ECON 235 - Climate Change: Science, Economics, and Policy

Cross-Listed as ENVI 235

Combustion of fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide, which traps energy near Earth’s surface and leads to warmer average global temperatures. Combustion of fossil fuels also forms the backbone of the modern economy. This team-taught course provides a framework in which to consider the costs and benefits of fossil fuel consumption in the present and over the coming decades and centuries. We use concepts from climate science and environmental economics to evaluate existing and proposed policy interventions designed to reduce fossil fuel consumption, and consider possible technological solutions to slow or reverse climate change. Among our main approaches are state-of-the-art Integrated Assessment Models; students will be exposed to several of the most commonly used models and to research from their critics. This course counts as a Group E elective. Students signing up for the course as Economics will get credit toward the social sciences general distribution requirement; those signing up for the course as Environmental Studies will get credit toward the natural sciences and mathematics general distribution requirement. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119 or ECON 129. C- or higher required for all prerequisites. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)