Search result: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2022
Environmental Sciences Master  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Major in Environmental Systems Policy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Policy Engagement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Title | Type | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 701-1551-00L | Sustainability Assessment  Does not take place this semester. Number of participants is limited to 35. Registration for the course is possible until 30.09.2022, Waiting list will be deleted at the same date.. | W | 3 credits | 2G | P. Krütli, D. Nef | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | The course teaches concepts and methodologies of sustainability assessment. A special focus is given to the social dimension and to social justice as a guiding principle of sustainability. The format of the course is seminar-like, interactive. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | At the end of the course, students: - know core concepts of sustainable development, main features of social justice in the context of sustainability, a selection of methodologies for the assessment of sustainable development - have a deepened understanding of the challenges of trade-offs between the different dimensions of sustainable development and their respective impacts on individual and societal decision-making | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The course is structured as follows: - overview of rationale, objectives, concepts and origins of sustainable development (approx. 15%) - overview of the concept of social justice as guiding principle of the social dimension of sustainability (approx. 20%) - analysis of a selection of concepts and methodologies to assess sustainable development in a variety of contexts (approx. 65%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Handouts are provided | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Selected scientific articles and book-chapters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | Students of this course may also be interested in the course transdisciplinary case study (tdCS) in the Spring semester (701-1502-00L) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competencies |
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| 701-1563-00L | Climate Policy | W | 6 credits | 3G | A. Patt, S. Hanger-Kopp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course provides an in-depth of analysis both of the theoretical underpinnings to different approaches to climate policy at the international and national levels, and how these different approaches have played out in practice. Students will learn how legislative frameworks have developed over the last 25 years, and also be able to appraise those frameworks critically. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time, touching all aspects of the environment and of society. There is broad recognition (although with some dissent) that governments ought to do something about it: making sure that emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) stop within the next 30 to 40 years; helping people to adapt to the consequences of the climate change to which we have already committed ourselves; and, most controversially, perhaps taking measures to actively remove GHG’s from the atmosphere, or to alter the radiation balance of the Earth through solar engineering. It’s a complicated set of problems, especially the first of these, known as mitigation. Fundamentally this is because it means doing something that humanity has never really tried before at a planetary scale: deliberately altering the ways the we produce, convert, and consume energy, which is at the heart of modern society. Modern society – the entire anthropocene – grew up on fossil fuels, and the huge benefits they offered in terms of energy that was inexpensive, easy to transport and store, and very dense in terms of its energy content per unit mass or volume. How to manage a society of over 7 billion people, at anything like today’s living standards, without the benefits of that energy, is a question for which there is no easy answer. There are also other challenges outside of energy. How do we build houses, office buildings, and infrastructure networks without cement, a substance that releases large amounts of CO2 as it hardens? How do we reverse the pace of deforestation, particularly in developing countries? How do we eliminate the GHG emissions from agriculture: the methane from cows’ bellies and rice paddies, together with the chemicals that enter the atmosphere from the application of fertilizer? These are all tough questions at a technical level, but even tougher when you consider that governments typically need to employ indirect methods to get these things to happen. Arguably a government could simply pass a law that forbids people from using fossil fuels. But politically this is simply unrealistic, at least while so many people depend on fossil fuels in their daily lives. What is to be done? For this, one needs to turn to various ideas about how government can and should influence society. On the one hand are ideas suggesting that government ought to play a very limited role, relative to private actors, and should step in only to correct “market failures,” with interventions designed specifically around that failure. On the other hand are ideas suggesting that government (meaning all of us, working together through a democratic process) is the appropriate decision-making body for core decisions on where society can and should go. These issues come to the fore in climate policy discussions and debates. This course is about all that. The goal is to give students a glimpse into the enormous complexity of this policy area, an understanding of some of the many debates that are currently raging (of which the debate about whether climate change is actually real is probably the least complicated or interesting). We want to give students the ability to evaluate policy arguments made by politicians, experts, and academics with a critical eye, informed by a knowledge of history, an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings, and the results of empirical testing of different strategies. A student taking this course ought to be able to step into an NGO or government agency involved in climate policy analysis or political advocacy, and immediately be able to make an informed and creative contribution. Moreover, by experiencing the depth of this policy area, students should be able to appreciate the complexity inherent in all policy areas. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | There will be daily reading assignments, which we will then discuss critically during the class sessions. All of these will be posted in PDF format on a course Moodle. In addition, there will be two books to be read over the course of the semester. Both of these can be accessed from the ETH library or in PDF form free of charge. They are: The Climate Casino, by William Nordhaus. Yale University Press. Transforming Energy, by Anthony Patt. Cambridge University Press. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Competencies |
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| 860-0012-00L | Cooperation and Conflict Over International Water Resources Number of participants limited to 40. Priority for Science, Technology, and Policy MSc. This is a research seminar at the Master level. PhD students are also welcome. PhD students please register via the study administration. | W | 3 credits | 2G | T. Bernauer, T. U. Siegfried | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract | This course focuses on the technical, economic, and political challenges of dealing with water allocation and pollution problems in large international river systems. It examines ways and means through which such challenges are or can be addressed, and when and why international efforts in this respect succeed or fail. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning objective | Ability to (1) understand the causes and consequences of water scarcity and water pollution problems in large international river systems; (2) understand ways and means of addressing such water challenges; and (3) analyse when and why international efforts in this respect succeed or fail. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content | The first six meetings serve to acquire basic knowledge on the science and politics of international water management. This will be followed by five meetings that focus on specific cases (international river systems) and a meeting where we discuss what can be learned from the five cases. For this part of the class we have invited several colleagues with long-standing expertise on the respective international river basin. 20.Sep Global water challenges 27.Sep Nuts and bolts of hydrological modeling and what such models can tell us 04.Oct Nuts and bolts of hydrological modeling and what such models can tell us 11.Oct Water pollution and its mitigation 18.Oct Key challenges in international river systems 25.Oct Key challenges in international river systems 01.Nov Case study 1: Yarmuk 08.Nov Case study 2: Mekong 15.Nov Case study 3: Colorado 22.Nov Case study 4: Nile 29.Nov Case study 5: Central Asia 06.Dec Wrap up: what we can learn from these case studies 13.Dec Exam 20.Dec No class Exam: 3 ECTS, based on grade ≥ 4.0 in written test at the end of the semester. 90 minutes; 13 December 2022, 12:15 – 13:45; same room as the course. The exam covers the mandatory reading assignments as well as lectures and discussion parts in class. The exam will consist of around ten questions that require answers in a few sentences each. Permitted supporting material: dictionary, ink-based pen, no laptops, no mobile phones, no calculators, no printed or hand-written material. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lecture notes | Slides and reading materials will be made available via Moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literature | Slides and reading materials will be made available via Moodle. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prerequisites / Notice | The course is open to Master and doctoral students from any area of ETH. Limited to 40 students. Most meetings will take place on campus, with no recording of meetings. Participation in this course only makes sense if you can attend classes regularly in person. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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