Course Description
Examination of the politics of addressing climate change, and the effects of climate change on politics and governance itself. The course will examine how policies get constructed and implemented and considers local and national contexts.
Athena Title
Politics of Climate Change
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in POLS 4670H
Prerequisite
POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Semester Course Offered
Offered every odd-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will evaluate and respond to research and policy arguments regarding the climate change problem.
- Students will critically evaluate the scientific evidence for global warming and put recent changes in the context of historical climate trends.
- Students will explore climate change from the perspectives of policymakers, commercial interests, and the public to understand how science informs legislation and agreements on climate change mitigation.
- Students will identify proposed policies and actions for climate change mitigation and generate ideas to support or oppose these policies in written reports and group discussions.
Topical Outline
- Climate Impacts on Society and the Planet
- The political and economic context of combatting climate change
- The political actors involved in climate change
- Proponents and Opposition to Climate Change Policies
- Climate and Environmental Justice
- Borders, and the International Political Context
- National policymaking
- State and Local policymaking
- Climate impacts on governance
- The politics of water
- Climate change, the environment, and violence
