LSE Executive Summer School | Climate change: economics and governance

This multi-disciplinary five-day course provides an in-depth overview of the economics and governance of climate change, and the risks and opportunities they present for a range of organisations.

The course begins with an intensive introduction to climate change as a scientific and particularly as a social scientific issue, intended to bring students up-to-speed with the key concepts. This outlines the scientific evidence on climate change, including well-known controversies. It also considers the key concepts of climate-change economics and governance, including decision-making in the face of risk and uncertainty, and the management of global public goods.

Major topics covered:

Climate-change mitigation: technologies to reduce carbon emissions and their costs; barriers to emissions reductions; policy instruments, including carbon markets and demand-management measures in key economic sectors.

Adaptation: what can climate models and science tell us about what we are adapting to, where and when? Decision-making under uncertainty; planned and autonomous adaptation; vulnerability and resilience; relationships between adaptation, economic growth and poverty reduction; financing adaptation.

Politics, governance and institutional development:  the international institutional architecture; international law; political bargaining at the international and national levels; policy-making and policy implementation by governments, non-governmental organisations, businesses and communities.

Risks and opportunities: the risks and opportunities created by climate change for different organisations.

This executive course is suitable for:

• Senior executives searching for insight into how climate change affects their business
• International governments and intergovernmental organisations working in the field of climate change and the environment
• Professionals within private sector companies dealing with climate change through corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• Individuals looking to understand the implications of climate change for finance and investment
• Companies and industry groups facing carbon regulation and seeking a greater understanding of the issues
• Global development professionals that deal with the impact of climate change and its related policies.