Course Syllabus 2012 - Climate change Mitigation Tools (MJ2470, 6 hp)

Background

The depletion of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases and other toxic gases and increasing amounts of waste from modern production systems are recognized as threats to the sustainability of global economic development and the quality of life of the world population as a whole. In this context, energy systems are a focal point of attention. Concerns about the impact of energy generation and utilization have led to the development of national and international agendas to promote a systems shift in the energy sector towards more renewable resources, increased efficiency and less environmental and health effects. Energy issues are also increasingly considered as part of other international concerns such as development, climate change and security. The Climate Convention has become an important platform for promoting global and regional sustainable energy solutions. Understanding how different measures can contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change is therefore of utmost importance for professionals in the energy sector. While policy makers need to know more about the impacts of different policies, also various stakeholders in the industry want to respond to the policies in a cost-effective way. This course aims at increasing the understanding about the climate change problem and policies in place, and most of all, the dynamics of climate change mitigation measures. To achieve, it is necessary to be familiar with the climate change agenda and mitigation tools for analysis of multiple choices.

Objective and scope of the course

The course will provide a full understanding of the climate change agenda from what motivates it to the processes that have defined it and are evolving. In addition, the students will have hands-on exercises to analyze and evaluate the effects of mitigation options. At the end of the course, the students should have a clear understanding of the complexity of the climate problem and of how different mitigation options may contribute to resolve it. This understanding should be demonstrated through the dynamics of lab exercises and use of diverse tools to help address the problem.

Target Group

This course is aimed at engineer and Master’s students in the last semester of their education. The course is useful to acquire deeper understanding about the climate change problem, policies and processes in place to address the problem. In addition, the students will become familiar with climate mitigation tools, which are important for planning and monitoring the impacts of mitigation measures. The course is of interest to students who aim at working with public organizations, municipalities, governmental agencies, and multilateral organizations as well as in managerial positions in the industry. The course is interdisciplinary and provides good starting point for students aiming at research on climate-related issues. Good English capability is required.

Prerequisite

The students should have good understanding of various energy technologies and interactions between the different parts of the energy system. The students should have basic knowledge about the global energy agenda. In particular, the course Energy and Environment (MJ2413) is a desirable preparation for this course. Although not a requirement, it is advisable that students take the course MJ2473 (Energy Policy Design) which runs parallel with this one. Together, these two courses provide an excellent preparation on energy and climate policy issues.

Course content

The course will cover the following areas.

• The climate change threat and the international agenda for addressing the problem

The theoretical part of the course gives you background information about climate change and milestones in the development of the international climate agenda. Key concepts such as mitigation, adaptation, flexible mechanisms etc are discussed to full understanding. Climate change is analyzed in the context of various infrastructure sectors. Different country perspectives are considered and various stakeholders’ perspectives reviewed (i.e.: private sector, government, institutions, users and international agencies).

• Climate change mitigation tools

In the practical part the students will use analytical tools to deepen their understanding about the complexity of the climate problems and the opportunities for climate change mitigation, as well to evaluate the effects of various mitigation measures.

Course activities

This section provides an overview of the course activities which serve as basis for the course grading. More detailed information on each activity will be provided during the course. All materials related to the lectures (i.e. ppt presentations) and literature will be available in BILDA. Further clarifications can be provided by the instructors.

• Seminars / Lectures

A series of lectures and seminars will provide guidance in the understanding of the course topic. The lectures are held by Professor Semida Silveira (course examiner) and invited lecturers (see separate lecture program)

• Climate interactive exercise

This exercise is based on an interactive tool developed at MIT and available at www.climateinteractive.org. Students will assume the role of a negotiating party in the UNFCCC process (e.g. country representatives) and will negotiate commitments with each other. After the exercise, the students should have understood the complexities of multilateral negotiations involving national agents attempting to cooperate for climate change mitigation, and should deliver a handout answering questions and reasoning about what was experienced in the interactive exercise.

• Lab exercises: BioGrace model and C-ROADS

The students will be introduced to a simple modeling tool (BioGrace) where they will be asked to input data and produce an analysis related to GHG emission reduction using information provided. Students will be requested to present their results to the class.

Climate-Rapid Overview and Decision Support (C-ROADS) is another hands-on exercise that will be introduced to the students. A theoretical background to this tool will be given and followed by a simulation exercise, in which the students will perform practical work. The results will be presented in groups.

• Group exam task with presentation

With the acquired understanding achieved through the course, the students will be ready for a group task exam. The objective of this group exam task is to verify the understanding of key mechanisms in the mitigation of climate change both in terms of policy as in terms of measures. More details will be given after the course start.

The students will also be asked to write critical summaries on the lectures content. For each topic module the students will submit an individual reflection paper of approximately 1000 words through the platform BILDA. More specifics will be given in the course introduction. 

Course grading

The full completion of this course entails to 6 hp distributed as follows

 

A minimum of 75% attendance to the classes and 100% on the lab exercises is compulsory.

Time schedule for the course

The attached dates and time should be reserved for planned activities in the course. A full schedule containing details on planned activities, and deadlines will be available in KTH Social.

Other information

The course has a BILDA site. Access to it is essential so that you can receive all information pertaining to the course. The web discussions will also be made through BILDA.

Course literature

• Stern, Nicholas: The Economics of Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. 2007.

            Also available in pre-publication format at

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review_report.cfm

• Reddy, B. S. And Assenza, G.B. : The great climate debate. In Energy Policy 37 (2009) 2997-3008. (available through Bilda)
• Bioenergy- Realizing the potential, edited by Semida Silveira, Swedish Energy Agency, chapter 12 (will be available through Bilda)

Optional literature:

• Bioenergy- Realizing the potential, edited by Semida Silveira, Swedish Energy Agency, chapter 13-16
• A new diplomacy for sustainable development, Bo Kjellen, 2008 Rautledge
• THE COST OF USING GLOBALWARMING POTENTIALS: ANALYSING THE TRADE OFF BETWEEN CO2, CH4 AND N2O. DANIEL J. A. JOHANSSON, U. MARTIN PERSSON and CHRISTIAN AZAR
• IPCC Assessments reports (I, II, II, IV), summery for policy makers, SPM

Available for download at: www.ipcc.ch

Optional Swedish literature:

• Makten över klimatet, Christian Azar
• Vårt Klimat- ekonomi, politik och energi, Klas Eklund

 

Important web addresses

www.unfccc.de

http://www.princeton.edu/~cmi/resources/stabwedge.htm

Syllabus updated: 2012-08-24