Topics in Public Administration and Policy (3cr)
POL_S 543 (06901)(08280)
Challenges Facing Global Climate Change Policy
Spring 2015
Michael Goldsby
(michael.goldsby@wsu.edu)
Office: 824 Johnson Tower
Office Hours: 2-3 Tu-Th, or by appointment
Phone: (509) 335-0942
Lab Meeting Times:
5:45-8:30 pm Thursdays
Location:
807 Johnson Tower (Pullman)
AMS Room (Vancouver)
Course Description and Goals:
Global climate change is the big challenge of the 21st century. When this century draws to a
close, we will be judged by how we face that challenge. Despite initial enthusiasm for the
Kyoto Protocol in the 90s and the lofty goals of the Copenhagen Accord more recently,
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have risen by as much as 40% since 1990. Considering this
trend, some have suggested that such attempts at regulating greenhouse gas emissions are
worse than doing nothing at all, because the ineffective treaties give the illusion of doing
something without really doing anything at all.
This course will explore the theoretical, political, and practical challenges that face the
development and implementation of climate policy. The goal of this course is to familiarize
you with those challenges. What are the barriers to establishing an international policy for
GHG regulation? What sorts of problems does our limited political time horizon present for
climate policy? Should we focus on a global policy of GHG mitigation or should we eschew
such policies in favor local mitigation/adaptation plans? What role does scientific
uncertainty play in the policy debate? Ideally this course will provide you with the means to
navigate some of the more intricate issues in climate policy.
Readings:
This course has five required books, which may be purchased at the Bookie (or your
favorite online book agent):
(RA) Axelrod, Robert. 2006. The Evolution of Cooperation, Revised Edition. Cambridge, MA:
Basic Books.
(DNS) Dryzek, John S., Richard B Norgaard, and David Schlosberg. 2013. Climate Challenged
Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
(SG) Gardiner, Stephen M. 2011. A Perfect Moral Storm: the Ethical Tragedy of Climate
Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
(VSI) Okasha, Samir. 2002. Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
(S&L) Smith, Kevin B. and Christopher W. Larimer. 2013. The Public Policy Primer, second
edition. Boulder: Westview Press.
Our primary text will be the excellent collection edited by Curd, Cover, and Pincock.
Additionally, this semester we will be taking a look at Elliott Sober’s treatment of the
intelligent design movement. We will supplement the text books with the following
readings, which I will make available to you on Blackboard:
Baxter, William. 1974. The Case for Optimal Pollution. From People or Penguins: The Case for
Optimal Pollution. New York: Columbia University Press, 1-13.
Committee on the Fiscal Future of the United States (CFFUS). 2010. Choosing the Nation’s
Fiscal Future. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press.
Frigg, Roman, Seamus Bradley, Hailiang Du, and Leonard A. Smith. 2014. Laplace’s Demon
and the Adventures of His Apprentices. Philosophy of Science, 81: 31-59.
IPCC. 2013. Summary for Policymakers. In T. Stocker, D Qin, G. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K.
Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex, & B Midgley (Eds.), Climate Change 2013:
The Physiscal Science Basis – Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
IPCC. 2014. Summary for Policymakers. In O. Edenhoffer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, j.
Minx, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier,
B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schloemer, C. von Stechow, & T. Zwickel (Eds.), Climate
Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change – Working Group III Contribution to the
Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nordhaus, William. 2007. A Review of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.
Journal of Economic Literature, 45: 686-702.
Oreskes, Naomi, David Stainforth, and Leonard A. Smith. 2010. Adaptation to Global
Warming: Do Climate Models Tell Us What We Need to Know? Philosophy of Science,
77: 1012-1028.
Oreskes, Naomi and Erik Conway. 2010. The Denial of Global Warming. From Merchants of
Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco smoke
to Global Warming, 169-215.
Ostrom, Elinor. 2010. Polycentric Systems for Coping with Collective Action and Global
Environmental Change. Global Environmental Change, 20: 550-557.
Pindyck, Robert. 2011. Fat Tails, Thin Tails, and Climate Change Policy. Review of
Environmental Economics and Policy, 5(2): 258-274.
Sagoff, Mark. 2000. At the Monument to General Meade, or On the Difference Between
Beliefs and Benefits. Arizona Law Review, 42(2): 433-462.
Stern, Nicholas. 2006. Executive summary: The Economics of climate change: The Stern
Review. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sunstein, Cass. 2007. Of Montreal and Kyoto: A Tale of Two Protocols. Harvard
Environmental Law Review, 1:9.
