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B0055 - POPULATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Academic Year 2022/2023

                
                        Docente:
                        Raya Muttarak
                    
                        Credits:
                        6
                    
                        SSD:
                        SECS-S/04
                    
                        Language:
                        English
                    
                        Teaching Mode:
                        Traditional lectures
                        
                            Campus:
                            Bologna
                        
                            Corso:
                            Second cycle degree programme (LM) in
                            Statistical Sciences (cod. 9222)

                            Teaching resources on Virtuale
                        
                                    Course Timetable
                                
from Feb 13, 2023 to Mar 22, 2023

Learning outcomes

Climate change is no longer an abstract future threat. Human population is at the central of the climate system. A demographic perspective is hence critical for understanding, on the one hand, the impact of human activities on the global climate, and, on the other hand, the impacts of climate change on human population. Upon successful completing of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to: 1) demonstrate an understanding of how human population contributes to anthropogenic climate change taking into account demographic heterogeneity; 2) demonstrate an understanding of how anthropogenic climate change differentially affects human health, wellbeing and livelihoods; 3) critically evaluate and explain different scientific and statistical evidence employed to study the links between population dynamics and climate change; 4) conduct research through the consultation of academic literature and/or through the collection and analysis of data; 5) work in groups and develop class discussions.

Course contents

Introduction to population and climate change interactions
Climate change and demographic heterogeneity (e.g. age, gender, education, income, locations)
Population and energy consumption/carbon emissions
Population, water and food
Climate change and health and mortality
Climate change and family and fertility
Climate change and migration
Climate change and future population dynamics

Readings/Bibliography

Hunter, L. M., Gray, C., & Véron, J. (Eds.). (2022). International Handbook of Population and Environment. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-76433-3_1

Lutz, W., & Muttarak, R. (2017). Forecasting societies’ adaptive capacities through a demographic metabolism model. Nature Climate Change, 7(3), 177–184. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3222

Muttarak, R. (2021). Demographic perspectives in research on global environmental change. Population Studies, 75(sup1), 77–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2021.1988684

Teaching methods

Lectures with slides, seminars, web resources, scientific articles, working groups

Assessment methods

Group or individual project/assignment. Instructions on the project will be distributed in class. (35% of the final grade)

One final research essay 4,000 words (65% of the final grade)

Teaching tools

Slides, videos

Links to further information

https://virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Raya Muttarak