| CODE | IES5025 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Sustainability Policy and Law | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Institute of Earth Systems | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit introduces students to the basic principles of international and national environmental law, policy, and regulation as it pertains to sustainability. Critical distinctions in environmental policy and sustainability policy are made, and the issues of governance for each are explored. The study-unit will be delivered in four parts. Part 1: Introduces students to relevant frameworks for understanding law and public policy for environmental protection, natural resource conservation and sustainability. Topics addressed will include public policy for sustainability, the role and limits of government, the history and scope of environmental policy, and the problem of externalities. Part 2: Then provides an overview of traditional approaches to environmental protection and natural resource conservation in both international law and in the national setting. Students will review policy and governance mechanisms for externalities and pollution prevention and control, for natural resource conservation and management, and for biodiversity and landscape. Part 3: Students will then evaluate policies in transition in relation to the pursuit of sustainability, with reference to global climate change, the challenges of geographic scale, and transboundary issues. Part 4: Students will work independently on a policy/governance topic of their choice. Study-unit Aims: - To explore the scope of national policymaking with respect to the environment, natural resources, and sustainability; - To explore the role of international law and systematically address the implications of the EU acquis related to natural resources, agriculture, energy, and the environment; - Through an emphasis on several themes, to integrate students' understanding of the contemporary policy environment and policy mechanisms regarding sustainability. These themes include: (1) the transitional nature of contemporary policymaking, (2) the difficulty in regulating complex socio-ecological systems; and (3) the inevitability of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify and characterize the common classes (or archetypes) of natural resource problems; - Explain the most common public policy tools used for sustainability and the environment, and give examples of how national political cultures shape the use and legitimacy of policy instruments; - Discuss how supranational treaties and other legal arrangements affect sustainability and the environment. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of different policy approaches to common classes of environmental problems; - Critically evaluate policy design with respect to a specific resource problem, and propose reasonable alternatives; - Develop an appropriate policy design (including associated policy tools) to address a specific environmental or sustainability problem. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Salzman, J., & Barton, T., (2014). Environmental Law and Policy. US: West Academic Publishers. - Goerner, S., Dyck, R.G., & Lagerroos, D. (2008). The New Science of Sustainability. US: Triangle Center for Complex Systems. - Dimitrov, R. (2005) Science and International Environmental Policy: Regimes and Nonregimes in Global Governance. US: Rowman and Littlefield. Additional reading material will comprise around 20 scholarly articles, to be provided by the lecturer. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | ** Resits will be held during the period indicated by the partner institution responsible for the study-unit in accordance with the regulations applicable at the respective institution. | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | David McGraw |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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