue of lively public debate, and provides a backdrop against which new social movements, business strategies and public policies are emerging.
By way of framing the problem, this module provides a brief introduction to the science behind climate change (drawing upon module M535), especially focusing on certainties, uncertainties and identifiable risks. The major part of the course then examines in greater depth the impacts climate change is having on society – both direct and indirect, both now and potentially in the future. These impacts – physical effects, social responses and policy debates – will be examined from a number of different perspectives:
- what is climate?
- climate change and future scenarios
- public perceptions of climate risks
- the ethics and economics of climate change
- climate change and development goals
- climate and society: how adaptation works
- energy and society: moves towards decarbonisation
- structuring public policy around climate change