A short video titled ‘Marxist theory: Relevant to climate change today?’ by Graham Murdock, Loughborough University, that discusses the impact of capitalism on climate change. Murdock discusses Marx’s commentary on the breakdown of the relationship of humans with nature due the industrialization of agricultural practices.
Students will learn the foundations of Marx’s theory of Capitalism and its historical development and capitalism’s influence on climate change. They will also learn about how rapid industrialization and capitalism have contributed to global warming. They will further learn how Marx’s analysis on ecology could also provide the solutions to problems in the context of climate change
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What are Marx’s main tenets about Capitalism?
What are Marx’s fundamental problems with Capitalism?
Discuss how industrialization and capitalism have contributed to global warming.
About the tool
Tool Name
Marxist theory: Relevant to climate change today?
Discipline
Economics, Social Sciences
Topic(s) in Discipline
Marxism, Marxist Theory of Capitalism, Marx, Capitalism, Political Science
Climate Topic
Energy, Economics and Climate Change, Policies, Politics and Environmental Governance
Two E-learning courses (MOOCs) developed by Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune on Climate Change: Science, Impacts, and Policy and Teaching Climate Change. These courses were developed through the National Resource Centre (NRC) on Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune as part of the Annual Refresher Programme in Teaching (ARPIT), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India.
The courses include lectures on the current understanding of climate science and climate change, societal impacts of climate change, climate change policies and governance, and impacts of climate change. Additionally, the course includes lectures on how teachers of all disciplines can incorporate climate change in their everyday teaching.
The online course video playlist includes:
Introduction to Climate Science (Raghu Murtugudde, University of Maryland)
Climate Archives, Climate Data, and Climate Models (Raghu Murtugudde, University of Maryland)
Climate Change: Past Records: Climate Change on Tectonic Timescales, Orbital Timescales, Glacial/Deglacial Timescales, Millennial Timescales, Historical Timescales (Raghu Murtugudde, University of Maryland)
Modern Climate Change: Global Warming since the Industrial Revolution (Raghu Murtugudde)
Future Projections of Climate Change (Raghu Murtugudde, University of Maryland)
Mitigation and Adaptation (Raghu Murtugudde, University of Maryland and Malti Goel, Climate Change Research Institute)
Climate Change and Society: Culture, Politics, Social Dynamics (D. Parthasarathy, IIT Bombay)
Climate Change Policy and Governance: Global Negotiations and Domestic Policy Making (Navroz Dubash, Centre for Policy Research)
Climate Change: Impacts in India (Raghu Murtugudde, University of Maryland)
Climate Change and Impacts on
The Indian Monsoon (Raghu Murtugudde, University of Maryland)
Water Resources (Pradeep Mujumdar, IISc Bengaluru)
Biodiversity and Ecology (Deepak Barua, IISER Pune)
The Himalayan Glaciers (Argha Banerjee, IISER Pune)
Teaching Resources and Pedagogical Tools (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Chemistry Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Biology Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Physics Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Math and Statistics Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Economics Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Environmental Sciences Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Geography Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Social Sciences Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
Teaching Climate Change in the Humanities Classroom (Rahul Chopra, TROP ICSU and IISER Pune)
About the Tool
Tool Name
Climate Change: A Guide For Teachers Of All Disciplines
Discipline
Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Physics, Mathematics and Statistics, Economics, Social Sciences, Humanities
Topic(s) in Discipline
Climate Change Overview
Climate Topic
Introduction to Climate Change; Climate Literacy
Type of tool
E-learning Course
Grade Level
High School, Undergraduate
Location
Global
Language
English
Translation
Developed by
Rahul Chopra (TROP ICSU and IISER Pune) for the National Resource Centre (NRC) on Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune as part of the Annual Refresher Programme in Teaching (ARPIT), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India
Hosted at
IISER Pune Science Media Center YouTube Channel
Link
Course 1: Climate Change: Science, Impacts, and Policy:- Link Course 2: Climate Change: A Guide For Teachers Of All Disciplines:- Link
A teaching module of resources and activities that accompanies ‘The Teacher-Friendly Guide™ to Climate Change’
edited by Ingrid H. H. Zabel, Don Duggan-Haas, & Robert M. Ross,the Paleontological Research Institution. This teaching module includes videos and classroom/laboratory activities on the following topics
Climate Science
Energy and Atmosphere
Infrared energy
Infrared absorption by carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide and temperature
Box Model: steady state vs. non-steady state behavior
Heat capacity
Thermal expansion of water
Carbon Cycle
Diurnal variations in carbon dioxide
How many molecules make a trace gas?
