Syllabus

ENVS 36B, Climate Change Economics and Policy, Spring 2021
Lecture: M/W 10:00-11:30 am, Eastern Standard Time (GMT-4)
Location: https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95750433566 (password: ENVS36)

Instructor: Prof. Xinde “James” Ji
Email:
Virtual Office Hours: Tuesday 10:00-11:30 am, Eastern Standard Time(GMT-4)
Location: https://brandeis.zoom.us/j/95750433566
Wechat:             Whatsapp:

Disclaimer: Email is the preferred communication mechanism, and I promise to respond to your email within 24 hours (48 hours on weekends). Using alternative communication media (instant messaging) does not guarantee a faster response.

Teaching Modes

In light of public health concerns, this class is taught online only. Synchronous class sessions will run on (Time TBD), US Eastern Time. Video recordings of lectures will be posted shortly after each class session. You are FREE to choose between attending synchronous sessions or watch video recordings asynchronously. Whichever your choice, I will ensure that your learning outcomes are equally and fairly evaluated.

That said, you are encouraged to attend synchronous sessions if you are able to do so. There are at least several reasons:

  1. The learning process of this class will be based on a series of discussions and conversations between us, and between you and your peers. Attending synchronous sessions is the easiest way to have such discussions.
  2. The same amount of time, effort, and critical thinking are expected for synchronous and asynchronous learning. You still need to invest heavily in this class in order to earn a successful grade with asynchronous learning.

Overview

How does climate change connect to food security1, COVID-192, and your SAT scores3? Is zero carbon emission an achievable goal, and is it worthwhile to do so? How does climate change contribute to existing and emerging economic and social inequality? How do we balance the trade-off between our own well-being, our children’s, and grand children’s?

Climate change is one of the most challenging crises facing our lifetime. At the same time, the challenge facing our society is extremely complex and contains roots deeply intertwined with other natural/human systems. This course aims to provide a policy and economics perspective on climate change. We will look at essential concepts that economists/social scientists look at the issue of climate, and dive into specific topics on the impact, mitigation, and adaption to climate change.

This course does not offer a bang-bang solution to solve the climate challenge once and for all (and if you see anyone claiming they have a magic wand to solve the climate challenge - they are either ignorant or outright lying). Instead, this course aims to let you embark on a journey that leads you towards a lifelong pursuit, intellectually and practically. Climate change is going to accompany us for the foreseeable future, and it is never too late to start thinking about it.

Learning goals

  1. Know the facts (not the alternative facts or the rhetorics)
    • How damaging will climate change be to our society?
    • How many jobs will be lost by phasing out fossil fuel in the next 10 years?
  2. Know the concepts through which policy-makers think about climate change
    • What is the discount rate? Why is it important?
    • What is the social cost of carbon?
  3. Develop an analytical mindset that can be applied to real-world climate problems
    • What are the trade-offs associated with the gasoline tax?
    • What are some of the ways to address climate justice?

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this class. We will be developing the necessary tools together in the semester.

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks for this class. Additional readings will be posted on LATTE.

Readings
Readings will be posted on LATTE as the class goes along.

Grading

  1. Assignments (30%)
    Throughout the course, you will write a series of assignments aiming at strengthening your understanding of climate change policy. Most assignments will appear as policy memos (2-4 pages) on a range of topics related to climate change. In each memo, you will examine a specific aspect of climate change and explain your findings to an educated readership who is uninformed on this particular issue. You will be graded on the following rubric:
    • Explain the context of the issue at hand (why is it important?)
    • Relate the story to an analytical framework in economics or public policy
    • Reasonable recommendations (what can we learn?)
    • Clear, concise writing
  2. Classroom Debate (25%)
    • See instructions below
  3. Final Group Project (45%)
    • See instructions below

Instructions on Classroom Debate

You are expected to form a debate team of 4 students, presumably identical to the team working on the group project. There will be four debates throughout the semester, and you will be asked to choose one of the debate topics. Your stance on the question will be randomly drawn, one week before the debate. Extra reading materials will be given to the two teams.

I will be moderating the debate, and the rest of the class will serve as the judge. The team that convince more people to change their stance wins the debate. The winning team will be rewarded by two extra points. In addition, the best debater (who may not necessarily come from the winning team) will get two extra points.

Here is a list of debate topics:

  1. Tragedy of the Commons
  2. Mitigation vs. Adaptation
  3. The Green New Deal
  4. Climate Change in a Developing Country

Students who participate asynchronously will have the option to earn full credits by writing a policy memo (approx. 1 page) after each debate, arguing for or against a particular stance.

Instructions on the Group Project

You are expected to work on the project in a group of 4 students. I will provide a list of problems/issues you can work on, but feel free to propose your own topic as long as it is related to the social/policy/economic aspects of climate change. The final products will be a ~15 minutes class presentation and a paper around 12 pages, not including references but everything else.

