Climate Change: Policy Obstacles and Opportunities
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Climate Change: Policy Obstacles and Opportunities
This course is part of Climate Change and Global Affairs Specialization
Instructor: CFR Education
Included with
Recommended experience
Recommended experience
What you'll learn
How local and national governments can use policy to implement climate action.
How countries have worked together to approach climate change over time.
How policymakers balance the costs and benefits of different policy options when taking climate action.
Skills you'll gain
Details to know
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There are 6 modules in this course
Climate change—or what many refer to as global warming—is one of the most significant threats that humanity faces.
"Climate Change and Global Affairs: Policy Obstacles and Opportunities" explores the complex policy landscape shaping global climate action—from local and national strategies to international agreements. After completing this course, learners will be able to evaluate the steps governments can take in combating climate change, identify the costs and benefits of different climate policy options, identify and explain the major international agreements that exist to combat climate change, and assess the challenges and ethical complexities of contemporary mitigation efforts. By enrolling in this course, you join a host of policymakers, professionals, and students committed to addressing climate change. By tackling this global challenge, we work to build a more sustainable future.
In this opening module, we discuss course aims, organization, and measures for assessment. By familiarizing themselves with this introductory material, learners will prepare themselves for success in later, more content-driven modules.
What's included
1 video2 readings1 discussion prompt
1 video•Total 4 minutes
- Before You begin…•4 minutes
2 readings•Total 20 minutes
- Welcome!•10 minutes
- How to Succeed in This Course•10 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
- Get to Know Your Classmates (Optional)•10 minutes
Module Two explores the policies that individual governments can adopt to address climate change. It pays particular attention to the benefits and challenges of each policy, explaining why certain policies are easier to adopt - and maintain - than others.
What's included
1 video16 readings3 assignments2 discussion prompts
1 video•Total 2 minutes
- Before You Begin•2 minutes
16 readings•Total 190 minutes
- Introduction to Module Two•10 minutes
- How Government Regulations Help Fight Climate Change•10 minutes
- What Are Environmental Regulations?•10 minutes
- What do Environmental Regulations Target?•20 minutes
- Challenges for Environmental Regulations•10 minutes
- How Target Setting Can Help Guide Climate Action•10 minutes
- What is a Climate Target?•20 minutes
- How Policymakers Craft Useful Targets•10 minutes
- Do Climate Targets Work?•10 minutes
- Other Steps Individual Governments Can Take to Combat Climate Change•10 minutes
- Five Steps Governments Can Take To Combat Climate Change•15 minutes
- How State and Local Governments Can Fight Climate Change•10 minutes
- What Do the Federal Government and State Governments Do to Address Climate Change?•10 minutes
- How States Can Take Meaningful Climate Action Without Federal Support•15 minutes
- How States and the Federal Government Handle Climate Disasters•10 minutes
- Can States Lead the Way in the Fight Against Climate Change?•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 60 minutes
- Module Two Quiz•30 minutes
- Knowledge Check: Environmental Regulations•15 minutes
- Knowledge Check: How State and Local Governments Can Fight Climate Change•15 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Module Two Discussion Forum (Optional)•10 minutes
- Module Two Discussion Forum •10 minutes
Module Three explores the dollars and cents behind government climate policy, paying particular attention to taxes, subsidies, and cap-and-trade schemes. The module investigates the strengths and weaknesses of each policy, explaining why governments might adopt one policy - or a mix of policies - to lower emissions and help stop climate change.
What's included
3 videos12 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts
3 videos•Total 18 minutes
- Before You Begin•2 minutes
- How Do Subsidies Work?•7 minutes
- How Do Carbon Taxes Work?•8 minutes
12 readings•Total 130 minutes
- Introduction to Module Three•10 minutes
- How Subsidies Can Reduce Emissions•10 minutes
- How Are Governments Using Subsidies to Address Climate Change?•15 minutes
- How Carbon Taxes Can Reduce Emissions•10 minutes
- Carbon Taxes Around the World•10 minutes
- How Cap-and-Trade Systems Can Reduce Emissions•10 minutes
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Cap-and-Trade Policies•10 minutes
- Combining Options•10 minutes
- How Can Governments Hold Each Other Accountable for Climate Mitigation?•10 minutes
- How Does a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Work?•15 minutes
- Do Any Countries Have CBAMs Today?•10 minutes
- What Are Potential Issues with CBAMs?•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Module Three Quiz•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Module Three Discussion Forum (Optional)•10 minutes
- Module Three Discussion Forum•10 minutes
Module Four explores the international agreements that governments have made to tackle climate change, as well as the challenges to upholding those agreements. Key agreements covered include the 1987 Montreal Protocol, 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and 2015 Paris Agreement.
