A New Collaborative Course on Climate Change Economics

The JVI has extended its curriculum with a course that reviews various aspects of the economics of climate change and discusses policy options to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The first delivery took place virtually September 13—17, 2021. It brought together the unique expertise of lecturers from several JVI partners (the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the International Monetary Fund, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and the World Bank). The course brought together 22 participants from 15 countries, mostly from the JVI region.

Each day of the course reviewed different aspects of the economics of climate change, its consequences, and policy responses. The first day set the context in terms of the current understanding of climate change and introduced several scenarios for climate-related risks and dynamics. The second day concentrated on aligning climate objectives with the financial system and enabling the transition to a low-carbon economy. Issues related to measuring the sustainability of economic activity, standardizing data disclosure, and the impact of climate change on central bank mandates and roles were also discussed. The main topic for day 3 was carbon pricing as an essential tool to cut greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change. On day 4, the course looked at climate change from a sectoral perspective in terms of the profound changes that the transition to a low-carbon economy would require in various economic sectors, paying special attention to the energy and food sectors. Finally, the last day of the course focused on the role of investment and the importance of coordinating international policy to deal more effectively with climate change. Throughout the week, lectures were accompanied by workshops with hands-on exercises for participants, thus enabling them to better absorb the theory and concepts covered in the lectures. The interactive workshops allowed participants to work together in smaller groups and share their experiences with peers.

Given the importance of designing and implementing effective policies to tackle climate change in the years to come, we plan to continue refining and delivering the course. The next delivery of Climate Change Economics, hopefully face-to-face, is scheduled for September 12—16, 2022 and applications are already open.

Maria Arakelyan, Economist, Joint Vienna Institute