In this course current environmental challenges will be critically discussed and analyzed from a political economy and distributional perspective. The first part will deal with the global climate crisis and the way of how certain aspects of climate change are percieved and communicated in the public and political discourse. Sessions 3 and 4 will discuss challenges and social, economic and ecological impacts of different climate policy options and international negotiations. The last part of the course will analyze socioecnomic disparities in environmental quality and disaster vulnerability from a climate and environmental justice perspective.

The course is interdisciplinary and will use concepts and literature related to Economics, Ecology, Sociology and Political Science. 

The course structure is as follows:

1. Introduction and Overview (2.3.2020)
2. Climate Change and how we talk about it (16.3.2020)
3. Growth and Wellbeing (2.4.2020)
4. Climate and Environmental Policy (16.4.2020)
5. Climate and Environmental Justice (30.4.2020)
6. Reflection (7.5.2020)

Participants of the course will learn to

• analyze current environmental challenges from a political economy and distributional perspective
• identify challenges for climate policy and international climate negotiations
• critical discuss economic, social and ecological impacts of different climate policy options 
• analyze socioeconomic disparities in environmental quality and disaster vulnerability from a climate and environmental justice perspective

80% compulsory attendance

one class can be missed without negatively affecting the grade

please inform the lecturers beforhand in case you cannot attend a class

• Short theoretical inputs given by lecturers
• Group presentations based on selected readings
• Group discussion led by students
• In-class group work
• Discussion of videos, news articles, online material