Global Inequality and Climate Change: Themes and Approaches

Climate change presents the world with multiple challenges at local, national and global levels. These challenges are not only technical, scientific or economic, but also moral, social, legal and political.

This course introduces students to foundational questions raised by climate change about inequalities and injustices that are embedded in the contemporary frameworks through which the global community responds to climate change, and the way climate change has the potential to exacerbate these inequalities and injustices. It has an interdisciplinary approach. Students will approach the topic of climate change-related inequalities from social, legal, political, environmental-psychological, ethical, and epistemological perspectives.

This course serves as the foundational module for the university minor Climate Change and Inequality, introducing key concepts and methodologies on issues of inequality and climate change. It sets the stage for the rest of the minor by providing essential knowledge and context.

Each week, one or two experts are invited to address the topics of inequality and climate change from their own background, combined with a foundation of the relevant disciplinary and methodological approaches to study it. Special focus will be given to two regions of climate-change related inequalities: The North Sea and Sub-Saharan Africa.