F1IP 4110 - Climate Change Economics

"Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time" – Thomas Stoker, (IPCC co-chair). It is thus the main issue that the field of environmental economics can contribute to address. The IPCC's Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (2018) was the latest in a long series of reports highlighting the urgency of decarbonizing both our modes of consumption and production if humankind is to avoid adverse, and potentially catastrophic consequences from rapid global warming in the 21st century.

This course seeks to provide a comprehensive guide to the issue of climate change, with a particular emphasis on the role economic policy can play in addressing it. It will provide an overview of the mechanisms linking economic activity and anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, how to model the cost of climate change to society, and how policymakers can use economic instruments to help decarbonize our economies and prepare for the adaptation to climate change impacts.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge of the main climate change mitigation policy tools and their tradeoffs
2. Understanding of the economic modeling of climate change mitigation and damages
3. Ability to produce policy briefs from the relevant academic literature
Professional Skills:

Redaction of policy brief and/or empirical work
Research & Analysis
Critical thinking

Aurélien SAUSSAY

Séminaire

English

- In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 5 hours a week / 60 hours a semester

Minimum background in micro and macroeconomics required

Spring 2020-2021

1. Estimation of the social cost of carbon in various scenarios using the RICE model (take-home paper, 30%)
2. Group presentation of a research article from the literature (oral presentation, group, 20%)
3. Policy brief (3-4 pages) on a course-related topic, backed by the relevant literature (take-home paper, 50%)

Online lecture on zoom and group presentation. Online office hours to help students with their group project