POL300H1S L0101

Topics in Comparative Politics

Climate Change Policy and Politics

Themes

Climate change is one of the central policy challenges of the 21st century. Since the United Nations Framework Convention of 1992, countries have attempted to formulate and develop innovative policies to address this complex issue. This course examines the decision-making process and policy instrument choice made by jurisdictions in Canada in the context of ongoing political debates surrounding the issue of climate change. The principal objective is to familiarize students with the relevant literature on Canadian climate change policy and with the different options (regulation, voluntarism, and market-based approaches) available to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHG), or adapt to the likely consequences of climate change. Finally, the course will address the evaluation of climate change policy instruments, and propose a theoretical framework for analyzing and explaining the political economy of instrument choice.

Texts

See course outline (recent literature related to climate change policy).

Format and Requirements

Two lectures per week. Requirements: research paper, short assignments (2), participation, and oral presentation (depending on the number of students enrolled).

Prerequisites

1.0 POL credit