Course description
Starting with the economic aspects of global decarbonization, this course examines emerging issues raised by the transition to a low carbon economy—its impact on jobs, inequality, finance, trade, mobility, and infrastructure—for citizens, societies, and nations. Choices about global decarbonization are highly contested in terms of material interests and ideologies, and they raise a set of new questions at the intersection of climate change, geo-economics, national policies, and global politics. These questions include: how does the energy transition affect the global economic order? Will a greener future lead to fewer resource conflicts around carbon resources? Is green the new gold? How does the low carbon transition affect the value of carbon assets? Is the US equipped to sustain its role as global leader in finance? How does the sustainable transition affect international trade flows? Is a carbon adjustment tax a stepping stone towards decarbonized trade? What is the prospect of green trade wars erupting?
