300256 Development in Times of Climate Change (S) (SoSe 2012)

Development in Times of Climate Change

Many parts of the developing world are already struck by challenging problems such as high levels of poverty and population growth, high debt burdens, weak internal markets and manufacturing industries, export orientation, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources and related environmental degradation. On top of these comes climate change, which aggravates many of the existing problems and impairs, for example, food security and the provision of drinking water due to droughts, destructive flood, or other sudden natural disasters that destroy harvest and water resources. As climate change proceeds the international community has developed various instruments within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to mitigate climate change (to prevent the unmanageable) and to adapt to climate change (to manage the impacts of climate change where they cannot be prevented anymore). In three blocks the seminar will investigate into (1) the impact of climate change on the conditions in developing countries; (2) the impact of selected mitigation measures; and (3) the impact of selected adaptation measures.

Requirements for participation, required level

Prior knowledge in at least one of the following research areas is a precondition: development studies or environmental and climate change.

Bibliography

Stern, Nicholas H.: The economics of climate change; Cambridge Univ. Press 2007: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/stern_review_final_report.htm

Chapter 3: How climate change will affect people around the world
Chapter 4: Implications of climate change for development
Chapter 18: Understanding the economics of adaptation
Chapter 20: The role of adaptation in sustainable development
Chapter 26: International support for adaptation