Climate Change Politics and Policy

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Admission to a Masters level program.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject introduces introduces and analyses critical concepts and terms central to debates over climate change, including risk and uncertainty, adaptation and mitigation, burden sharing, and problems and issues relating to regimes, strategies and policy instruments for addressing global warming. The subject considers the rise of climate change as a policy problem. It reviews and analyses the history of climate change policy as it has evolved nationally and internationally. It examines the bases of and interactions between national and regional climate policy, including in Australia, the United States and the European Union. It analyses debates and concerns that have led to the evolution of the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol. Students will consider a range of policy instruments, including carbon taxes and emissions trading, and technologies that have been proposed or deployed to address this issue. This subject enables students to understand the evolution of a critical global environmental issue. It offers insights into technical, political, ethical and ecological issues that have framed climate change policy, particularly since 1992, and enables students to think critically about and participate in developing policy in this domain.

An essay of 1000 words 20% (due mid semester) and a 3000-word research essay 80% (due at the end of semester); or a 4000 word research essay 100% (due at the end of semester).

Students are advised to read the 2001 reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

• enhanced ability to analyse and think critically about public policy;
• enhanced conceptual understanding of the social, political, ethical and cultural contexts of policy;
• enhanced practical skills such as written communication and research ability.