| Semester 2, 2022 Online | |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences |
| School or Department : | School of Agriculture and Environmental Science |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
| Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Examiner:
Overview
The tremendous impact of climate change and climate variability on our natural and build environment ultimately links the climate change debate to the concept of sustainability and sustainable resource management. The associated policy making processes are underpinned by our scientific understanding of the natural world. This course communicates the link between scientific understanding of climate change and sustainability. It provides insight into contemporary policy making processes and discusses successful examples.
This course is focused on policy communicating international, national and statewide activities. It reviews processes such as the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) leading to the Kyoto protocol, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process, the responses to climate change and policies developed by state and federal government and introduces practical approaches of using climate information to drive policy making. It reviews the history of the sustainability concept, Carbon Emission trading strategies, National Climate Change Adaptation Policy, the recent reports by the Australian economists Ross Garnaut and Lord Stern, the former Head of the Government Economic Service and former World Bank Chief Economist Stern.
Course learning outcomes
On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of the risks of climate change
- evaluate the state of the climate system
- assess the impact of climate change upon the natural environment
- review the history of sustainability
- understand the link be science and sustainability
- present concepts models of the climate system
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Introduction Global Climate and Environmental Changes | 15.00 |
| 2. | The history of the sustainability concept | 20.00 |
| 3. | Climate policy in natural systems | 20.00 |
| 4. | Climate policy in energy sector | 10.00 |
| 5. | Institutional policy to promote sustainability in changing climate | 35.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
| Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | No | 30 | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Presentation (ind, grp, mltmd) | No | 30 | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Take home examination | No | 40 | 1,2,3,4,5,6 |