Governing Climate Change: Theory and Practice

Climate change may well be the most pressing environmental challenge humankind is facing. Despite scientific consensus on its main cause ? us humans ? current policies lack the ambition needed to tackle the crisis effectively. However, sprouts of positive change are seen everywhere. Some countries have decided to cut their emissions to zero over the next 30 years. We also see cities, companies, NGOs and powerful individuals responding to the challenge, collaborating in new and innovative ways to reduce emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change. A complex global web of institutions, instruments and actors is being created seeking to govern climate change. In this course you will learn about different perspectives and acquire tools for analyzing the increasingly complex world of climate governance.

In this course you will examine different approaches to coping with climate change. From international agreements to market-based solutions and private activities. Theory is combined with practice through lectures, discussions, games and excursions to provide concrete examples of how the issue is being addressed at various levels and by various actors. Along the way we will also invite you to discuss climate change with scientists, policymakers and lobbyists.

Governing Climate Change is embedded in the teaching and research work of the Department for Environmental Policy Analysis (EPA), which is part of VU Amsterdam?s world-renowned Institute for Environmental Studies.

Fun fact: over 100 students from all over the world - from all types of background - have attended three fun excursions during the five editions of this course!

By the end of this course, students will:
- Understand how global climate governance has changed over the past 40 years and where it might take us in the future.
- Be able to critically examine and assess current climate governance in terms of its emergence, effectiveness and efficiency, and be able to formulate reasoned opinions about contested concepts like fairness, legitimacy, equity and justice.
- Improve their communication and debating skills on climate change.
- Experience practical, local and global solutions to climate change issues in the Netherlands.

Students will be taught through lectures, workshops, excursions and simulations. The assessment of the course will be done through a short essay.

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course. CEA CAPA's recommended credits are based on the contact hours assigned by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam): 15 contact hours equals 1 U.S. credit