Mitigation - Technologies, Controversies and Opportunities

<p>We cover methods, techniques, and debates surrounding climate change mitigation. You study technical, social, and governance processes for implementing large-scale renewable energy technologies, low-carbon industrial processes, carbon capture and removal methods, and demand-side solutions.</p><p></p><p>The course provides students with an overview of current policies and initiatives to limit climate change. It highlights the promise and pitfalls that already exist or may arise. As part of the course, students are introduced to theoretical perspectives that aim to explain resistance to and delays in emission reductions, as well as the reasons why some emission-reduction solutions are favoured over others. The course actively applies and exemplifies concepts introduced earlier in the programme, such as social practice theory, ecomodernism/technological optimism, socioeconomic inertia, environmental justice, and future-oriented policies.</p><p></p><p>The course is structured around four parts</p><ol><li>The basics of climate change mitigation, introducing the scientific and political history of climate change mitigation.</li><li>The politics of social and technological change, in which students are<br/>introduced to the full range of specific policy options, their opportunities and challenges.</li><li>Governance of mitigation measures, in which initiatives are set in the context of wider societal debates and issues of environmental justice and sustainability.</li><li>Controversial measures, focused on contentious alternatives to conventional mitigation, including carbon removal and geoengineering.</li></ol><p>Throughout the course, we emphasise case studies from both the global North and South.</p>