Video/Microlecture: Introduction to Climate Change Economics

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: 

1. What is the ‘tragedy of commons’?
2. Discuss the economics of climate change.
3. 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
Type of tool	Video/Microlecture (9 min)
Grade Level	High School, Undergraduate
Location	Global
Language	English
Translation
Developed by	David Archer, University of Chicago
Hosted at	Coursera
Link	Link
Access	Online
Computer Skills	Basic