Global Environmental Governance (STG-MA-M5-GEG23)

STG-MA-M5-GEG23

Description

Due to the compelling need for effective responses to climate change, a global nexus of institutions, state and non-state actors, instruments, and mechanisms have emerged, seeking to govern climate change at various levels. This seminar will explore the evolution of the international response to climate change based on different levels of governance (UN framework, regional level e.g. EU) and actors involved.
First, the seminar will elaborate on the international climate treaties: the UNFCCC (1992), the Kyoto Protocol (1997), and the Paris Agreement (2015) and the existing institutional structures, networks, and alliances that create incentives for a shift towards renewable energy sources as a tool for climate change mitigation. As such the seminar will foster a better understanding of how climate change governance has evolved as a focal issue of international politics, the inter-state cooperation/divides, and evolving tensions between developed and developing economies.
Second, this seminar will explore the social dimension and the disproportionate consequences of climate change, assessing climate change vulnerability around the globe It will additionally cover the political economy of ‘Just Transition’ and socioeconomic inequalities under the imperative of a transition to low-carbon economies.
Through lectures and interactive exercises, the seminar will provide the students with analytical tools to understand the complexity of climate change governance and the different approaches that have taken shape to govern climate change.