Comparative International Environmental Policy: Theory and Practice

This course focuses on comparative studies of environmental policies from an international perspective. It is designed for current and future political, NGO and business leaders, community activists, government regulators and professionals who seek to improve designing and implementing process of environmental policies in their organizations, or at different levels of government. The main goal is to expose the students to the international cases of environmental policy in two different group of countries – European Union (EU), which is leading most of the global environmental actions and emerging economies, which are shaping the global dynamics of economic growth and present either a potential or real threat to the global environment, particularly for the global climate (for instance BRIC countries). Course Objectives: At the end of the course, students will: 1- understand the fundamentals of environmental policy; 2- become familiar with different types of environmental policies implemented in advanced and emerging economies, in different economic and social systems, and the national and sub-national level (“alternative policies”); 3- acknowledge the importance of learning from other nations’ experiences and achievements; 4- be able to propose policy innovation including use of new policy instruments that could promote sustainable development. The 2011 Course Challenge: Identify, analyze, evaluate sustainability and recommend “alternative climate change (CC) policies” implemented at subnational level (cities, regions, macro-regions) how to supplement the problematic Copenhagen Accord to avoid exceeding the threshold of dangerous concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, reduce negative impacts of CC and promote sustainable energy and environmental policies to create jobs and promote business sector contributions to “green economy” and building effective partnership of three sectors.