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School of Regulation and Global Governance · ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy
Welcome to 2050. We live in a healthy, sustainable and equitable world – how did we get here? The focus of this course is on understanding how to save people and the planet by moving beyond the consumptogenic system. Consumptogenic systems are the webs of multisectoral public policies; commercial practices, modes of understanding, and social norms, which incentivize and reward unhealthy, unequal and environmentally destructive production and consumption. These are major regulatory, governance and policy challenges. This interdisciplinary course draws from systems science, public health, climate science, sociology, psychology, political science and international relations. It provides students with the methodological skills to ask questions of how to encourage, steer and evaluate transitions within public policy, business, and civil society so as to achieve positive environmental, social, health and economic outcomes. Case studies in energy and food provide students with the opportunity to study highly relevant and topical policy issues.
Active participation in class
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
Class presentation of a consumptogenic system, identifying its drivers and how it contributes to climate change, inequality, and poor health
Learning outcomes 1, 2
Research essay synthesising and analysing source material from multiple disciplines (max 3000 words)
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
Approximately 60 hours comprising seminars as well as associated preparation, independent study, and assessment time. Actual time required may vary with individual students.
None Preliminary Reading Ison R and Straw E. The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking: Governance in a Climate Emergency. 2020. Routledge Friel S. Climate Change and the People’s Health. Oxford University Press, 2019 Downie, C. (2015) 'Global energy governance: do the BRICs have the energy to drive reform?', International Affairs, 91(4), pp. 799-812 Polanyi, K. and MacIver, R. M. (1944) The great transformation. Beacon Press Boston. Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockstrom, J., Cornell, S. E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E. M., Biggs, R., Carpenter, S. R., de Vries, W., de Wit, C. A., Folke, C., Gerten, D., Heinke, J., Mace, G. M., Persson, L. M., Ramanathan, V., Reyers, B. and Sorlin, S. (2015) 'Sustainability. Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet', Science, 347(6223), pp. 1259855 Swinburn BA, Kraak VI, Allender S, Atkins VJ, Baker PI, Bogard JR, Brinsden H, Calvillo A, De Schutter O, Devarajan R, Ezzati M. Friel S, etal. The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report. The Lancet. 2019, 393(10173):791-846 Wiedmann T, Lenzen M, Keyßer LT and Steinberger JK. Scientists’ warning on af?uence Nature Communications 2020 11:3107 Raworth K. Doughnut Economics : Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist Cornerstone, 2018