About this course: This course challenges you to consider how one might lift societies out of poverty while also mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. We explore the inherent complexity of developing country governments wanting to grow their economies in a climate friendly way. You will be introduced to an approach with which to address this challenge. The approach consists of a facilitated process whereby academic researchers and high-level influential actors within society co-produce knowledge. You will track this process in four Latin American countries - Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and South Africa. You will hear from various professionals about their contexts and the different challenges and opportunities the process includes. This course will cover topics such as facilitation process techniques, energy modeling, scenario building, innovation and policy making. You will have the opportunity to respond to these topics with ideas and reflection from your own context. Whether you are a climate change practitioner, work in development or are simply curious about how climate mitigation is understood, this course will give you insights into the complexity of how countries from the South pursue development goals while addressing climate mitigation. The course is free to enroll and take. You will be offered the option of purchasing a certificate of completion, which you become eligible for if you successfully complete the course requirements. This can be an excellent way of staying motivated! Financial Aid is also available.

Created by: University of Cape Town

Taught by: Professor Harald Winkler , Director
Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town

Level	Intermediate
Commitment	6 weeks of study, 1-3 hours/week
Language	English
How To Pass	Pass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings	4.6 stars Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said

Syllabus

WEEK 1

Complexity of climate change mitigation

Climate change and development both involve many complex problems. Each are 'wicked' problems, meaning they defy easy solutions. Tackling both development and climate change together is a 'super-wicked' problem. But we must start by taking a first step to re...

6 videos, 4 readings, 1 practice quiz

Graded: Week 1 writing task: Complex problems

WEEK 2

Mandating and co-production of knowledge

Our approach to mitigation and development is essentially a process that spurs change within a system. The premise is that change happens through co-production of knowledge, which in turn encourages action by actors in a system. We ask the question: what is th...

8 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz

Graded: Week 2 Graded Quiz

WEEK 3

Mitigation action research and modelling

Knowledge generated through research can effect change. We describe the models and tools that are available to support the generation of this knowledge. Apart from knowledge related to greenhouse gas mitigation and the costs thereof, we are interested in the p...

8 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz

Graded: Week 3 writing task: Models

WEEK 4

Minding the mitigation gap

What happens when your best efforts are not good enough? We will look at the ‘gaps’ between where we would like to be and where we are.The direction emission trends are headed is a function of everything put into the model (such as population, growth and GDP, ...

9 videos, 2 readings, 1 practice quiz

Graded: Week 4 Graded Quiz

WEEK 5

Responding to mitigation challenges

There are limitations within our existing toolsets and ways of thinking how we might address the mitigation gap. We need to look more closely at the interface of economic and development pathways and to question the way in which climate change mitigation profe...

8 videos, 3 readings, 1 practice quiz

Graded: Week 5 writing task: Innovations

WEEK 6

Bridges to domestic and international policy

This is the final module and it tells the story of how we have moved to the end of the scenario building process, and what the impacts of this approach are. This week we speak of two bridges: the bridge between knowledge and domestic policy, and domestic polic...

10 videos, 3 readings, 1 practice quiz

Graded: Final exam

Graded: Honors writing task: Policies

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Creators

University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town is the oldest university in South Africa and is one of the leading research universities on the African continent. UCT has over 25 000 students, of whom 30% are postgraduate students. We offer degrees in six faculties: Commerce, Engineering & the Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities, Law, and Science. We pride ourself on our diverse student body, which reflects the many cultures and backgrounds of the region. We welcome international students and are currently home to thousands of international students from over 100 countries. UCT has a tradition of academic excellence that is respected world-wide and is privileged to have more than 30 A-rated researchers on our staff, all of whom are recognised as world leaders in their field. Our aim is to ensure that our research contributes to the public good through sharing knowledge for the benefit of society. Past students include five Nobel Laureates – Max Theiler, Alan Cormack, Sir Aaron Klug, Ralph Bunche and, most recently, J M Coetzee.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.6 out of 5 of 108 ratings

great one , learning a lot about climate change .

It bridged the gap between conceptions about adverse effect of climate change and practical mitigation.

This course was a very enjoyable and informative experience. I learned more about climate mitigation in developing countries and particularly more about the M.A.P.S program. Courses like these provide valuable knowledge for our current and future efforts to combat our changing climate in a sustainable and economically profitable way.

Simply Awesome!

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Climate Change Mitigation in Developing Countries

Climate Change Mitigation in Developing Countries

Climate Change Mitigation in Developing Countries