Climate change has widely be deemed ‘the greatest challenge of our generation’. With recent worldwide climate strikes, COP 26, climate change being front and center in the 2021 federal election and with increasingly alarming UN reports being issued, the time to act is now. Luckily it seems there is a new generation of young Canadians that are ready to tackle this challenge head on. This series will provide an interactive and engaging overview of the challenges facing both Canadians, and the rest of the world with these issues. It will also present learners with an overview of the ways in which climate change can and has been successfully countered while allowing them the opportunity to spend the week building toward what they see as a comprehensive, realistic and sound Canadian climate strategy.

Dates: Thursdays, May 9 – June 13, 2024.

Time: 1:30pm-3:30pm

Location: Online, via zoom

Prior to the first day of the series, registered participants will receive a Welcome Email. That email will include the Zoom link and instructions on accessing the series material (slides and if applicable, lecture recordings).

Topics:

  • Week 1: Primer on climate change. What is going on with our climate? How much has changed already? How bad can things get? How much have our currents efforts accomplished? How much more is needed?
  • Week 2: The bad news. What has gone wrong with fighting climate change? This will include analyzing domestic policies and global agreements and largely address the question of why fighting climate change is so difficult.
  • Week 3: Climate change and food sustainability. The food system contributes approximately 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year. With growing human populations and growing levels of wealth worldwide, the demand for food, and specifically protein-rich foods will only continue to increase. This week we will discuss these demands and how we can go about treating such complex issues.
  • Week 4: Climate change poses asymmetric impacts that result in worse impacts on the Global South which is also the region that has contributed the least to the issue, and which is least well equipped to deal with these challenges. This week we will discuss ways in which the Global South is being impacted by global climate change, as well as how it is integral to include Global South countries in a more sustainable future for all.
  • Week 5: Climate change in the Canadian context. While climate change is a global issue, Canada faces a particular set of challenges in dealing with these issues. We continue to be one of the highest polluting nations per capita worldwide, and our current policies continue to be less and less popular. This week will discuss the current climate policy landscape in Canada, and what the political outlook for these issues might be going forward
  • Week 6: The global outlook on climate change. The challenges are well covered in this course, and there are no lack of reasons to be pessimistic, but what reasons for optimism? This week will discuss the successes that we have enjoyed and explore how we can continue to build on these as we continue to work toward a sustainable future through the goals of the Paris Agreement.

About the Lecturer: Andrew Heffernan holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Ottawa where he is a part-time professor specializing in International Relations and comparative politics. He is also a postdoctoral fellow with the Digital Policy Hub at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. His major research interests include African politics, global environmental governance, climate change misinformation and disinformation, community-based conservation, and the politics of food. Andrew is also active in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning which he is continuously publishing on, presenting on at academic conferences, as well as implementing in his teaching in university classes. He has published with Palgrave MacMillan Environmental Management, Development Review, the Journal of Southern African Studies, Sport in Society, Canadian Journal of Political Science, and International Studies among others. Andrew is President of ISA-Canada and Vice-Chair of the African Studies Association’s Emerging Scholar Network.

Policies: Please review the Lifelong Learning Policies

 

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