Communicating for Environment and Climate Policy

This course is available for on-campus & remote (online) learning. All students participate in interactive, real-time classes. This course explores what constitutes effective communication for environment and climate policy. Taking the words people say as the tip of the communication iceberg, the course will look under the surface to see what lies beneath. By unpacking the complex (but fascinating) social and institutional dimensions of communication, the course will uncover what works - and what doesn't - for environment and climate policy. Across all topics, the course integrates the cross-cutting 4 P's: power, public opinion, the public sphere, and policy windows. Weekly lectures explore each of the topics through a mix of peer-reviewed sources and real-world examples. Optional weekly podcast style interviews with world leading researchers on each topic provide additional perspectives that complement the lecture content. Students are expected to engage enthusiastically with weekly readings and activities, and conduct original analyses of current environment and climate policy issues. Students will develop and demonstrate communication skills in written, oral, and visual formats. The course provides an evidence-based, practical grounding in effective communication for environment and climate policy.