Climate Change MOOC
For the last three years, Professor Tim Lenton, Dr Damien Mansell, and Exeter Geography alumnus Liam Taylor have pulled together a team of leading academics from different fields, ranging from mathematicians to marine biologists from the University of Exeter and the Met Office, to produce a series of free online climate change courses.
The aims are to explain the science of climate change, the risks it poses, and the solutions available to reduce those risks. It sets contemporary human-caused climate change within the context of past nature climate variability, balancing the 'bad news' about climate change impacts on natural and human systems with the 'good news' about potential solutions. These solutions can help avoid the most dangerous climate changes and increase the resilience of societies and ecosystems to those climate changes that cannot be avoided.
The courses are open to absolutely everybody – whether you are a student considering coming to university or are simply interested in learning more about climate change. Delivered entirely online and covering a different topic each week, they have attacted learners from across the world. Find out about their stories here. It has inspired one learner, Louise Graham, to produce a series of paintings.
Courses are supported by the lead educators and current students acting as facilitators to promote engagement and respond to your questions.
The courses:
Climate Change: The Science (four weeks)
You will explore this science, looking back across four billion years of Earth’s history to help you learn the difference between “natural” and human-induced change; looking to the present to see how the impacts of climate change are already being felt; and finally looking to the future to see what it might hold for our planet.
Climate Change: Solutions (four weeks)
On this course you will explore solutions to this global challenge, including mitigation, adaptation and geo-engineering, which can help avoid the most dangerous climate changes and increase the resilience of societies and ecosystems to climate changes that cannot be avoided.
Valuing Nature: Should We Put a Price on Ecosystems? (two weeks)
You will look at what ecosystems services are and who benefits from them, how much the Earth is worth, and the debates, dilemmas and politics of putting a monetary value on nature. You will also learn about ecosystems services in action on a local, regional, national and international scale.
Tipping Points: Climate Change and Society (two weeks)
Looking at abrupt change in the natural and human world, this course will consider what “tipping points” are, early warning signals, tipping points in the climate system, policy, links with social systems and influencing behavioural change and collective action.
To watch the trailer, find out more, click here. Follow us on Twitter @ClimateExeter and facebook.