Social Studies
The Politics of Climate Change
In this one-day course we will examine the politics of climate change.
50 minutes
per class
Meets once
12-16
year olds
3-18
learners per class
per learner
How does a "One-Time" class work?
Meets once at a scheduled time
Live video chat, recorded and monitored for safety and quality
Great for exploring new interests and different styles of teachers

How Outschool Works
Available Times
Pacific
Available Times
Pacific
Description
Class Experience
Students will learn the basics of the different types of political-economic systems common today and compare them in terms of how each of them tend to view and respond to climate change. Students will learn about the Paris Accords, as well as examples of political approaches being utilized by different governments. Students will learn the difference between climate change adaptation and mitigation. Students will learn the difference between actions taken at the individual, national, and international levels.
I have taught political science courses at the university level for years. As a result, I have experience navigating these subjects in a sensitive way that minimizes bias. I have taught an undergraduate course on environmental politics. I have additionally used climate change as a case study in many of my other political science courses. I am a comparativist and have taught comparative politics extensively; this is the approach I will be utilizing in this course.
50 minutes per week in class, and maybe some time outside of class.
This one-day class accepts the broad scientific consensus that human-caused climate change is real. We will be discussing the politics of addressing the crisis. In terms of the different political-economic systems introduced and compared, I will not be taking sides.
Our source material consists of: A) The April International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Mitigation of Climate Change Summary for Policy Makers, available at https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg3/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf B) Yale Climate Connections "Key Takeaways from the New IPCC Report", available at https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2021/08/key-takeaways-from-the-new-ipcc-report/ C) Columbia University SIPA Center "The Role of Natural Gas in the Energy Transition", available at https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/research/commentary/role-natural-gas-energy-transition