Weitzman, Martin. 2009. On Modeling and Interpreting the Economics of Catastrophic
Climate Change. Review of Economics and Statistics, 91(1): 1-19.
Course Requirements:
Your grade in this class will be determined by two factors: (a) the merits of your work on
the writing assignments; and (b) your participation in the class. These factors are weighted
as indicated below:
Writing Assignment 1
Writing Assignment 2
Participation
30%
60%
10%
1. Writing Assignments – You will write two papers for this class. The first of which will
be a short essay (5 pages double spaced) on an issue related to climate change. For
the second longer essay (15 pages) you have two options: (i) you may expand upon
the analysis provided in your first essay first essay; or (ii) you may write a new
piece altogether. Whichever option you choose, however, you are required to
discuss your topic with me. The formatting of your papers should use 12 pt font
and have 1” margins, and should consist of your own work. Plagiarism is taking
someone else’s work and claiming that it is your own. When you submit a writing
assignment, it is assumed that you are claiming that the work is your own. Thus, if
you submit the work of another, you are plagiarizing. Plagiarism is a serious
academic offense, and it will not be tolerated. More details about the writing
assignments will be given when the papers are assigned. See the tentative
schedule for due dates.
2. Participation – All of you are junior professionals in your chosen fields. As such, it is
expected that you participate in all class discussions so that you get the most out of
it. Additionally, I will be running this class as a think tank. As such, your
participation will contribute to the success of our project. I will be keeping track of
how well you participate in class.
You will receive a numerical score (0-100) based on weighted average that corresponds to
the breakdown indicated above. I will use that score to assign you a letter grade according
to the following scale:
A
93-100
A90-92
B+
88-89
B
83-87
B80-82
C+
78-79
C
72-77
C70-72
D+
68-69
D
60-67
F
< 60
You will note that there are some swing grades (e.g. between A and A- (92-93)). If you
receive a final score that is such a swing grade, then your letter grade will be determined by
two factors: (1) how close you are to one score or the other (e.g. 92.75 is closer to 93 than
92.25); and (2) how well you’ve participated in class.
Guidelines and Policies:
Attendance – Attendance is mandatory. Failure to attend lecture will impact your grade
both directly and indirectly. First of all, it is very difficult to participate if you do not attend
lectures, and thus absences will have an effect on your participation grade. Additionally,
much of the material in this class might be new to you – not to mention difficult – meaning
that your likelihood of success will decrease with every absence.
Lecture – Our time together is very precious, and as such, I expect you to attend the lectures
having read the assigned readings and generally ready to learn. This also means that during
class time there should be nothing on your desk that is not required for class (e.g. no
newspapers, books from other classes, etc.). All cell phones should be silenced. Laptops
and tablets may be used for note-taking if you wish. Also you may use any compatible
device to access the Top Hat system, but you should not be checking email, tweeting, texting
to friends, facebooking or doing anything else distracting while in lecture. Transgressions
may result in a penalty to your participation grade.
Communications Policy – The best way to get in touch with me is via email. I have my phone
number listed above, and you are welcome to give me a call. However, you are much more
likely to get a response or acknowledgment via email. I check my email frequently, and I will
generally make every effort to respond to your emails in a timely manner (usually within a
couple of hours). However, there might be rare cases during the semester when it takes up
to 48 hours for me to do so. Thus, you should plan accordingly, if there is a time constraint
that you are worried about.
Respect in the Classroom – Over the course of the semester, we may discuss some very
sensitive issues – ones that may cause your blood to boil. I think J.S. Mill said it best when
he said, “there is nothing that offends no one, and no one who is offended by nothing.” It is
possible that you may leave lecture very upset about the day’s discussion – good! I hope
that I challenge you to think about issues of such import that they would make us angry, sad
and wanting to make a change in our lives or the world. However, I expect everyone to treat
every other member of this class with the highest degree of respect. Acting otherwise will
result in dire consequences for the transgressors.
Academic Integrity – I expect all of you to hold yourselves to the highest standards of
academic integrity in this class. The Standards of Student Conduct defines plagiarism as
“Presenting the information, ideas, or phrasing of another person as the student's own work
without proper acknowledgment of the source. This includes submitting a commercially
prepared paper or research project or submitting for academic credit any work done by
someone else. The term "plagiarism" includes, but is not limited to, the use, by paraphrase
or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full
and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared
by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic
materials” WAC 504-26-010 (3-i). Plagiarism or any other breach of academic integrity
will not be tolerated. Any such violation will result in a failing grade for the course.
