The Environment (ENVR-UH)

(to be used for substitutions and transfer credit)

In this seminar students are introduced to the data and models that are the basis for our current understanding of Earth's climate, and how it is changing. Major topics will include the atmosphere, world ocean, ice sheets, carbon cycle, paleoclimate, global warming, sea-level change, global climate models, and future energy. Physical laboratory fluids demonstrations and introductory-level computer simulations will reinforce theoretical concepts covered in class. The course focuses on quantitative analysis and understanding but also weaves in elements relating to human impacts, economics, and policy-making.

The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its aim is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. Implementation of the Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformation. The decarbonization of the global economy is, thus, no longer in question. As of 2019, major economies (the EU, China, Japan, South Korea and the United States) have all announced their goals to reach climate neutrality mid-century. Political will combined with the rapidly declining production costs for clean technologies such as renewables and the electrification of transport are pushing the transition forward. Ironically, the transition to a low carbon economy has led to the creation of new global race over critical minerals, such as rare earths, lithium and cobalt and this competition has already given rise to a series of fresh global political and economic realities, tensions, and disputes. In this course, we will examine how major industrial powers are decarbonizing their economies and deploying their new green industrial strategies; the nature of contemporary resource competition.