Postgraduate Course: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation (PGGE11126)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The climate crisis is one of the world's greatest global challenges; it impacts the whole global population, every ecosystem, economy, and business. The effects of climate change are increasingly clear, and increasingly felt, and to a certain degree are now baked into how our Earth system will operate. That means we can no longer solely focus on mitigating climate change; we also need to adapt to its impacts. In 'Foundations of Climate Change' (on campus), you learnt about the different drivers of climate change and the political framework in which we work. In this course we build on this knowledge and introduce the foundations of climate change impacts and adaptation. We will explore these impacts across scales, geographies, sectors, and ecosystems. We will discuss the inequalities and injustices which exists, the connections between climate change relates and sustainable development, and how we can make the right choices to build resilient development pathways and effectively manage risk. |
| Course description |
This is a 10-week course delivered over 11 calendar weeks (1 week reading week in week 6). Each teaching week will consist of one overarching topic covered in a flipped classroom style, consisting of:
- 1 hr of asynchronous teaching, and
- 3 hrs of synchronous teaching.
Each week's synchronous tutorial will be delivered on-campus. The tutorials will involve activities, guided discussions, guest lectures, or additional lecture material that is related to the week's asynchronous material. The asynchronous material will be pre-recorded and delivered in advance of the class via Blackboard Learn Ultra for students to work through at their own pace.
The precise topics selected will vary according to the interests of the CO, the state of climate change adaptation knowledge, and of the class itself. Representative thematic areas are:
Introduction to Impacts, (Mal)Adaptation and Vulnerability (key concepts, history, challenges, and definition).
For each of the following themes, utilising a case-study based approach, we will cover impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation:
Coastal, freshwater and marine systems
Forests, grasslands and mountain systems
land-use, agriculture and food systems
Human settlements and cities (rural and urban geographies)
Human health, well-being and conflict
Communities, livelihoods and Sustainable Development
Infrastructure, trade and the economy
Disaster Risk Reduction,
Risk Assessment,
Adaptation Financing and Climate Resilient Development Pathways.
These thematic areas will be discussed in the context of cross-cutting themes, such as climate justice, socio-economic inequalities, migration and geopolitical realities.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is only available to students on Taught MSc programmes within the School of Geosciences.
Students are not permitted to audit this course. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 40 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 40,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
156 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework 100% -
Component A: Climate Change Impact Infographic (40%)
Students will be asked to demonstrate a critical understanding of climate change impact assessment. They will need to demonstrate this through a visual medium by preparing a digital image that is equivalent to a one-sided A3 (29.7cm x42cm / 11.7 x 16.5in)¿infographic. The text and imagery of the infographic must be readable on a computer screen at 100% resolution. They may choose a business sector, local region, population, or ecosystem of their choice and assess their exposure and vulnerability to climate change hazards. This infographic should be supported with full referencing from peer-reviewed and grey literature and demonstrate the student¿s ability to communicate complex knowledge in visual form. The student must be clear who the audience of their piece is (e.g., general public, policy makers, children, farmers, scientists, etc.). On a separate document¿(Word document), students will be asked to write a brief description as who their chosen audience is, and why they were selected. This should be maximum 150 words.
Component B: Climate Change Risk Management and Adaptation Plan (60%)
This 2000-word academic essay will build on the information they researched when building their impact assessment infographic. Students will be asked to explain projected climate change impacts and to design an appropriate risk management plan for their chosen business sector, local region, population, or ecosystem. The audience for the report is local policy makers. This essay will test the student¿s critical understanding of climate change impact, adaptation and risk assessments and their academic writing ability. |
| Feedback |
- Written feedback on both assessments will be provided within 2-3
weeks of submission (not including public holidays).
- Assessment 1 will also include peer marking, which all students are
expected to deliver.
- The academic team also rely on feedback from you to help them
continually improve the course. This feedback can be given either
direct to the course director, or via the class representative.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Interpret, analyse, and evaluate, to an advanced level, projected climate change impacts and forms of adaptation at global, national, and local scales.
- Creatively consider complex issues and make informed judgements regarding situations in which there is an absence of complete or consistent data/information.
- Critically assess complex policy, ethical and professional issues and formulate informed judgements on climate change adaptation pathways.
- Summarize and critically evaluate the principal governance, finance, and justice challenges associated with climate change adaptation responses.
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Reading List
Required reading- all available via the Library or online:
IPCC Climate Change 2022 Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability - Summary for Policy Makers https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg2/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf
IPCC (2018) Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5oC. Chapter 1
https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
Maslin, M., (2021) Climate change : a very short introduction (4th edition), Oxford University Press, Available via the Library Online or In Print
In addition to these preparatory readings, a week-by-week reading list is provided via course Learn page.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course will develop attributes and skills expected from a University of Edinburgh graduate including: creative problem solvers and researchers, critical and reflective thinkers, effective and influential contributors, and skilled communicators. Students will be able to demonstrate skills in interdisciplinary analysis, drawing upon different empirical sources, analytical perspectives, and sub-disciplines within carbon management studies. Students will also be able to demonstrate an ability to acquire and apply specialist knowledge. Finally, students will be able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
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| Keywords | feedbacks,climate science,climate proxies,modelling,projection,comm |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Katherine Crowley
Tel: (0131 6)50 2519
Email: kate.crowley@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Dr Beata Kohlbek
Tel:
Email: Beata.Kohlbek@ed.ac.uk |
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