Sustainable development, climate and climate action

Objectives

The course aims at giving an introduction to the science of climate change. It provides the basis for understanding the underlying physical processes and feedbacks governing climate variations on different timescales. How different anthropogenic emissions influences climate and what are the main factors driving the changes in emissions. In addition, physical and economical climate change impacts and risks will be presented along with an outline of international frameworks for climate assessment, adaptions and mitigation.  The course will give the student the perspective to discuss the UN's Societal Development Goals in the context of the ongoing changes in climate.

Content

The course focuses on explaining the main external forcing mechanisms such as the sun, volcanoes, and changes in greenhouse gases and aerosols, which can contribute to changing the global energy budget and initiate climate changes. Through this course, students will gain an in-depth understanding of the complexities of the climate system, and be able to compare the observed, man-made changes in climate over the last century to past natural changes.

The course includes an introduction to different types of climate impacts and risks, including examples of physical and economical risks.

The course answers to the UNs Societal Development Goals (in particular SDG13) by strengthening our knowledge of climate and climate-related hazards and will make the student conscious of the consequences of political and strategic choices made at a local, national and global level.

In addition to class room lectures, group work and colloquia, the course consists of web and classroom lectures as well as independent reading and exercises provided on an interactive online platform. The course is followed by term projects and presentation of project results.

On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge 

The student can

• understand the basic mechanisms behind the greenhouse effect
• understand the external climate drivers and the cause of natural and man-made climate variability
• explain and elaborate on the basic physical feedback mechanisms in the climate system
• explain different man-made sources of emissions and reasons for changes in these
• explain what climate risk is, and how it can be calculated and taken into account
• understand possible physical and economic causes and consequences of climate change
• understand how one can map greenhouse gas emissions and use greenhouse gas accounts
• explain the UN's sustainability goal no. 13 and put it in context with the other sustainability goals

Skills

The student can

• use basic terminology and expressions for climate and climate change
• reflect on climate sensitivity and estimate the significance of external climate impacts from the sun, volcanoes and changes in greenhouse gases by using simple climate models
• argue the consequences of climate change
• demonstrate the ability to think critically together with an understanding of the physical climate system
• reflect on the connections between the UN's sustainability goals
• summarize the connection between climate, environment, economy, and demography
• discuss how human actions affect the climate and nature

General competence

The student can

• strengthen their skills in oral presentation, scientific writing, and discussion
• present scientific knowledge to fellow students and others
• contribute with constructive feedback to fellow students (peer-review)
• use problem-solving methodology on a sustainability problem