Climate Policy

Human-induced climate change is a defining political challenge of our time. With the Industrial Revolution, humans have been able to enjoy unprecedented wealth, health, and longevity, but the ecological effects of industrialization are also massively negative. The challenge is now to transition from an economy based on fossil fuel extraction and land exploitation, to an economy based on renewable energy and with zero net greenhouse gas emissions. How such a transition is to take place involves political leaders, public administration, business, and civil society, and thus constitutes a fundamentally political question.

This course will introduce the students to key empirical and theoretical work on the policies that have been proposed, agreed, and implemented to tackle human-induced global warming. Emphasis is put on international developments and key emitting countries such as China, the US, and the European Union.

The course has the following main themes:

1. International climate negotiations
2. Fairness and climate change
3. EU climate policy
4. US climate policy
5. Chinese climate policy
6. Non-state actors in the climate policy field
7. Public opinion about climate change

Knowledge

After completing the course, the student has knowledge of

• the largest global sources of greenhouse gas emissions and the principal policies intended to reduce them
• key developments in the international political response to climate change, including key years, meetings, organizations, and agreements
• the main concepts and scholarly debates related to major existing climate policies, specifically the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme, and the US Inflation Reduction Act
• how and why climate policies differ across major emitting countries, including domestic opportunities and constraints

Skills

After completing the course, the student can

• present and explain key events and institutions in international climate policy
• explain the rationale and function of the main national and international policy measures to curb emissions
• compare the climate policies of major emitting countries

General competencies

After completing the course, the student can

• use their insights to contribute to public discussions about climate policies
• analyse the pros and cons of different climate policy proposals
• locate information about climate change negotiations and national climate policies