The course of climate change can be altered, and science tells us the next decade will be crucial. Averting a climate catastrophe depends on rapid action to reduce greenhouse gases, as well as widespread adaptation to minimise the impact of the changes already being felt. This unit considers why we have not acted quickly as a society so far and what some of our options are going forward. We will explore policy responses and practical solutions that may help us reduce the most damaging changes to Earth’s climate and associated impacts on human and natural systems.

Building on the knowledge of climate science gained in Introduction to the Science of Climate Change, the unit explores pathways to reduce the most extreme effects of climate change, including international agreements on reduction of greenhouse gases and other mitigation measures such as carbon sequestration and drawdown and alternative energy sources. The unit additionally examines social movement demands and communication of climate change. In this unit you will also look at climate change through the lens of ethics, justice and injustice, and investigate how indigenous knowledges can instruct us in our responses to climate change. You will think about climate change and system change and ask whether current economic systems based on growth are compatible with averting catastrophic climate change.