Green Germany: Engineering Sustainability, Regulating the Future

3 credits · Undergraduate

Germany's response to climate change is structured through coordinated systems of engineering, regulation, and governance. This course examines the green transition as a problem of implementation, where policies must operate within economic constraints, political realities, and institutional frameworks. Students analyze key components including the Energiewende, EU Emissions Trading System, building efficiency mandates, mobility regulation, and industrial decarbonization. Using Berlin as a case, the course explores how sustainability policies are implemented in practice and how they generate trade-offs, resistance, and distributional effects. It is particularly suited for students in engineering, economics, public policy, and international relations, and develops a practical understanding of how sustainability is designed and governed at scale.