Think of your paper as an attempt to address an aspect of the climate problem as a policy analyst: describe the issue; analyze the issue using an analytical or quantitative framework; and offer your conclusion or suggestion. It is not expected that your paper be the last word on the topic or be entirely comprehensive. The point of the paper is for you to learn in greater detail about a particular aspect of climate change, to think through the trade-offs associated with the problem, to make an argument, and to defend that argument using economic logic.

The paper is expected to be academic, i.e., not a collection of opinions from blogs and websites. You are expected to use information from credible sources, for example, refereed journal articles, research reports, and governmental agencies such as the EPA, DOE, and CBO, etc. Make sure you include those references at the end of your paper.

The grade for the group project will be based on both the presentation and the paper itself, applying to all group members. Detailed grading rubrics will be posted later in the semester.

Class Policies

Attendance

While participation is strongly encouraged, there are no attendance requirement for this class.

Equipments

We will be using interactive Zoom for lectures and office hours. All other class-related materials will be posted on LATTE. You will need the following equipment to succeed in this course:

  • A personal computer (necessary)
  • Access to LATTE, Zoom, and Brandeis Email (necessary)
  • Reliable internet service (recommended)
    • Alternatively, reliable access to cellular data
  • Virtual Private Network (VPN, recommended if you join us from China)

If you encounter any difficulties with equipments that hinder your learning, please reach out to me immediately, and I will do my best to help. Additionally, Brandeis offers student emergency funds to students in need. Email for more information.

Privacy

This class requires the use of tools that may disclose your coursework and identity to parties outside the class. To protect your privacy, you may choose to use a pseudonym/alias rather than your name in submitting such work. You must share the pseudonym/alias with me and any teaching assistants as needed. Alternatively, with prior consultation, you may submit such work directly to me.

Credit Hours

Success in this four-credit course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of nine hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.

Academic Honesty

Every member of the University community is expected to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. A student shall not submit work that is falsified or is not the result of the student’s own effort. Infringement of academic honesty by a student subjects that student to serious penalties, which may include failure on the assignment, failure in the course, suspension from the University or other sanctions (see section 20 of Brandeis University Rights and Responsibilities). Please consult Brandeis University Rights and Responsibilities (see https://www.brandeis.edu/studentlife/srcs/rightsresponsibilities/index.html) for all policies and procedures related to academic integrity. Students may be required to submit work to TurnItIn.com software to verify originality. A student who is in course or assignment should consult the faculty member responsible for that course or assignment before submitting the work. Allegations of alleged academic dishonestry will be forwarded to the Department of Student Rights and Community Standards. Citation and research assistance can be found at Brandeis Library Guides - Citing Sources (https://guides.library.brandeis.edu/c.php?g=301723).

Accommodations

Brandeis seeks to welcome and include all students. If you are a student who needs accommodations as outlined in an accommodations letter, please reach out me and present your letter of accommodation as soon as you can. I want to support you.

In order to provide test accommodations, I need the letter more than 48 hours in advance. I want to provide your accommodations, but cannot do so retroactively. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting accommodations, please contact Student Accessibility Support (SAS) at 781.736.3470 or .

Course Outline

Note: the course outline is alive and breathing, so it may evolve spontaneously as the course goes along.

  1. Introduction
    • Where are we on climate science?
    • How can we help?
    • The current state of business
      Readings: Hsiang 2018; McCarthy 2018
  2. What does climate change really do to us?
    • Climate impact and mitigation
    • Valuation methods
    • The social cost of carbon
      Readings: Trump Put a Low Cost on Carbon Emissions (NYT)
  3. Climate change as an economic problem
    • Supply, demand, and equilibrium
    • Market failures
    • Externality and public good
      Readings: Keohane and Olmstead Chapter 2
  4. Climate as the commons
    • Tragedy of the commons
    • Scarcity
    • Population and growth
      Readings: Scientists Call for Population Control in Mass Climate Alarm (Bloomberg); Betting on the Planet (NYTimes)
  5. What about our future?
    • Discounting
    • Uncertainty
      Readings: Goodstein and Polasky pp 146-150; Cunningham (2009)
  6. Climate justice
    • Distributional impact of climate change
    • Climate refugees
    • Intergenerational justice
      Readings: Why racial justice is climate justice (grist); Climate Change Isn't the First Existential Threat (Medium)
  7. Evaluating climate policy
    • Policy analysis criteria
    • Benefit-cost Analysis
    • Policy-making under uncertainty
      Readings: Bardach 2000
  8. Policy making in the United States
    • The three branches of government
    • Polarization and gridlocks
    • The legislative process
    • Executive actions
    • Courts and environmental policy
      Readings: Environmental Law Institute 2018; Klyza and Sousa 2013
  9. Climate change in the developing world
    • Development vs. the environment?
    • The global energy challenge
      Readings: Greenstone 2019
  10. International climate policy

  1. There has been extensive research that documents 1) relationship between agricultural productivity and climate 2) potential adaptation to extreme weathers. In fact, agriculture is amongst one of the most studied climate problems.↩

  2. The economy-wide shutdown significantly decreases carbon emissions in 2020, on par with the trajectory of RCP1.5. But is it worth it?↩

  3. See Goodman et al. (2019) Heat and Learning.↩