Climate Change Law and Policy unit (LAW243)

Introduction

Climate change poses enormous challenges for Australia and the international community. The level of warming already in the climate system means that law and policymakers must deal with dual policy imperatives – to manage the now-unavoidable impacts of climate change, whilst also avoiding the unmanageable impacts of further warming. There is also increasing recognition that there will be impacts ‘beyond adaptation’, that must be compensated for. This unit examines responses to these imperatives of climate change mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and intervention at the international, national and local levels. It is designed to help students understand the fundamentals of international and domestic climate law and policy, in order to provide a platform for further engagement or research in the field. Its approach is cross-disciplinary, comparative, and analytical. The unit does not aspire to be comprehensive in its coverage of every issue, but aims to introduce students to key concepts and the range of issues presented by this dynamic policy field.

Summary

Unit name	Climate Change Law and Policy
Unit code	LAW243
Credit points	12.5
College/School	Arts and Society Faculty of Law
Discipline	Law
Coordinator	Professor Jan McDonald
Available as an elective?	Yes
Delivered By	University of Tasmania
Level	Intermediate

Availability

Specific information on 2027 unit availability will be available in August

Learning Outcomes

• Describe and explain the causes and likely impacts of climate change and the range of strategies available to mitigate, adapt to, compensate for, and postpone its effects.
• Describe and explain the key elements of the national and international climate law regime, including division of powers, legal and regulatory tools.
• Critically evaluate the social, political, ethical, economic and ecological factors that influence the development and implementation of climate law and policy nationally and internationally.
• Effectively communicate orally and in writing on issues relating to climate change law and policy.

Fee Information

2027 fee information will be available in August.

Requisites

Prerequisites

50 credit points of Introductory units - to do this unit it is recommended that you have completed LAW107

Mutual Exclusions

You cannot enrol in this unit as well as the following:

LAW656

Teaching

Teaching Pattern	Lectures: 1 x 2hr weekly interactive lecture, in-person and online. Tutorials: 1 x 1hr weekly interactive lecture, in-person and online. In addition to the three contact hours per week, there will be 3-5 assessment workshops of one hour duration (number of workshops depends on final enrolment numbers). These are currently scheduled for weeks 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10, but the workshops for weeks 4 and 5 are currently "reserve", as three workshops is most likely at this point. These workshops are where students will present their debates.
Assessment	Assessment Task 3: Class participation (10%)|Assessment Task 1: Test (20%)|Assessment Task 2: Leading class discussion (group work) (30%)|Assessment Task 4: Exam (40%)
Timetable	View the lecture timetable | View the full unit timetable

Textbooks

Required	There is no prescribed text for this unit. All prescribed readings will be made available via mylo weekly pages.

The University reserves the right to amend or remove courses and unit availabilities, as appropriate.