NOAA Mauna Loa data and rate of CO2 increase
Respiration
Hydrologic Cycle
Rainfall and river response
Climate Change Mitigation
Renewable Energy
Solar energy
Near-surface geothermal energy
Wind energy
Carbon Sequestration
Afforestation and Reforestation: tree biomass & carbon dioxide storage
Communication and Advocacy
Citizen science
About the Tool
Tool Name
Teach Climate Science The Teacher Friendly Guide To Climate Change
Discipline
Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Physics, Mathematics and Statistics, Economics, Social Sciences, Humanities
Topic(s) in Discipline
Climate Change Overview
Climate Topic
Introduction to Climate Change; Climate Literacy
Type of tool
Teaching Module
Grade Level
High School, Undergraduate
Location
Global
Language
English
Translation
Developed by
Ingrid H. H. Zabel, Don Duggan-Haas, & Robert M. Ross
A reading titled ‘The Teacher Friendly Guide to Climate Change’ edited by Ingrid H. H. Zabel, Don Duggan-Haas, & Robert M. Ross,the Paleontological Research Institution. This book includes the following chapters
Why Teach About Climate Change? by Don Duggan-Haas
Why Teaching About Climate Change Matters
Science Learning, Its Application, and Politics
We All Have Biases
Systems and Scales
Love and Beauty Will Persist
Resources
What Should Everyone Understand About Climate Change and Energy? by Don Duggan-Haas
What Do You Think?
Collecting Expert Opinions
Consensus Documents
Striving for a Coherent Conceptual Framework
Resources
What is Climate? by Ingrid H. H. Zabel and Others
Climate is a System
Measuring Climate
Greenhouse Gases and Global Temperature
Natural Causes of Climate Change
Summary
Resources
Climate Change Through Earth History by Robert M. Ross and Others
Why Past Climate Change Matters
Observing Climate Through Time in the Rock Record
History of the Earth’s Climate
Climate Analogs and Models
Resources
Evidence For and Causes of Recent Climate Change by Ingrid H. H. Zabel and Others
Changing Temperatures and Carbon Dioxide
Shrinking Ice Sheets and Glaciers
Changing Sea Ice Extent
Thawing Permafrost
Rising Sea Level
Causes of Recent Climate Change
What are the Likely Effects of Climate Change Going to Be?
Resources
6. US Regional Climates, Current and Future by Ingrid H. H. Zabel and Benjamin Brown-Steiner
Describing Climates
Northeast
Southeast
Midwest
South Central
Northwest Central
Southwest
West
Hawaii
Alaska
Resources
Climate Change Mitigation by Ingrid H. H. Zabel
What is Mitigation?
Mitigation Strategies
Summary
Resources
Geoengineering by Ingrid H. H. Zabel
Counteracting Climate Change
Examples of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Techniques
Examples of Solar Radiation Management (SRM) Techniques
Geoengineering Choices
Resources
Climate Change Adaptation by Ingrid H. H. Zabel
How Much Does Adaptation Cost?
Types of Adaptation Strategies
Adatation to Different Climate Hazards
Equity and Social Justice Considerations
Resources
Obstacles to Addressing Climate Change by Don Duggan-Haas
Controversial Issues and Complex Systems
Creating Meaningful Dialog
Factors That Influence How We think
How Do People Change Their Minds?
How Can We Envision New Systems?
Resources
Perspective by Don Duggan-Haas
Apocalyptic Tales of Climate Change
Use of Language and Perspective in Teaching Climate Change
Hope and Optimism
Apocalyptic Prophesies Versus Predictions of Climate Change
Reality Check: A Personal Perspective
Science Teaching Toward a Sustainable World
Resources
About the Tool
Tool Name
The Teacher Friendly Guide To Climate Change
Discipline
Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geography, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Physics, Mathematics and Statistics, Economics, Social Sciences, Humanities
Topic(s) in Discipline
Climate Change Overview
Climate Topic
Introduction to Climate Change; Climate Literacy
Type of tool
Reading
Grade Level
High School, Undergraduate
Location
Global
Language
English
Translation
Developed by
Ingrid H. H. Zabel, Don Duggan-Haas, & Robert M. Ross
A video micro lecture by David Archer, The University of Chicago, titled ‘The Economics of Climate Change’ which is a part of an e-learning course on science and modelling of climate change. This video discusses the ‘tragedy of commons’ to understand how climate change impacts society. The lecture also introduces concepts like ‘external cost’, ‘internal cost’, ‘carbon tax’ and ‘cap and trade’ when discussing carbon emissions and pollution. Archer discusses the advantages of using economic mechanisms to ensure carbon emissions are controlled.
