Core modules
Politics of Governing for Climate Change
A highly complex politics sits behind the increasingly varied attempts to mitigate for, adapt to, and pay out loss and damage funds as a result of, climate change. The implications of climate change are experienced in such an uneven manner, responsibility for historic and current emissions is concentrated in the Global North and BRICS countries, and, crucially, no administration, be it global, national, local or corporate, yet has all the answers regarding how to meet global targets.
This module equips students with an understanding of the different ways in which climate change is governed, by whom, why some choices are made and others sidelined, and what the key obstacles to, and opportunities for, meeting GHG emissions reduction targets are. By picking apart, exploring, and better understanding the ideational and interest-based foundations of climate change policies, and governing institutions, this module offers students an in-depth introduction to why governing for climate change is so complex and, at times, frustrating. Revealing political details and complexity is useful on its own terms, but doing so can also help us to identify that what needs to be overcome to improve current attempts to address climate change.
Nine Ideas in Climate Politics
Climate change poses a significant challenge to traditional assumptions about global political governance. Issues of power, justice, and the failures of existing economic and political models are at the root of the climate challenge. In this introductory module we look beyond technological solutions to examine underlying political, economic and ethical dynamics, posing difficult questions that often challenge mainstream assumptions about how to tackle climate change. We draw on different perspectives and methodologies, including political theory, international relations, and political economy.
Weekly topics include: Justice and Mitigation; Can Capitalism Cope with Climate Change?; Global Climate Governance; Unsustainable Consumption; Carbon Offsetting; Justice and Adaptation; Security Narratives in the Politicisation of Climate Change; The Geopolitics of Sustainable Energy Transformations; How Climate Change Challenges Current Political & Social Orthodoxies; The Anthropocene; Colonialism, Race and Indigenous Perspectives; Loss and Damage; Geoengineering.
Dissertation
The Dissertation is an opportunity to study a topic of your choosing, in autonomy and in-depth, under the guidance of an advisor selected among the many experts in the Department. The Dissertation topic should be related to your course. It is an original empirical and/or theoretical investigation, led over terms 2 and 3, that takes further the work done in regular seminars in terms 1 and 2. The Dissertation is the closest you will get to real research during your degree. It is a key experience if you have a PhD in view, or extra-academic research, or any future employment that will require the ability to lead investigations and write reports in autonomy.
Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:
- Climate Justice and the Transition to a Sustainable World
- Energy Security
- Loss and Damage
- Environmental Politics
- Global Justice and Future Generations
The optional module listsLink opens in a new window are updated regularly.
You may select up to 40 CATS (normally two modules) from a list of specialist modules for this course, and a further 40-80 CATS from our extensive range of optional modules for a total of 120 CATS of taught modules.
