Dr Aurelien Saussay

This course is available on the Double Master of Public Administration (LSE-Columbia), Double Master of Public Administration (LSE-Sciences Po), Double Master of Public Administration (LSE-University of Toronto), MPA Dual Degree (LSE and Hertie), MPA Dual Degree (LSE and NUS), MPA Dual Degree (LSE and Tokyo), MPA in Data Science for Public Policy, Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Preference will be given to students in the School of Public Policy. Students from other LSE departments and schools can seek permission to be accepted on the course. Please note it is not possible to take both PP417A and PP417W.

This course will introduce students to the climate problem and the ways in which policy might be effectively used to address it, with a particular emphasis on the economics of climate change mitigation and adaptation. It will provide:

• the basic science of climate change
• an overview of the mechanisms linking economic activity and anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, how to assess the cost of climate change to society
• the political economy and governance of climate change mitigation
• how policymakers can use economic instruments to help decarbonize our economies and prepare for the adaptation to climate change impacts.

The course will be grounded in cutting-edge academic research and structured around topics which are relevant to current climate policy debates. The emphasis will be on giving students the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve a deep and broad understanding of climate policy and the ability to mobilize the most recent academic research to make a difference on the climate front – whether working in government, the private sector or advocacy. The course content will be complemented by up to three seminars dedicated to guest lectures by practitioners active in the climate policymaking space.

The assessments will build on the foundational information disseminated through the 10 lectures. Students will deliver a policy essay on a climate-related policy question of their choice, designed under the supervision of the course convener. This main summative will be completed by a quantitative exercise designed to familiarize students with the basics of quantitative climate policy design and analysis. Finally students will also deliver 10-min individual presentations during lectures and seminars on an article provided by the course convener.

20 hours of lectures and 10 hours of workshops in the WT.

• One page outline of the summative policy essay

• IPCC (2022) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Synthesis Report (SYR)
• Baede, A. P. M. (2001) "The climate system: an overview." Climate change 2001: the scientific basis: 38-47
• Nordhaus, W. D. (2017). Revisiting the social cost of carbon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(7), 1518-1523.
• Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes
• Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom

Presentation (20%), essay (60%, 3000 words) and exercise (20%) in the WT.

Presentation (20%) will consist of a 10-minute individual presentation.

The exercise (20%) will consist of a quantitative exercise.