Course No.: MPP 183

Course title:Climate Change and Development

Number of credits:2

Number of lectures-tutorial practical:20-8

Course coordinators:Dr Biswajit Dhar / Ms Kasturi Das

Course outline

Climate change and its impacts have become an urgent challenge for all especially the developing countries given their high level of vulnerabilities. Mitigation and adaptation strategies are being continuously recommended, developed, and refined, particularly in the context of broader developmental challenges of economic development and poverty reduction. Governments and development agencies have traditionally been charged with addressing these issues. However, increasing participation from the private sector/business sector has been observed lately that see climate change especially mitigation as an opportunity

It is therefore important that both government agencies and industry understand the issues in climate change policy and regulation, and participate in the development and implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies. The issues here would include the following:

  1. India’s development challenges- energy- environment linkages
  2. Understanding climate change and its implications, for India and global.
  3. Overview of the international politics and negotiations.
  4. Policy instruments and mechanisms for international cooperation, particularly technology transfer and financing.
  5. National policy framework in India.
  6. Local and civil society initiatives.

Evaluation procedure

  • Assignments50%
  • Minor tests25%
  • Final exam25%

Learning objective

Students at the end of the course would understand the trends in international and national policy developments, particularly in the context of business sustainability. In addition, they would be able to take more advanced courses in issues such a climate mitigation financing, international climate change negotiations, etc.

Details of course contents and allotted time

Sr. No / Topic / Time allotted (hours)
Lectures / Tutorials
Total / 20 / 8

Readings: [Will send in the next couple of weeks]

BRIEF OUTLINE OF VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THE COURSE

UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS, LOCAL (FOR INDIA) AND GLOBAL (SUGGESTED BY TERI)

  • Brief narration of the phenomena and issues underlying climate change.
  • Anticipated economic and socio-economic implications of climate change, with particular focus on India.
  • This section will discuss the role of energy in meeting India’s development challenges

CLIMATE CHANGE AS A GLOBAL PUBLIC BAD

  • Climate change and its manifestations as global “public bad”; externalities; market failure.
  • Need for international cooperation.

OVERVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND NEGOTIATIONS (SUGGESTED BY TERI)

  • Difficulties in arriving at international cooperation on joint emission reduction and the politico-economic perspectives underlying it.
  • Brief historical overview of evolution of international negotiations leading to the advent of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol.
  • Principles underlying the FCCC and Kyoto Protocol.
  • Key features of the Kyoto Protocol [including, categorizations of countries and their respective commitments; the first commitment period i.e. 2008-12].
  • Launch of negotiations on post-2012 climate regime; the Bali Action Plan (BAP) of December 2007; the Copenhagen deadline (December 2009).
  • Brief outline of the ongoing negotiations on the post-2012 climate regime post-BAP; its key components (mitigation; adaptation; technology; finance); state of play.

ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS FOR EMISSION REDUCTION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

  • Market-based instruments vs. regulation.
  • Brief outline of the Economics of Pigouvian tax and emission trading system (ETS).
  • Learning from EU ETS – the largest ETS for GHG till date and the resultant carbon market.-Potential of a voluntary trading scheme in India
  • Similar initiatives underway in other Annex I countries (US, Australia, etc.)
  • Other demand-side and supply-side national level policies and instruments for GHG emission reduction and energy saving (e.g. energy efficiency measures; renewables, etc.).

POLICY INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISMS FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, PARTICULARLY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND FINANCING (SUGGESTED BY TERI)

  • Kyoto Flexibility mechanisms [particularly CDM and the carbon trading opportunities in developing countries; potential sustainable development implications of CDM].
  • Technology and Technology Transfer [Importance of technology in GHG emission reduction; Different kinds of climate-related technologies; Concentration of technology development in a few countries of the world and the importance of climate-related technology transfer for developing countries; Explaining the concept of technology transfer; Barriers to technology transfer including intellectual property rights; Mechanisms for climate-related technology transfer (with particular focus on CDM); Need for national systems of innovation; Brief overview of UNFCCC work on technology transfer and progress achieved so far; key lacunae underlying the existing initiatives and mechanisms for technology transfer].
  • Finance [Importance of climate finance, particularly for developing countries; public and private sources of finance; existing and emerging funds for climate finance; Gross inadequacy of climate finance so far].
  • Brief outline of ongoing negotiations on technology and finance; state of play and way forward.

EMERGING ISSUES IN TRADE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

  • Liberalization of trade in environmental goods and services.
  • Carbon leakage and border tax adjustment.
  • Issues relating to embodied carbon and their trade implications.
  • Standards, labelling and certification.

NATIONAL POLICY FRAMEWORK IN INDIA (SUGGESTED BY TERI)

  • Co benefits approach: How development policies in India address the issue of both mitigation and adaptation
  • National Action Plan on Climate Change.
  • India’s current negotiating position at the global level.

LOCAL AND CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVES (SUGGESTED BY TERI)

  • Brief discussion on some of the business initiatives in India [Trends in CDM projects in India; self-generated initiatives for GHG emission control and reduction as revealed by business surveys undertaken recently];
  • Key initiatives of some of the major civil society organizations working in the areas of climate change and energy [e.g. TERI, Development Alternatives; Winrock International, etc.].

(Should try and bring the relationship b/w development and CC more clearly, suggest to have a session on role of energy in meeting India’s development challenges and how accelerated development is an excellent tool for adaptation.