Climate Change, Power, & Money
Brown University
Public Policy / Admin
2023
Daniel Driscoll
Undergraduate seminar
Documentary Video / Films,Readings from Underrepresented groups,Group projects
Fossil fuel energy allowed for development, but now we’re cooking the planet. Some want to keep burning carbon, some want to halt capitalism itself, and most are somewhere in between. This course is about the political economy of decarbonization. It begins by evaluating the state of affairs; how we became dependent on carbon, the current stakes, and the key actors and stakeholders. It then goes straight to the core problem of our future; what are the trade-offs that come with futures with carbon, green growth, and degrowth? The course then examines some of the most prominent solutions and challenges for considering rapid decarbonization. Throughout the course, we will pay particular attention to - you guessed it - power and money. At the end of the day, those two forces make the world go round and will make or break decarbonization.