I will be teaching the Module ‘Climate change: impacts, responses and policy’ (ENV-M594) for the MSc in Climate Change during Semester 2 of the 2007/08 academic year.
Module Synopsis
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