Climate Change, Natural Resources & Conflicts

This course explores how climate change and international and national climate policies impact conflicts. The course introduces the key economic, political, and social concepts that have served to hypothesize and investigate the causal linkages between natural resources and conflicts. It looks at the technological and policy drivers of Greenhouse Gas Emissions since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and explores the foundations of global and climate policies, with a focus on the most recent developments. Bringing these two discussions together, students explore, reflect upon, and discuss which regions and countries are affected, and how different stakeholders can contribute to mitigating climate-induced conflicts.

Course objectives include:

- Gain an overview of key social science concepts developed to understand natural resource conflicts;

- Reflect on the technological and policy drivers behind rising Greenhouse Gas Emissions since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution;

- Learn how global climate policy has evolved and its current status;

- Look at examples of conflicts linked to natural resources and potential and actual policy dilemmas underpinning these;

- Reflect on the impacts of climate change on different regions, the responses and coping mechanisms people pursue, and the climate policies that governments develop;

- Reflect on the role of international development banks and the private sector in financing the energy transition and nature-based solutions;

- Exchange experiences and become part of a community of practice.

This course is designed for practitioners and academics interested in complementing their own experiences with current conceptual insights and practical knowledge on the nexus of climate change, natural resources, and conflict. The course fee is 1'700 CHF, which excludes accommodation, visa costs, and transportation.