GY327 Half Unit
Global Environmental Governance
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Availability
This course is compulsory on the BSc in Environment and Sustainable Development with Economics. This course is available on the BA in Geography, BSc in Accounting and Finance, BSc in Economic History and Geography, BSc in Environment and Sustainable Development, BSc in Environmental Policy with Economics, BSc in Geography with Economics, Erasmus Reciprocal Programme of Study and Exchange Programme for Students from University of California, Berkeley. This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission. This course is freely available to General Course students. It does not require permission.
This course is available for students taking BSc in Environment and Sustainable Development with Economics, BSc Environment and Sustainable Development, BA in Geography and BSc in Geography with Economics. The course is also available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.
Course content
This course examines the issues, actors and processes that shape environmental governance at the transnational and global scales. Introductory lectures on the global environmental policy process introduce different scholarly perspectives informing recent and current research: these approaches are referred to as subsequent lectures address particular actor groups, processes and issues. Students are encouraged to think critically about the ways in which the regulation of global environmental risk is framed and politically negotiated.
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
In the Department of Geography and Environment, teaching will be delivered through a combination of classes/seminars, live recorded lectures and other supplementary interactive activities.
Formative assessment
Students will be expected to produce a formative essay (1500 words) in the Winter Term.
Indicative reading
- Betsill, M.M., Hochstetler, K. and Stevis, D. (eds.) (2014) Advances in International Environmental Politics, second edition, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Biermann, F. (2014) Earth System Governance: World Politics in the Anthropocene, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Daoudy, M. (2020) The Origins of the Syrian Conflict: Climate Change and Human Security, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Falkner, R. and Buzan, B. (eds.) (2022) Great Powers, Climate Change and Global Environmental Responsibilities, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Fuentes-George, K. (2016) Between Preservation and Exploitation: Transnational Advocacy Networks and Conservation in Developing Countries, Cambridge, MIT: MIT Press.
- Gupta, A. and Mason, M. (2014) Transparency in Global Environmental Governance: Critical Perspectives, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- O'Neill, K. (2017) The Environment and International Relations, second edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Park, S. and T. Kramarz (2019) Global Environmental Governance and the Accountability Trap, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Assessment
Exam (100%), duration: 120 Minutes in the Spring exam period
Key facts
Department: Geography and Environment
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 6
CEFR Level: Null
Keywords: environment, global governance,
Total students 2024/25: 86
Average class size 2024/25: 14
Capped 2024/25: Yes(95)Course selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication