Climate change—or what many refer to as global warming—is one of the most significant threats that humanity faces.
"Climate Change and Global Affairs: Policy Obstacles and Opportunities" explores the complex policy landscape shaping global climate action—from local and national strategies to international agreements.
After completing this course, learners will be able to evaluate the steps governments can take in combating climate change, identify the costs and benefits of different climate policy options, identify and explain the major international agreements that exist to combat climate change, and assess the challenges and ethical complexities of contemporary mitigation efforts.
By enrolling in this course, you join a host of policymakers, professionals, and students committed to addressing climate change. By tackling this global challenge, we work to build a more sustainable future.
Overview
Syllabus
- Welcome to Navigating a Climate-Changed World: Policy Obstacles and Opportunities
- In this opening module, we discuss course aims, organization, and measures for assessment. By familiarizing themselves with this introductory material, learners will prepare themselves for success in later, more content-driven modules.
- Module Two: Policymakers’ Toolbox on Climate Change
- Module Two explores the policies that individual governments can adopt to address climate change. It pays particular attention to the benefits and challenges of each policy, explaining why certain policies are easier to adopt - and maintain - than others.
- Module Three: How Market-Based Policies Can Encourage Climate Action
- Module Three explores the dollars and cents behind government climate policy, paying particular attention to taxes, subsidies, and cap-and-trade schemes. The module investigates the strengths and weaknesses of each policy, explaining why governments might adopt one policy - or a mix of policies - to lower emissions and help stop climate change.
- Module 4: How Governments Can Work Together to Tackle Climate Change
- Module Four explores the international agreements that governments have made to tackle climate change, as well as the challenges to upholding those agreements. Key agreements covered include the 1987 Montreal Protocol, 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and 2015 Paris Agreement.
- Module 5: Overcoming Challenges in a Climate-Changed World
- Module Five examines current challenges to global climate action, from ethical issues relating to the green transition to the challenge of meeting the costs that this transition will incur.
- Module 6: Conclusion
- Module Six concludes the course. In it, learners will read a brief summary of the material they have covered, take a full course assessment, and explore some additional steps to continue their climate learning journey.
Taught by
CFR Education
