Dimensions of Energy, Climate, and Environmental Policy

Energy is an essential input to the economy and daily life, while the environment provides the life-sustaining functions upon which we depend every day. Consequently, almost all areas of policy analysis– from domestic social policy to international diplomacy, and local infrastructure planning to national industrial policy are affected by energy, the environment, and climate change. The changes we can expect in our global environment in the future are a crucial context for policymakers’ choices in the present. Climate change will reshape weather patterns, storms, sea levels, and agricultural output worldwide. Human societies have only three basic options for responding: mitigating the amount of climate change; adapting to the changes that come; and suffering the consequences of failing to do the first two options. This multi-disciplinary course focuses on both the politics of energy and the environment.