BAEcon Economics and Philosophy

 The aims of this course are to:

• Introduce students to recent research developments in climate change economics & policy analysis by providing an overview of concepts, formal techniques and a range of practical applications.
• Develop students understanding and ability to critically reflect on the use of these
• formal methods and quantitative analytical techniques to support decision making in the climate change context.
• Equip students to participate in discussion of climate change policy through an economic lens.
• Provide students with the knowledge and skills required for writing a position paper on a topic covered in the course.

By the end of the course students will have a solid understanding of humans' role in global climate change, the inter-temporal efficiency of climate change mitigation measures, and the international distribution of responsibility for climate change policy. They should also be able to identify why market institutions fail in protecting the local and global environment, and describe and articulate effective ways to encourage more coordination and cooperation, design better incentive structures, and promote more protection. They will be familiar with the main recent statistics and policies with respect to climate change and its mitigation in the UK and internationally and they will be able to explain the economics methods used to analyse and support decisions on mitigation efforts. Based on the topics and examples covered students will develop a rigorous and critical understanding of mitigation approaches and climate policies from an economic perspective.

(ECON10232 OR ECON20232 OR ECON10172 OR ECON20172 ) AND (ECON10061 OR ECON10071A OR ECON10071B OR ECON20071)

(ECON10232/ECON20232 Microeconomics 2 or ECON10172/ECON20272 Microeconomic Analysis 2) and (ECON10061 Introductory Mathematics or ECON10071/ECON20071 Advanced Mathematics)

Or

(ECON10232/ECON20232 Microeconomics 2 or ECON10172/ECON20272 Microeconomic Analysis 2) and (ECON10071/ECON20071 Advanced Mathematics)

The aims of this course are to:

1.  Introduce students to recent research developments in climate change economics & policy analysis by providing an overview of concepts, formal techniques and a range of practical applications.
2. Develop students understanding and ability to critically reflect on the use of these formal methods and quantitative analytical techniques to support decision making in the climate change context.
3. Equip students to participate in discussion of climate change policy through an economic lens.
4. Provide students with the knowledge and skills required for writing a position paper on a topic covered in the course.

By the end of the course you will:

1. Have a solid understanding of humans' role in global climate change, the intertemporal efficiency of climate change mitigation measures, and the international distribution of responsibility for climate change policy.
2. Be able to identify why market institutions fail in protecting the local and global environment, and describe and articulate effective ways to encourage more coordination and cooperation, design better incentive structures, and promote more protection.
3. Be familiar with the main recent statistics and policies with respect to climate change and its mitigation in the UK and internationally and they will be able to explain the economics methods used to analyse and support decisions on mitigation efforts.
4. Have developed a rigorous and critical understanding of mitigation approaches and climate policies from an economic perspective.

Provisional

Topic 0: Introduction to the Course.
Topic 1: Measuring Climate Change, CO2 and the Link between them. 
Topic 2: Uncertainty and Climate Damages in Economic Terms.
Topic 3: Mitigation, Discounting or How to Compare Present and Future Consumption. 
Topic 4: Pulling it together: Economic Integrated Assessment Modelling. 
Topic 5: Policy Instruments and What is used in Practice. 
Topic 6: International Environmental Problems.

Synchronous activities (such as Lectures or Review and Q&A sessions, and tutorials), and guided self-study

 

• Final Exam - 70% 
• Assessed Coursework (Policy paper) 1500 words - 30%

• For the position paper you will receive detailed instructions. Feedback will be given twice (on your first idea for your position paper and outline, respectively).
• Mock exams.
• Series of quiz questions (Canvas) covering topics in each lecture.
• Class feedback.
• Office hours.
• Discussion boards.

The main textbooks are:
 

• Tol, R.S.J. (2023) Climate Economics: Economic Analysis of Climate, Climate change and Climate Policy, 3rd edition Edward Elgar.

 

• Some chapters from: Perman, Ma, Common, Maddison and McGilvray. Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, Fourth Edition. Addison Wesley. The relevant specific chapters will be indicated before each lecture.

 

• Assigned empirical/applied papers: The textbook material will be supplemented with a limited number of assigned empirical/applied papers for each lecture. This information will be on Canvas well in advance of each lecture.
   

For every 10 course unit credits we expect students to work for around 100 hours. This time generally includes any contact times (online or face to face, recorded and live), but also independent study, work for coursework, and group work. This amount is only a guidance and individual study time will vary.

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2027 will be £10,050 per annum. Tuition fees for international students will be £33,100 per annum.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We know that student finance can be complicated. The links below provide further information to help guide you.

Learn more about student finance options for UK students.

Learn more about fees and finance for international students.

As an international student you may be eligible for our Global Futures Scholarships . This is open to students starting their studies in September 2026