Explore the role of national governments, municipalities, companies and the international community in climate change mitigation. Learn to set reduction targets yourself and translate them into action plans.
Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.
“Every action matters
Every bit of warming matters
Every year matters
Every choice matters.”
This was the brief summary of a 2018 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the scientific advisory board of the United Nations.
But who should act?
In earlier courses, we already set out what is needed to limit the impact of climate change. In this course, we will explore the role of national governments, the international community, companies, and sub-national governments, like cities, municipalities, provinces, and regions.
We start from the idea that climate governance is polycentric. None of these parties can mitigate the dangers of climate change all by themselves. Each of these types of organization has its particular strength. If you work – or plan to work – in or with any such organization, then through this course you will learn how to be successful and effective in playing your part in mitigating climate change.
Important elements that will be discussed for the various players in the field are:
- What roles can the different organizations play?
- How can emission reduction targets be set so that they are both ambitious and feasible?
- How can meaningful emission reduction plans be developed that actually result in emission reduction on the ground?
Examples will be presented by professionals who have been successful in their own organization. They are willing to share the failures and critical success factors in their strategies.
This course is part of the Climate-Neutral World: Theory, Applications and Taking Action Professional Certificate.
What you'll learn
- Understand how international climate agreements work.
- Assess the sphere of influence of your own organization.
- Learn how national climate policies are designed and work, and be able to evaluate the relevance of existing policies for your organization.
- Learn how ambitious and feasible GHG emission reduction targets for companies are set and discover how to translate these into a climate action plan.
- Learn to apply approaches to tackle greenhouse gas emissions in supply chains.
- Learn how ambitious and feasible GHG emission reduction targets for cities and municipalities are set and learn how to translate these into climate action plans.
- Decide in which areas the greatest acceleration of climate action is needed.
Syllabus
Week 1. National action and international agreements
Brief history of climate negotiations
The Paris Agreement
NDCs’ and national targets/laws
Cross-sectoral and sectoral policies
Climate policies in practice
Week 2. Climate action by cities and other sub-national governments
The role of non-state entities in climate action
Overview of sub-national government initiatives
Action perspectives for cities and municipalities
Example: a small town
Example: a big city
Week 3. Climate action by companies
Overview of private-sector climate action
Science-based targets
Why does it work?
Supply chain initiatives
Corporate climate action in practice
Week 4. Speeding up climate action
Every bit of warming matters
Climate action on energy efficiency
Climate action on renewable electricity
Climate action on renewable fuels
World in action
