Confronting Climate Change

ESPP 105 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This course will consider the challenge of climate change and what to do about it. Students will be introduced to the basic science of climate change, including theradiation budget of the Earth, the carbon cycle, and the physics and  chemistry of the oceans and atmosphere. We will look at reconstructions of climate change through Earth history to provide a context for thinking about present and future changes. We will take a critical look at climate models used to predict climate change in the future, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses, evaluating which forecasts of climate change impacts are robust, and which are more speculative. We will spend particular time discussing sea-level rise and extreme weather (including hurricanes, heat waves, and floods). We will look at the complex interactions between climate and human society,

including climate impacts on agriculture and the relationship between climate change, migration and conflict. We will also discuss strategies for adapting to climate change impacts, and the implications of those strategies for sub-national and international equity.

The last half of the class will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We will review the recent history of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as various national and international efforts to limit them in the future. We will discuss reducing carbon emissions using forestry, agriculture and land use, and then focus on how to transform the world’s energy system to eliminate CO2 emissions through decarbonization of the world energy systems. We will conclude by examining different policies and strategies for accelerating changes in our energy systems to limit greenhouse gas emissions,

given the challenges and perspectives of different nations and sub-national politics that exist today.