This online course will develop participants' understanding of the climate change policy framework by building an appreciation of the science, causes and impacts of climate change, the history of the policy making process and the UNFCCC framework. It will also take a close look at the negotiations to-date and will consider the hot topics for negotiators as we move towards establishing a new global agreement on climate change by 2015. It will highlight the role of gender in the negotiations and also the specific interests of parties who are most vulnerable to impacts of climate change.
At the end of this course, participants should be able to:
- Describe climate change science and the observed and projected impacts of climate change
- Track and explain the international climate change policy framework, including the climate change negotiations to date under the UNFCCC;
- Define both climate change mitigation and adaptation;
- Analyze international considerations for climate change decision-making;
- Appraise the key issues in the ongoing international climate change negotiations and how to build and move forward from the outcomes of COP19.