Additionally, I will provide a written report of each instance of academic dishonesty
to the Office of Student Standards and Accountability.
Special Arrangements – Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a
documented disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully
participate in this class, please visit the Access Center. All accommodations MUST be
approved through the Access Center. Please stop by or call 509-335-3417 to make an
appointment with a disability specialist. Also if you do have approved accommodations
please let me know by the second week of class.
Safety Statement - “Washington State University is committed to enhancing the safety of the
students, faculty, staff, and visitors. It is highly recommended that you review the Campus
Safety Plan (http://safetyplan.wsu.edu/) and visit the Office of Emergency Management
web site (http://oem.wsu.edu/) for a comprehensive listing of university policies,
procedures, statistics, and information related to campus safety, emergency management,
and the health and welfare of the campus community” (Office of the Vice Provost for
Undergraduate Education 2013).
Problem Solving – I’m certain that during the course of this semester you will have questions
and problems– both ones that have to do with the class material and ones that have to do
with the everyday mechanics of the class. You should feel free to get a hold of me (or your
TA) to help you answer these questions, and if we put our heads together most problems
can be resolved. I am available for you during office hours, by appointment, and by email
(which I check often). Take advantage of this fact! You should treat your instructors
(including me) as a resource to aid you in your learning; this is, after all, your education.
Additionally, if you do need such help, the earlier you let me know the better. I have more
options available to help you earlier in the semester than later.
*I reserve the right to change the contents of this syllabus at any time during the
semester.
Learning Objectives
Learning Objective
Successful Graduate Student
Learning Outcomes
Progress will be assessed by:
To prepare students to
achieve their professional
goals and prepare them to
pursue professional careers by
familiarizing them with the
philosophical foundations of
their chosen disciplines.
The student will have a
familiarity with the
philosophical underpinnings of
the concepts, theories, and
emerging methodologies in
climate policy.
Performance on written
assignments.
To prepare students to be
effective researchers in their
respective disciplines.
The student can communicate
research effectively in both
written and oral forms.
Performance on the final
written assignment, and in class
discussion.
The student will be able to
justify and defend her or his
respective research methods.
To prepare students to be
effective communicators to the
general public regarding
scientific/policy issues related
to climate change.
Students can explain the value
Performance in in class
of their research to those outside discussion and the final writing
of their discipline.
assignment
Students can explicate and
defend the logic behind their
research methods to nonspecialists.
Tentative Schedule
The following schedule is subject to change.
Week
Topic
Text Book Readings
1
Introduction
S&L Chapter 1
DNS Chapter 1
SG Preface, Intro and
Chapter 1
S&L Chapters 2,3,4,7,8
and 10
VSI Entirety
15 Jan
2
Policy Basics
22 Jan
3
Philosophy of Science
Additional
Readings/
Assignments
29 Jan
4
Climate Science
IPCC (2013)
5 Feb
Mitigation
SG Chapter 11
SG Chapter 2
RA Entirety
DNS Chapters 5,6
SG Chapters 3,4
Sunstein (2007)
26 Feb
Modeling Challenges: A
Game Theoretic
Approach
International Policy
Challenges
8
Economic Challenges
DNS Chapter 3
Stern (2006)
Nordhaus (2007)
Weitzman (2009)
Pindyck (2011)
Failures of Cost-Benefit
Analysis
SG Chapter 8
S&L Chapter 5
Baxter (1974)
Sagoff (2000)
Spring Break
(Consider getting ahead
on the reading)
Written
Assignment 1
Due Thursday
12 Mar 2014!
Try to recharge,
and stay safe!
Challenges Facing
Adaptation
DNS Chapters 7,8
Challenges for Geoengineering
Intergenerational
SG Chapter 11
5
IPCC (2014)
12 Feb
6
19 Feb
7
5 Mar
9
12 Mar
10
16-20 Mar
11
26 Mar
12
2 Apr
13
SG Chapters 5,6
Oreskes,
Stainforth &
Smith (2010)
Frigg et al. (2014)
CFFUS (2010)
9 Apr
14
Challenges
Theoretical Challenges
SG Chapter 7
Ostrom (2010)
Denialism
SG Appendix 2
Oreskes &
Conway (2010)
TBD
16 Apr
15
23 Apr
16
30 Apr
Wrap up