Students will be introduced to the basic economics of climate change. They will also learn about the advantages of various economic schemes that can help ensure reduced carbon emissions and control environmental damage. Students will further learn about the ethical concerns that arise in the debate between the cost of climate change and the cost of mitigating climate change.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What is the ‘tragedy of commons’?
Discuss the economics of climate change.
Discuss the ethical concerns that arise due to climate change mitigation policies.
About the tool
Tool Name
The Economics of Climate Change from ‘Week 12: Mitigations’ of ‘Global Warming I: The Science and Modeling of Climate Change’ Coursera Course
Discipline
Economics
Topic(s) in Discipline
Climate Change Economics, Tragedy of the Commons, External Cost, Carbon Tax, Cap and Trade, Carbon Emissions
Climate Topic
Energy, Economics and Climate Change; Climate Mitigation and Adaptation
This video lecture by William Nordhaus on the economics of climate change. This is a comprehensive video on the impacts of climate change and its effect on the economy, along with a focus on economic policy for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Students will be introduced to the economics of climate change. They will learn about carbon pricing and its alternatives, use of subsidies, cap & trade, and taxation as potential climate solutions. Students will also be able to establish a link between economics and public policies and learn to integrate human economy and climate change.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What is the economics of climate change?
What is carbon pricing?
How can economic policies help mitigate climate change?
What is the cost of policy uncertainty on climate change?
About the Tool
Tool Name
William Nordhaus: The Economics of Climate Change
Discipline
Economics
Topic(s) in Discipline
Economics of Climate Change, Climate Economics, Demand and Supply, Carbon Pricing, Carbon Tax, Cap and Trade, Cost Benefit Analysis
Climate Topic
Energy, Economics and Climate Change; Policies, Politics and Environmental Governance
A short audio and reading by MPR News on ‘Carbon Offset’ that gives an overview of what carbon offsets mean and how you can purchase them. It talks about the emission reduction that is linked to the travel industry through the principle of carbon credit.
Students will learn about carbon credit, emissions reduction, and carbon offset in the airline travel industry. They will also learn how consumers of air travel can buy carbon offsets to reduce individual carbon footprint and reduce deforestation.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What is carbon offsetting?
How can buying carbon credit reduce individual carbon emission?
About the Tool
Tool Name
Carbon offsets 101: How they work and how to get the biggest bang for your buck
A teaching module titled ‘Choices’ from a course on climate change by the Fraser Institute. This teaching module will help students understand the importance of trade-offs and evaluate the costs and benefits of climate change proposals.
Students will learn about carbon emissions, trade-offs, opportunity costs, and resource use. They will be exposed to two types of trade-offs: resource trade-offs and policy trade-offs. Through the ‘Birthday Money’ activity, students will learn how cost can be managed given a fixed income and how increase in costs can impact overall resource use and distribution.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
Given the annual income of your household, how will housing costs change with a 10% rise in costs due to climate change?
What are the trade-offs made by policy makers in order to meet the demands of stakeholders?
About the Tool
Tool Name
Chapter 6: Choices from Understanding Climate Change: Lesson Plans for the Classroom
A classroom/ laboratory activity by Alan Green, Stetson University, that uses a team debate approach for a two-step discussion on trade policies. The first step is a discussion on the long term trend of declining employment in manufacturing in the U.S. The second step is a discussion on the challenge of climate change and international trade agreements.
Students will learn to apply economic models and analysis to support their arguments on relevant policy issues. They will also learn about protectionist measures, demand-supply analysis, direct and indirect compensation, manufacturing trends, and international trade.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What are some protectionist policies to counter decline in manufacturing?
How is international trade impacted by climate change?
How can trade agreements be more inclusive of climate change threats?
About the Tool
Tool Name
Trade Applications: Addressing the Decline of Manufacturing and the Challenge of Climate Change Through Trade Policy
Discipline
Economics
Topic(s) in Discipline
Economic Trade, Trade Policy, Trade Agreements, Demand and Supply, International Trade
Climate Topic
Energy, Economics and Climate Change; Policies, Politics and Environmental Governance
An audio conversation between Jason Jay, director of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and Rajesh Kasturirangan and Curt Newton, from The Climate Conversations, to discuss the role of market forces and government regulation in climate action. They discuss the theoretical framework of capitalism – its heroic value as well as exploitative nature. They also analyse geopolitical interests in fossil fuels and alternative energies, and the challenges of transitioning to green energy.
