Our Planet is facing a ‘Climate Emergency’. Climate Change is the greatest contemporary environmental challenge with man-made carbon emissions proven to have resulted in unprecedented rises in global temperatures with significant impacts on human, social, political, economic and natural systems. The relationship between climate change and society is highly complex but we have the knowledge and the technology available to reduce the impact on climate, and thus ease the pressures on the world's most vulnerable places, people and wildlife. We just need people like you to help make it happen.
Economics can play a key role in tackling climate change by providing an understanding of the incentive structures of consumers and firms that help explain why and how governments might intervene in economic markets to deliver climate friendly policies and institutions. Through the study of economics, students will gain an understanding of the failures of ‘conventional’ markets to effectively tackle climate change. Drawing on sub-disciplines of environmental and ecological economics, students will develop an appreciation of how local, national and international policies can be developed to provide incentives such as carbon trading schemes and taxes aimed at reducing emissions. Economics can also help us understand the role of institutions, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) helping set international targets for carbon emissions. A knowledge of economics also provides insights into mechanisms for transformative societal change such as moves to a carbon neutral economy, transitions to green GDP, and an understanding of the impact of climate change on equity issues between developed and developing countries. A combination of economic and climate change modules will allow students to develop the interdisciplinary skills needed to understand and create solutions to the climate crisis. |
