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This course will examine the scientific, economic, legal, political, institutional, regulatory, and historical underpinnings of climate change as an issue and the related policy challenges of creating and sustaining a prosperous decarbonized modern society. Particular attention will be given to analyzing the existing U.S. and international framework of treaties, laws, regulations, and policies and the incentives they have created to address the build-up of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.

The course will center on a set of critical questions including: What would a 21st century policy framework that is designed to deliver a successful response to climate change look like? Does the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement provide the right foundation for action? How should issues of (in)equity be addressed? How might incentives be structured to engage the business community in climate change problem-solving?

While designed as a lecture course, class sessions will be highly interactive. Required readings cover broad thematic territory, commensurate with the sweeping coverage of the course. Readings include several books and a number of articles, studies, and reports that will be available on the Canvas. Students are expected to come to each class prepared to engage in back and forth dialogue around critical topics and questions, which are provided for each class session in the syllabus below.

There are no prerequisites for this course, although some familiarity with environmental law and policy will be helpful, as would a basic understanding of climate change science. As the course will reference a wide range of current events, we recommend that you read a major daily newspaper to stay abreast of developments in the energy and environmental domains. The Yale University Library provides online access to The New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs. The library also offers access to “survey” publications such as Energy & Environment Publishing, a well-regarded news service that specializes in energy and environmental topics.

Students are encouraged to enroll simultaneously in Professor Sue Biniaz’s four-week “Climate Change Negotiations” mini-course, which will cover complementary material – or her full semester course within the Jackson Institute. Students interested in attending the 2019 Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) in Santiago, Chile may also want to enroll in Professor Gordon Geballe’s half-semester “International Organizations and Conferences” course, which will cover practical details about the COP process. The Geballe course will prepare students to contribute as informed delegates at COP25. Students enrolled in the Geballe course will participate in a special weekly discussion section of FES 840a, led by Sophie Boehm (FES ’20).