Biennial course.  Not offered in 2012; next offered in 2013. 

Global environmental change, and particularly climate change, as a result of human activities is now generally accepted as reality. ‘Global warming’ is the term currently used to describe a wide range of climatic processes and impacts in the global system that are affected by anthropogenic activities. This course provides an introduction to climate change science, impacts and policy implications. The fundamentals are provided in an overview of climate change science, focussing on the atmospheric processes that drive climatic variability and change, and the roles of the terrestrial biosphere and the oceans in the global carbon cycle. The likely impacts of global warming on ecosystems and human activities are also considered, including biodiversity, system buffering and resilience, and regional inequality and vulnerability. Finally, possible response strategies are investigated, focussing on international environmental treaties, international and Australian policy approaches to global warming, and management and adaptation strategies. Practical work and tutorials are directed towards an understanding of the carbon intensity of energy use, and science-policy interaction in the area of climate change. Contributors to the course may include include staff of the Fenner School of Environment and Society, the Research School of Biology, the Research School of Earth Sciences, the College of Asia and the Pacific, the College of Arts and Social Sciences, the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, the Faculties of Law and Engineering, and representatives of various government departments, industry and business groups and research organisations.

Note: Graduate students attend joint classes with undergraduates but are assessed separately. 

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. critically evaluate current understandings of the science of climate change, including future climate scenario development
2. critically appraise information about current and future impacts of climate change on biophysical and social systems, and vulnerability to climate change
3. critically evaluate a range of response strategies to climate change, including international and Australian adaptation and mitigation policy approaches
4. debate and critique future climate change policy in the context of the international climate change negotations, with application to their professional experience. 

Students who fail to submit work by the due date or fail to participate in classes, practicals and tutorials may be excluded from examination. Assessment will be based on:

• Practical report on a selected topic relevant to local climate change adapation and mitigation strategies (30%; LO 1, 2, 3)
• Tutorial facilitation, including written tutorial rationale and discussion questions, based on selected readings (20%; LO 1, 2, 3)
• Major report and debate focussing on issues of national interest and equity in international climate change policy negotations (50%; LO 1, 2, 3, 4)

65 contact hours, comprising lectures, practicals and workshops/tutorials; approximately 55 non-contact hours. 

Bachelor degree; no specific knowledge required.

GEOG6016 or SRES6507.

IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, eds Pachauri, RK and Reisinger, A., Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, 104 pp.
(see http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/contents.html)