What's included
3 videos8 readings3 assignments2 discussion prompts
3 videos•Total 8 minutes
- Before You Begin•2 minutes
- How Climate Change is a Collective Action Problem•3 minutes
- How the Paris Agreement Helps Stop Climate Change•3 minutes
8 readings•Total 95 minutes
- Introduction to Module Four•10 minutes
- Challenges in Coordinating Climate Action•10 minutes
- How Can International Agreements Help Fight Global Warming?•10 minutes
- Major International Climate Agreements•20 minutes
- Do International Agreements Really Work?•10 minutes
- The Paris Agreement•10 minutes
- Commitment to Paris Agreement Goals Varies•15 minutes
- The Future of the Paris Agreement•10 minutes
3 assignments•Total 90 minutes
- Module Four Quiz•30 minutes
- Knowledge Check: International Climate Agreements•30 minutes
- Knowledge Check: The Paris Agreement•30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
- Module Four Discussion Forum (Optional)•10 minutes
- Module Four Discussion Board (Optional)•10 minutes
Module Five examines current challenges to global climate action, from ethical issues relating to the green transition to the challenge of meeting the costs that this transition will incur.
What's included
2 videos12 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts
2 videos•Total 9 minutes
- Before You Begin…•2 minutes
- Challenges and Opportunities in the Green Transition•7 minutes
12 readings•Total 120 minutes
- Introduction to Module Five•10 minutes
- What is Climate Finance?•10 minutes
- Why is Confronting Climate Change So Expensive?•10 minutes
- What Role Does the Public Sector Play in Combatting Climate Change?•10 minutes
- What Role Does the Private Sector Play in Combatting Climate Change?•10 minutes
- How Can the Public and Private Sectors Work Together?•10 minutes
- How to Make the Green Transition Just and Equitable•10 minutes
- How to Ensure a Just Transition•10 minutes
- How Earth’s Minerals Are Helping the World Meet Its Climate Goals•10 minutes
- What Are Critical Minerals?•10 minutes
- Challenges Associated With Mining Critical Minerals•10 minutes
- The Future of Critical Minerals•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Module Five Quiz •30 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 10 minutes
- Module Four Discussion Forum (Optional)•10 minutes
- Module Five Discussion Forum (Optional)•0 minutes
Module Six concludes the course. In it, learners will read a brief summary of the material they have covered, take a full course assessment, and explore some additional steps to continue their climate learning journey.
What's included
1 video4 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt
1 video•Total 2 minutes
- Course Conclusion•2 minutes
4 readings•Total 170 minutes
- Introduction to Module Six•10 minutes
- Supplementary Resources•90 minutes
- Course Project: Global Climate Change Policy (Optional)•60 minutes
- Congratulations!•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
- Full Course Assessment•60 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
- Global Climate Change Policy Discussion Forum•10 minutes
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Frequently asked questions
CFR Education offers a three-course specialization on climate change and global affairs. While learners may complete these courses in any order, we recommend completing them in the following order:
- Climate Change and Global Affairs: The Basics - Climate Change and Global Affairs: Mitigation and Adaptation - Climate Change and Global Affairs: Policy Opportunities and Obstacles
Week 1: Introduction to Course
Week 2: Policymakers’ Toolbox on Climate Change
Week 3: How Market-Based Policies Can Encourage Climate Action
Week 4: How Governments Can Work Together to Tackle Climate Change
Week 5: Overcoming Challenges in a Climate-Changed World
Week 6: Course Conclusion
Purchasing a Certificate to this course provides you with access to all course materials, including graded assignments.
Upon completing the course and passing all required assessments, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page, where you can download or share it at any time.
A Course Certificate includes the course name, the instructor’s signature, the logo of the partner institution offering the course, a verification URL that allows others to check the certificate’s authenticity, and a statement that Coursera has confirmed the identity of the learner who completed the course.
Course Certificates academic credit from the partner institution offering the course, the final grade you received in the course, your ID photo, the hours you spent working on coursework, or a printed or mailed copy of the Course Certificate.
If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free. You are able to upgrade to a paid Certificate at any time during or after your audit.
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