SIPA: School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University

ENVP U4100y Political Economy of Energy and Climate Change Policies This course will present the challenges attached to the transition towards low carbon economies. Based on empirical data and experience, a discussion of the different policy instruments is proposed, along with an analysis of key stakeholder strategies. Specific attention will be given to the specificity of different contexts (developed, emerging and developing countries) and economic sectors in evaluating the efficiency and the effectiveness of alternative policy design in driving technological, economical and societal change. We will then explore the difficulty to build collective action at the global level, by revisiting the most significant moments in the history of negotiation, and discuss possible avenues forward. SIPA: PESP.

ENVP U6224y Environmental Data Analysis 3 pts. Environmental Data Analysis is focused on bringing to students a rigorous look at the statistical analysis of environmental data in different contexts through a combination of lectures and laboratory exercises. We will look at emerging tools and methods for environmental data analysis across four topic areas; climate change assessments, environmental justice, land use and land cover change and impacts of natural hazards on populations.

We will explore applications of multilevel modeling analysis, regression techniques, risk assessment, cost-benefit analysis, cluster analysis, and data visualization techniques within these topic areas. Underlying all our analysis will be the goal of learning how to apply statistical and data visualization techniques to affect policy and decision-making. All laboratory exercises will illustrate the research process from data collection to publication. SIPA: EPD. SIPA: E&E- Environment Policy. SIPA: PESP.

ENVP U6228y Corporate Sustainable Development and the Role of Government in Advancing Environmental and Social Performance 3 pts. Corporate sustainable development, as compared to traditional business approaches to environmental management, optimizes environmental and social performance to improve the long term competitiveness and asset value of the firm. For companies focusing on sustainability, regulatory compliance is not viewed as an endpoint but as one of the many measures of corporate performance. The prime drivers for such companies are brand value, product differentiation, cost and risk reduction and enhancement of environmental and social conditions through their operations and the goods and services that they provide. Governments at all levels are playing important roles in informing and engaging industry to advance sustainable development. Agencies are: implementing procurement requirements to incorporate sustainability into purchasing programs; providing technical support and incentives to advance sustainable practice; facilitating environmental markets; and engaging in public/private partnerships to advance research and facilitate demonstration projects. This course will focus on the underpinnings and elements of the evolving field of corporate sustainable development (corporate sustainability). It will commence with an historical perspective on its emergence and conclude by exploring the expanding role of governments in fostering its widespread application. The course also will address the challenges that our society faces in moving toward an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible economy, focusing on the need to refine and scale-up the role of government as an instrument in facilitating this transition. SIPA: EPD. SIPA: E&E- IEMP. SIPA: E&E- Environment Policy. SIPA: PESP.

ENVP U6230y Economics of Sustainable Development 3 pts.Not offered in 2012-2013. The objective of this course is to equip students with the skills necessary to critically analyze policy alternatives which further Sustainable Development. Throughout the course, students will compare competing objectives and policies through the prism of economic reasoning. Although some mathematical economic models will be discussed, the emphasis of the course will be on using economic intuition rather than mathematics. By the end of the course, students should have a firm understanding of competing views regarding what constitutes sustainability and development, and appropriate policies to get us there. In addition, they should be able to express their own views in a manner that demonstrates an understanding of general economic theory. SIPA: E&E- IEMP. SIPA: E&E- Environment Policy. SIPA: USP- Social Policy Track. SIPA: PESP.

ENVP U6232y Sustainable Economic Development 3 pts.Not offered in 2012-2013. This course is designed to answer two questions related to the management of ecological resources and the valuing of environmental protection: (1) What is the desired level of environmental protection?; and, (2) What policy instruments should be used to achieve this level of protection? Apart from introducing the main theories and concepts in the discourse, the course will examine the economic perspective of sustainability, the overarching costs of environmental protection, and address policy questions dedicated to investigations of economic dimensions of such issues as climate change, toxic dumping and transboundary pollution. First, we will distinguish between sustainability and the wide array of definitions of "development," and examine the economic approaches that promise the reconciliation of these divergent views. Second, we will explore in depth, the complex relationship between environmental governance and economic policy. Third, we will examine the policy instruments and mechanisms - civil society and transnational actors - that can be employed to achieve environmental targets or goals. The final section is dedicated to the environmental security dimension of environmental degradation and the consequential effects of ecological justice on the international system - both in terms of the potential damage that has arisen and in terms of the costs of addressing them. SIPA: EPD. SIPA: PESP.

ENVP U8201y Coll on Financial Management in Government 3 pts.

This course introduces the field of budgeting and fiscal management in the public and nonprofit sectors. It looks at specific financial techniques such as the development and execution of budgets and allocating costs. It also explores how the contemporary manager uses fiscal information to make strategic decisions about the direction of an agency. The key objective of the course is to make the student who is not interested in a finance career comfortable and confident with the finance issues she or he is likely to encounter. The course also includes a lab component that will provide the student will the ability to use essential tools in the practice of financial mangement. SIPA: PESP.

ENVP U8216y Microeconomics and Policy Analysis II 3 pts. This two-semester course shows students that it is both possible and useful to think about public policy rigorously to see what assumptions work; to understand how formal models operate; to question vagueness and cliches; and to make sophisticated ethical arguments. An important goal of the class is to have students work in groups to apply microeconomic concepts to current public policy issues having to do with urban environmental and earth systems. The course includes problem sets designed to teach core concepts and their application. In the spring semester, the emphasis is on the application of concepts to analyze contemporary policy problems. Some time is also devoted to international trade and regulation, and industrial organization issues. Students not only learn microeconomic concepts, but also how to explain them to decision-makers. Student groups take on specific earth system policy issues, analyze options through the use of microeconomic concepts, and then make oral presentations to the class. SIPA: PESP.