This course is a three-credit advanced seminar for students who are interested in the intersection of science and policy in the area of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is regarded as world's top scientific authority on climate change. Using the Synthesis Report of the IPCC's 6th Assessment Review as our guide, students will explore the unique role of the IPCC as an intergovernmental body. We will dig into what it means for the IPCC to be an intergovernmental body, the underlying reports that makeup the AR6 assessment cycle, and what the future holds for the IPCC. In doing so we will explore the current science and knowledge around land use, oceans and cryosphere, mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, vulnerability and how that is presented in a 'policy relevant but not policy prescriptive' format. Students will be able to evaluate key questions and concepts around climate change as they find and understand how they are included in the IPCC reports. They will then learn to assess and analyze the questions/concepts in the context of the IPCC findings and see how those findings are integrated in the international policy space. Prerequisites: junior level standing.
Course Attributes: EN S; AS SSC; FA SSC; AR SSC; BU Hum
