ECN372 Climate Economics

Credits (ECTS):10

Course responsible:Knut Einar Rosendahl

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Engelsk

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:250 hours

Teaching and exam period:This course starts in Autumn parallel. This course has teaching/evaluation in Autumn parallel.

About this course

The course consists of two main parts:

I) THE GLOBAL CLIMATE REGIME AND CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS. Here we discuss how to deal with the climate change problem from a global perspective, incl. factors affecting the global climate negotiations and agreements such as the Paris agreement. Topics include: 1. Economic costs of climate change - how to value future damage costs, and how to balance these against the costs of reducing emissions? 2. Main principles for the global climate regime, and distribution of mitigation efforts between countries; and 3. Climate negotiations and agreements - what does economic theory tell us, and what is actually happening in the negotiations?

II) NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE POLICIES. Here we discuss different policies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases including: 1. Policies to reduce emissions in Norway and the EU; 2. Climate and technology policies; 3. Carbon leakage from national climate policies; and 4. Policies for implementing Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

  • Have substantial knowledge about the international climate regime, including climate negotiations and agreements
  • Have deep insight into the effects of different types of climate policies

Skills:

  • Able to apply environmental economic theory on the climate change problem, including explaining what is optimal reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from a global perspective, and which factors that are important in this respect.
  • Able to apply game theory to explain what drives countries' positions in the climate negotiations, and what kind of climate agreements one may expect based on economic theory.
  • Able to identify, analyse and understand the effects of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the effect on emissions, costs, technological progress, and carbon leakage.
  • Able to identify, analyse and understand driving forces behind deforestation in developing countries, and how policies might be used to reduce deforestation.

General competence:

  • Able to work both independently and in pairs in preparing written reports, making oral presentation and taking part in scientific discussions.
  • Learning activities

    Lectures (including guest lecturers) on campus with streaming and recording.

    Preparation of written discussion notes alone and in pair, oral presentation and scientific discussions.

  • Teaching support
    Supervision and feedback related to writing discussion notes.
  • Prerequisites

    Basic Microeconomics such as ECN210 or ECN101

    Basic Environmental Economics such as ECN170 Environmental and Resource Economics.

  • Assessment method
    Portfolio assessment. The grade is determined based on two written discussion notes and an oral exam held during the teaching period. The discussion notes count 30%, the examination of one discussion note during the exam counts 30%, while the rest of the oral exam counts 40%.

    Portfolio Karakterregel: Letter grades
  • Examiner scheme
    External Examiner for the oral examination.
  • Mandatory activity

    Physical participation in at least half the lectures (in classroom).

    Oral presentation of own discussion note and oral comment/question to someone else's note.

    Approved activities from when the last time the course was given are valid when retaking the course. No re-examination is offered.

  • Notes
    The course is taught in English. The discussion note must be written and presented in English. At the oral exam both Norwegian and English may be used.
  • Teaching hours
    2x2 hours lectures until end of October, and then presentations of discussion notes
  • Admission requirements
    Minimum requirements for entrance to higher education in Norway (generell studiekompetanse)