International Climate Policy

Anthropogenic climate change is one of the world's most difficult challenges. Few aspects of society will remain untouched by its effects. A major barrier to making progress is that few people understand all of the disparate pieces of the puzzle - scientists, economists, and policy-makers frequently lack a common language to advance solutions. This interdisciplinary course covers the tools and insights from economics, environmental science, and statistics that inform our understanding of climate change impacts, as well as mitigation and adaptation policy design and implementation. Our focus will be on the impacts of climate change upon society, and the necessity of solutions that deal with the global but unequal nature of the impacts. Students will begin with a grounding in the scientific realities of the future of the planet's climate, and develop a mastery of key conceptual ideas from environmental economics and environmental policy relevant for climate change. They will also acquire tools for conducting analyses of climate impacts and policies that can inform how we face this global challenge. The latter parts of the course will hone students' ability to apply and communicate these insights through practical analysis of national policies and writing op-eds about climate-related issues. The goal is to help students become informed and critically-minded practitioners of climate-informed policy making, able to communicate the urgency to any audience.