Students will learn about climate action and climate justice at an individual level through parallels from geopolitical discussions. They will also learn about the limitations and challenges of capitalism in enabling ‘authentic’ conversations around climate action. Students will also learn how to create conversation around climate change by the use of shared values to understand and discover better solutions.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What is capitalism and how has it impacted climate action?
Why is it difficult to have open and authentic conversations about climate action?
About the Tool
Tool Name
Climate Conversations S2E12: Market Forces and Climate Action
A reading from the ‘Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change’ by economist Nicholas Stern for the Government of the United Kingdom which contains a compilation of the scientific evidence of human caused climate change, its analysis through economic theory, and possible climate policies. This comprehensive documents is divided into six main sections as mentioned below:
Part I: Climate change: our approach
The science of climate change
Economics, ethics and climate change
Technical annex: ethical frameworks and intertemporal equity
Part II: The Impacts of climate change on growth and development
How climate change will affect people around the world
Implications of climate change for development
Costs of climate change in developed countries
Economic modelling of climate change impacts
Part III: The economics of stabilisation
Projecting the growth of greenhouse gas emissions
Annex: Climate change and the environmental Kuznets curve
The challenge of stabilisation
Identifying the costs of mitigation
Macroeconomic models of costs
Structural change and competitiveness
Annex: Key statistics for 123 UK production sectors
Opportunities and wider benefits from climate policies
Towards a goal for climate change policy
Part IV: Policy responses for mitigation
Harnessing markets to reduce emissions
Carbon pricing and emission markets in practice
Accelerating technological innovation
Beyond carbon markets and technology
Part V: Policy responses for adaptation
Understanding the economics of adaptation
Adaptation in the developed world
The role of adaptation in sustainable development
Part VI: International collective action
Framework for understanding international collective action for climate change
Creating a global price for carbon
Supporting the transition to a low carbon global economy
Promoting effective international technology co-operation
Reversing emissions from land use change
International support for adaptation
Conclusions
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
State how the current rate of climate change is linked to anthropogenic activities.
How does climate change impact developed and developing countries differently?
What is carbon pricing? How effective is it in tackling the issue of climate change and economic development?
What are some effective policy frameworks for sustainable development?
About the Tool
Tool Name
Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change
Discipline
Economics
Topic(s) in Discipline
Climate Change Economics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, International Economics, Economic Policy, Competitive Market Policies, Economics of Energy, Carbon Pricing
Climate Topic
Energy, Economics and Climate Change
Type of tool
Reading
Grade Level
Highschool, Undergraduate
Location
Global
Language
English
Translation
Developed by
Nicholas Stern
Hosted at
Grupo de Pesquisa em Mudancas Climaticas (GPMC), Brazil
A reading by Carbon Brief explaining how countries around the world design economic policies for a ‘green recovery’ from the recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic, by reducing carbon emissionswhile boosting their economies.
Students will be introduced to terms such as green recovery, green stimulus, and quantitative easing, among others. Through use of the in-built interactive grid, they will also learn about the measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions – referred to as ‘green’ measures – for several major economies such as the United Kingdom, European Union, China, and India. Additionally, they will understand the application of monetary policy such as stimulus packages, unconditional bailouts, grants, loans, and tax reliefs for a post-pandemic green economic recovery.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What does ‘green recovery’ mean in the context of post-pandemic economic policies?
What are some of the economic stimulus packages designed by governments for a ‘green recovery’ from the COVID-19 pandemic?
What could be the impact of ‘green recovery’ economic policies for climate mitigation?
About the tool
Tool Name
Coronavirus: Tracking how the world’s ‘green recovery’ plans aim to cut emissions
Discipline
Economics
Topic(s) in Discipline
Environmental Economics, Green Recovery, Carbon Emissions, Stimulus Packages, Carbon Taxes, Quantitative Easing, COVID-19 Pandemic and the Economy, Economic Recovery, Economic Policy
Climate Topic
Policies, Politics and Environmental Governance; Energy, Economics and Climate Change; Climate Mitigation and Adaptation
Type of tool
Reading
Grade Level
Undergraduate
Location
Global, USA, Poland, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Chile, Colombia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, New Zealand, France, Nigeria, Finland, United Kingdom, China, India, Denmark, European Union, South Korea, Germany
This reading is a comprehensive overview of how capitalism has shaped our response and reaction to climate change. This book is divided into three parts – Bad Timing, Magical thinking and Starting Anyway. Bad timing deals with how Free Market Fundamentalism, Invisible Hand and similar economic ideologies are used to fuel and promote climate denial culture and ecological amnesia. Magical Thinking tackles the issues of the ‘carbon credit’ scam led by a merger between Big Business and Big Green and how it allows consumers to buy into the philosophy of pollution being the solution to pollution. Starting Anyway points to the achievements by climate warriors, incidents where democracy has won, and the power of Indigenous Rights movements. This book also includes how economies and policies can move away from ‘extractivism’ and towards renewals.
