WENV 623 Global Climate Change: Impacts and Adaptation
This graduate course provides students with an overview on global environmental, social and economic impacts of climate change, with a particular focus on the arid and semi-arid regions of the world and their criticalities. The first part of the course addresses the scientific basis of global climate change, the different sources of uncertainty in predicted climate scenarios, and the interpretation of results from the recently issued (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Special emphasis is given to the effects of climate variability on water resources, food security and human health, and to the role of renewable energy sources in mitigating climate change and supporting sustainable development. Students are also guided through the understanding and assessment of adaptation strategies that human communities already adopted and those they will most likely have to implement under future climate change scenarios. The final part of the course is devoted to measures / technologies / policies for climate change mitigation, again with a regional prospective and main emphasis on water-limited climates.
Offered
Fall