International Politics of Climate Change
UndergraduateLTU-POL3IPC2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 23 Feb 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 12 weeks
- Price from
- $1,164
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
International Politics of Climate Change
About this subject
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate critical understanding of key issues in international climate change politics.
- Demonstrate critical understanding of how climate change interacts dynamically with political, ecological, economic and social system at a global level.
- Articulate models of constructive social action in international climate change politics.
- Develop skills for research, argumentation, and analysis in order to effectively communicate, orally and in writing, students' own perspectives on global climate change politics, both to academic audiences and to decision-makers in the field, including government and non-government partners
- The Global Carbon Budget
- The UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement
- Climate Economics and the Post-Carbon Transition
- Climate Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Resilience
- Securitisation of Climate Change
- Population Displacement and State Sovereignty
- Global Climate Justice
- First Nations Peoples and Earth-based Governance
Climate change politics encompasses a web of complex and inter-related transnational processes that impact on all aspects of global affairs. POL3IPC is an asynchronous online subject (i.e. there are no scheduled classes) in which students are led through an iterative weekly journey examining international climate politics across numerous different International Relations issue domains.
A range of perspectives on climate governance and justice are represented in the POL3IPC material. The first half of the subject examines international governance of climate change mitigation and adaptation, focusing on international legal regimes, the global economy and post-carbon transitions, climate security, geoengineering governance, and sea level rise and state sovereignty. The second half of the subject examines the international justice dimensions of climate change, focusing on economic, gender and inter-generational justice, First Nations Peoples and climate governance, eco-centric governance models, and the global climate movement.
While POL3IPC focuses on the international level specifically, students are encouraged to see climate change as ultimately about them, their place in the world, and their capacity to exercise empowered agency in global climate politics.
- Online quiz (equivalent to 800 words) (20%)
- Midterm essay (1200 words) (30%)
- Policy brief (1200 words) with a one-page infographic (equivalent to 800 words) (50%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
The third university established in Victoria, La Trobe University has a diverse community of more than 38,000 students and staff. Its commitment to excellence in teaching and research prepares students to make a bold and positive impact in today's global community. La Trobe provides Open Universities Australia with its core tenets, entrepreneurship and sustainability.
Learn more about La Trobe University.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 17
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 18
Entry requirements
Others
Past La Trobe University students who have previously completed POL2IPC (International Politics of Climate Change: Triumph or Tragedy?) are ineligible to enrol in this subject.
Additional requirements
No additional requirements
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateLAT-BUS-DEG
UndergraduateLAT-CYS-DEG
UndergraduateLAT-ART-DEG
Bachelor of Psychological Science
UndergraduateLAT-PYS-DEG
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Health Sciences
UndergraduateLAT-AHS-DEG
UndergraduateLAT-HSC-DEG
Bachelor of Information Technology
UndergraduateLAT-TEC-DEG
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