Each of these sections will introduce students to a school of thought within capitalism and how that is being used to manipulate the consumer perspective towards Climate Change. It will help them understand the psychological implications of Free Market, Invisible Hands, Green Billionaire, and Extractivist Policies. Students will also be introduced to Atmospheric Commons, Ecological Amnesia, and Climate Denial Science. It will provide them with a good balance of which economics practices have worked and which haven’t to help get a full picture of how capitalism affects climate change.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What is Capitalism? Name some Capitalist ideologies and Theories.
How has capitalism shaped our perception of and response to climate change?
What can we learn from success stories to help make economic practices and policies sustainable?
About the Tool
Tool Name
Naomi Klein: This Changes Everything – Capitalism vs. The Climate
Discipline
Economics, Social Sciences, Humanities
Topic(s) in Discipline
Capitalism, Free Market Economy, Invisible Hand, Green Economy, Atmospheric Commons, Social Theory, Culture and Cultural Studies
Climate Topic
Energy, Economics and Climate Change, Climate and Society, Climate and Food Security, Policies, Politics and Environmental Governance
An interactive visualization tool with map, data and downloadable graphs to understand the carbon pricing initiatives of various nations over a thirty-year period from 1991 to 2021. The tool ‘Carbon Pricing Dashboard- Map & Data’ of the World Bank includes greenhouse gas emissions, carbon prices implemented across different countries and the value of the carbon pricing initiatives (ETS or Carbon Tax).
Students will be able to explore data from different regions or countries, download the data/graphs on their carbon pricing data and draw comparisons to improve understanding of the real-world scenario of carbon pricing across various geographies. They will also be able to determine which carbon pricing initiative is most suitable for that region.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
Discuss the share of the global greenhouse gas emissions by regions from 1991 to 2021
Carbon pricing is used as an instrument for making climate change policies. Discuss.
About the tool
Tool Name
Carbon Pricing Dashboard
Discipline
Economics
Topic(s) in Discipline
Environmental Economics, Carbon Pricing, Emissions Trading Systems (ETS) Cost-Benefit Analysis, Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A classroom/laboratory activity or teaching module to perform cost-benefit analysis for carbon emissions abatement, considered to be an action that will mitigate climate change.
A feature story on a comprehensive report by the World Bank that describes the threat of climate change to poor people and the ways to offset it through adaptation and mitigation strategies.
A video by award-winning journalist, author and filmmaker, Naomi Klein, at the Cambridge Forum about her book titled, ‘This Changes Everything’. In this video, Naomi Klein summarizes her book and explains why she thinks that capitalism is the real cause for climate change.
Students will learn how capitalism, specifically the ‘free-market’ ideology, has ultimately led to the current climate crisis. They will further learn, through examples and case studies, about the benefactors of the market-economy, current power structures and how they impact the political economy. They will also learn about the challenges faced to restructure the global economy and current political systems.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What is capitalism?
How have capitalistic policies caused climate change?
What economic reforms can transform market practices?
About the Tool
Tool Name
Naomi Klein: This Changes Everything – Capitalism vs. The Climate
Discipline
Economics, Social Sciences
Topic(s) in Discipline
Capitalism, Free Market Economy, Invisible Hand Theory, Green Economy, Economic Policies, Economic Mergers, Atmospheric Commons
Climate Topic
Policy, Politics and Environmental Governance; Energy, Economics and Climate Change; Climate and Society
Type of tool
Video (73 mins)
Grade Level
High School, Undergraduate
Location
Global, USA
Language
English
Translation
Developed by
Naomi Klein at the Cambridge Forum, recorded by GBH Forum Network
As a teacher of Economics, this podcast can teach your students about Environmental Resources and Energy Economics, and use of carbon tax policy as a possible economic solution to climate change.
This audio will help students understand the relationship between economics and climate change. Additionally, they will learn about carbon pricing theory and its effectiveness. They will be exposed to initiatives such as the Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition and will learn about the dynamics between technology, economics and politics.
Use this tool to help your students find answers to:
What is Environmental Economics?
How has economics played a role in creating the current climate change crisis?
What is carbon pricing and how does it work?
What is ‘dirty’ infrastructure and how does it impact climate change?
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