Environmental Studies

This course aims to explain the importance of various natural processes and human activities that shape the modern Earth and lead to global environmental change based on the interdisciplinary scientific principles of climate, ecosystems, and biogeochemistry. The course uses primary scientific literature, presentations, videos and the discussion on global change prediction, assessment and policy measures to provide a critical understanding of physical climate system and its variability, the carbon cycle and related biogeochemistry and ecosystem processes, land use issues, the interactions among climate, ecosystems and biogeochemistry, and the impact of global change on societally relevant parameters. You should be able to read and interpret a scientific paper and assess a global change-related topic or policy in the context of multiple disciplines.

Depletion of traditional fuel stores has been accompanied by increasing pollution levels. Consequently, motivations to lower carbon-emissions have elevated. To ensure change is achieved on a global scale a multinational agreement was confirmed in 2015 at the Paris climate conference whereby 195 countries agreed a legally binding global climate deal, the first of its kind. Advancements in the field of electrochemical engineering and the infrastructure that will subsequently facilitate such changes are essential in order to reduce dependencies upon traditional carbon-intensive technologies. For instance, battery technology for use in automotive applications will require a robust charging network in order to prevent energy shortages and power blackouts. This course provides insight into each stage of this process, from the chemistry and manufacture of new materials to the organization of the grid and the redesigning of our metropolitan infrastructure. 

This course examines the physical processes that influence the distribution of water across Aotearoa-New Zealand. Topics covered include synoptic meteorology; cloud and precipitation formation; processes that affect the availability of water resources across the diverse landscapes of Aotearoa; river flow regimes; and the potential effects of climate change this century.

This course provides an introduction to the fundamental aspects of modern-day climate change. It develops an understanding of how and why climate is changing; examines the role of humans in driving this change; and looks to future rates and impacts of global warming particularly in the field of atmospheric and oceanic science.

Why and how do resource use and other human footprints generate international governance challenges – and in what ways does the globalization of the world economy affect such challenges? How important are international institutions for the management of the world's petroleum resources? What is meant by ‘regime effectiveness’ – and what conditions can explain success or failure in efforts to establish or strengthen international cooperative arrangements on natural resources and the environment? This course offers an introduction to important characteristics of international environmental and resource politics and provides tools for explaining differences in international negotiation processes and their outputs, outcomes and impacts. The roles and significance of international institutions are central, with special attention to processes of formation, change and interplay as well as various conditions that can affect their operation and effectiveness. The course provides insight into the roles transnational companies and environmental organizations play in international environmental and resource negotiations and how the positions and influences of main actors such as the USA, the EU, and China are affected by domestic political and economic conditions. The course demonstrates how broader scholarly debates, like those between realists, liberalists, and constructivists, can illuminate processes and outcomes in international environmental and resource politics.