Syllabus

Title
1064 Elective - Transforming the Economy Towards Sustainability I: Why? - Concepts and Trends of Natural Resource Use
Instructors
Univ.Doz. Dr. Stefan Giljum, Dr. Victor Wegner Maus
Contact details
Type
PI
Weekly hours
2
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
09/17/20 to 09/20/20
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Thursday 10/15/20 01:30 PM - 05:30 PM Online-Einheit
Thursday 10/22/20 01:30 PM - 05:30 PM Online-Einheit
Thursday 10/29/20 01:30 PM - 05:30 PM Online-Einheit
Thursday 11/05/20 01:30 PM - 05:30 PM Online-Einheit
Thursday 11/12/20 01:30 PM - 05:30 PM Online-Einheit
Thursday 11/19/20 01:30 PM - 05:30 PM Online-Einheit
Procedure for the course when limited activity on campus

In case a normal teaching mode cannot be employed, this course will be held in distance mode (online units), using the MS Teams or a related software.

Contents

This course is the first of two courses in the elective stream ‘Sustainable Resource Management’. The course will be held in English.

Course outline

Unit 1: Introduction

Part I: Administrative aspects of the course

  • Course structure / overview of topics
  • Expectations from students and course leader
  • Assessment criteria

Part II: Theory & concepts

  • Unsustainable trends
  • Public goods
  • Environmental economics vs. Ecological Economics

Unit 2: Natural resource use: concepts and trends

Part I: Approaches to measure resource use

  • GDP as a key indicator / GDP critique
  • Societal metabolism
  • Categories of resources
  • Territorial vs. footprint perspectives

Part II: Empirical trends of resource use

  • Investigating trends in resource extraction, trade and consumption in selected countries

Unit 3: Earth observation science for sustainable resource use

Part I: Introduction to earth observation

  • Resource use assessments at the spatially explicit level
  • Remote sensing
  • Examples for satellite-based data, indicators and modelling

Part II: Applications for sustainable resource use

  • Applications of remote sensing to monitor climate change and resource use impacts
  • Synergies between climate and resource use strategies
  • Earth observation and supply chains / footprint assessments

Unit 4: Socio-economic aspects of natural resource use

Part I: Global trends of resource use

  • World-wide trends
  • The rise of emerging economies

Part II: Decoupling and rebound effects

  • Decoupling: definition and types
  • Empirical trends
  • Interlinkages between rebound effects, resource efficiency and resource use

Unit 5: Globalisation and international trade I: concepts and trends

Part I: Theoretical reflections and empirical trends

  • Arguments pro and contra free trade
  • Empirical trends (structure of global economy, supply chains, footprints, outsourcing, transport emissions, …)

Part II: International trade, development and environment

  • Country examples for export patterns and their environment and development impacts
  • Options for more sustainable globalisation patterns (trade and development policies, global governance)

Unit 6: Globalisation and international trade II: policy options

Part I: Resource use and development policy in developing countries

  • Guest lecture: Karin Küblböck (Austrian Foundation for Development Research)

Part II:

  • Wrap-up, feedback and evaluation
Learning outcomes

After the course the participants will:

- be able to understand different schools of thought to address resource use problems (environmental economics versus ecological economics).

- know about the main methods and indicators to measure (un)sustainable resource use

- be able to reflect on current trends in resource use in the Austrian, European and global context

- be able to critically assess concepts such as “de-coupling” and are aware of the key role of rebound effects

- have learned about the dynamics of globalisation and international trade in shaping global patterns of resource use

- know policy options to achieve a more sustainable international economic system

Attendance requirements

In the course attendance is obligatory.

One class can be missed without negatively effecting the grade. Absence must be announced by e-mail before the respective class.

Teaching/learning method(s)

- Input by lecturer

- Group work

- Small group presentations

- Discussions

- Videos

- Guest lecture

- Background research and literature

Assessment

The performance will be evaluated based on four components:

- Take-Home exam after unit 6 (30%)

- Homeworks following units 2, 3 and 5 (30%)

- Group presentation and hand-out (30%)

- Active participation (10%)

Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

The succesful completion of this course is prerequisite to particpate in the "Elective - Transforming the economy towards sustainability - II".

Attending the first class is a prerequisite to participate in the course.

Last edited: 2020-09-29



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