Energy Transition

This course is part of UiB's further education offer in collaboration with UiB-Videre. The course is offered to external course participants without study affiliation with UiB. Information about course dates and admission information can be found here: www.uib.no/utdanning/evu/140208/energiomstilling.

UiB students who wish to participate in the course are referred to the sister course, SDG207, which is taught during the autumn semester.

Objectives

The main objective of this course is to introduce the science of energy transition and sustainable energy sources, in light of the UN sustainable development agenda, and to provide the students with an understanding of key cross-diciplinary challenges related to the transition towards a low CO2-emission society. The course directly addresses UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, and will give the students perspectives to discuss the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the context of how we mitigate the ongoing changes in climate through a transition to a more sustainable energy supply.

Content

The first part of the course focuses on explaining the drivers and motivations for a transition to a low-carbon society, which includes climate change, and the need to supply clean and sustainable energy globally. The second part of the course is focused on the scientific, technological and societal aspects of various sustainable energy sources, such as geothermal energy, offshore wind, solar power, hydropower, CO2 capture, storage and utilization, and the exploration for minerals.

To address these themes, the course will cover a wide range of disciplines relevant to energy transition and renewable energy sources, including earth science, climate science, biology, physics, political science, law, psychology, social sciences, nanotechnology, ethics, rhetoric and economics.

The course is fully online. The teaching consists of pre-recorded lectures in combination with four digital evening seminars. The course ends with a digital multiple-choice exam that can be completed online from home.

On completion of the course, the student shall have knowledge on a variety of possible actions for reduction of the atmospheric CO2 content, as well as knowledge of conditions for, and possible consequences of, different measures for advancing the transition towards a low-carbon society.

Knowledge

The student can

• understand the key drivers that motivate the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon energy supply
• explain the science and technology behind different sustainable energy resources
• understand the key scientific, technological and societal challenges related to energy transition

Skills

The student can

• assess the advantages and limitations associated with a variety of sustainable energy resources
• understand the societal, legal and financial challenges related to energy transition
• explain the most important consequences of the transition towards a low emission society

General competence

The student can

• demonstrate the ability for critical thinking and scientifically based reasoning
• show cross-disciplinary awareness through discussions on the interaction between science, society and technology in the transition to a low-carbon society
• communicate and debate the scientific, technological and societal challenges related to energy transition