ENV 381 - Global Environmental Governance: Law, Policy, and Economics

Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Winter

This seminar examines challenges to the integrity and well-being of the global environment. Its approach is interdisciplinary, drawing from economics, law, political science, and ecology. Through a series of case studies, this seminar examines the tragedy of the commons, open-access resources, the place of markets, intergenerational equality, distributive ethics, environmental racism, and the role of “law” in promoting sustainable economic regimes. The case studies are introduced on a modular basis and include, but are not limited to, climate change; trade and globalization; biodiversity and intellectual property; deforestation and poverty; marine resources; and transboundary movement of hazardous substances. Throughout, an attempt is made to understand the economic and ecological effects of extant international legal regimes and to explore how these can be improved. Kahn, Drumbl.