Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of 21st century diplomacy and international governance. Given the many different stakeholders and communities who have roles to play, it is a contemporary challenge with regard to its demand on interdisciplinary knowledge, skills and languages, and the personal capacities needed to combine these so as to make diplomatic sense and success. Competing interests, political tensions, and challenges of the world today, such as the economic recession and competing development priorities, mean that negotiation deadlocks are rife and ways to overcome them are becoming more and more challenging to find.
COURSE CONTENT
This online course will develop participants’ understanding of the climate change policy framework, by building an appreciation of the science, causes and impacts of climate change, the history of the policy making process and the UNFCCC framework, and will also consider the pertinent challenges currently facing diplomats and international decision makers in making progress with what is currently on the negotiating table. The course will take a close look at the negotiations to-date. The course will take a close look at gender in the negotiations and also the specific interests of parties who are most vulnerable to impacts of climate change.
The course content will include the following one-week modules:
- Understanding Climate Change and Global Vulnerabilities
- Introduction to Climate Change Diplomacy
- Implementation, Compliance and Enforcement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto its Protocol
- Mitigating Climate Change
- Adapting to Climate Change
- International Considerations for Climate Change Decision Making- International Climate Financing and Technology Transfer
- Capacity Building, Education, Research
- Progressing Towards Future Climate Agreements
ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATIONS
The course targets mid to senior-level government officers in ministries preparing for and/or taking part in conferences in relation to climate change as well as staff of intergovernmental / nongovernmental organizations. It also targets entry-level and mid-career diplomats working in a multilateral setting. Private sector specialists and students whose work or studies are related to this subject are also encouraged to apply.
COURSE FEE AND FELLOWSHIPS
The course fee is 800 USD.