Responding to Global Climate Change

Aim

After completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• Define and explain key concepts in climate policy.
• Describe different framings of climate change in order to reflect upon response measures adopted by states and organizations.
• Describe and analyze methods and tools used by national administrations when responding to climate change.
• Describe and analyze how national administrations respond to climate change in different sectors of society.
• Describe and exemplify drivers and barriers to climate adaptation.
• Describe and exemplify the interaction between science and politics in managing climate change.

Content

Climate change poses profound challenges to contemporary societal structures. Due to its close connections to energy supply, economic development, and urban planning, efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change affect virtually all sectors of society. In recent years, a growing number of actors have begun to develop, design, and implement measures to address the challenges associated with a changing climate. This course focuses on climate-related work carried out by public authorities and public sector organizations and introduces social science perspectives that invite reflection on the relationship between science and politics in contemporary climate governance. It examines how climate change is framed and governed, how political objectives are translated into practical climate action, and how policy instruments, planning tools, and organizational arrangements are used within public administration.

The course provides a basic understanding of how climate change is addressed at the global, national, and local levels, with particular emphasis on public authorities and organizations operating in key sectors for mitigation and climate adaptation. By examining central climate policy concepts, different ways of defining and framing climate change as a policy problem, and the tools and methods used in climate governance, students develop the ability to analyze governance challenges, policy processes, and institutional conditions. The course also explores the drivers and barriers shaping climate adaptation, as well as the interplay between scientific knowledge and political decision-making in climate governance