Prof Kai Spiekermann

This course is available on the MSc in Culture, Justice, and Environment, MSc in Environment and Development, MSc in Environmental Economics and Climate Change, MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation, MSc in Environmental Policy, Technology and Health (Environmental Policy and Regulation) (LSE and Peking University) and MSc in Political Theory. This course is freely available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. It does not require permission. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

How to apply: To apply for a place on this course, please submit a short statement of no more than 200 words via LfY. Your statement should outline your reasons for applying and explain how the course will support your academic and/or career goals. If applicable, you should also demonstrate how you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide. If the course is compulsory for your programme, no written statement is required.

Priority for places on Government (GV) courses will be given first to students for whom the course is compulsory. Where applicable, priority will then be given to students on the Department of Government programmes listed in the ‘Availability’ section of the course guide, followed by students on other programmes listed in that section. Students on all other programmes will be considered next, where a course is available as an outside option. You should ensure that you meet any pre-requisites listed in the course guide before applying. Places on capped courses cannot be guaranteed. Where a course is oversubscribed, places will be allocated based on programme priority and the written statement.

Deadline for applications: The deadline for applications is 12:00 noon on Friday 25 September 2026. You can expect to be informed of the outcome of your application by 12:00 noon on Monday 28 September 2026. Any places remaining after this date will be allocated based on priority and written statement - up until course selection closes.

For queries contact: gov.msc@lse.ac.uk.

This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access) and priority is given to students on the MSc Political Theory.

Some prior training in analytical political theory, ethics, or related fields is required.

This course considers the problem of climate change from a political-philosophical perspective, drawing primarily on contemporary analytical political philosophy, political theory, and environmental ethics, but with cross-disciplinary input from the natural and social sciences. Some key questions will be abstract and theoretical, including: What kind of problem is climate change? How do we value nature? How ought we to distribute the costs of climate? How are the injustices of climate change related to other historical injustice? What do we owe future generations? At the same time, the course also challenges us to think about the application of theories from philosophy and the social sciences, leading to questions like: How can we improve the knowledge about climate change? How do we motivate citizens and states to reduce emissions? How do we decide what to preserve for future generations? Is civil or uncivil disobedience a promising route to bring about social change? Which democratic institutions might support effective climate policies?

LSE is currently evaluating the use of edit tracking tools for AI-resilient assessment. This course might use edit tracking tools for assessments.

15 hours of lectures and 15 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

Essay (1500 words).

Students will submit a short formative essay (up to 1,500 words) and will be given feedback on this before submitting their assessed coursework.

John Broome (2012) Climate Matters: Ethics in a Warming World, New York (W.W. Norton);

Stephen Gardiner, Simon Caney, Dale Jamieson and Henry Shue, eds. (2010) Climate Ethics: Essential Readings, Oxford (Oxford University Press);

Denis G. Arnold, ed. (2011) The ethics of global climate change, Cambridge (Cambridge University Press);

Stephen M. Gardiner (2011) A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change, Oxford (OUP);

Jeremy Moss, ed. (2015). Climate Change and Justice, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press;

Simon Caney (2020). “Climate Justice”, in: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Ed. Edward N. Zalta. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justice-climate/;

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2021-2) Sixth Assessment Report, Available at www.ipcc.ch.

Essay (100%, 4000 words) in Spring Term Week 3.