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UQx: Essential Tools For The Low Carbon Economy

Investigate global climate change policies and learn the essential skills organisations need to be financially competitive in a low carbon economy.

5 weeks
2–3 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
This course is archived
Future dates to be announced

About this course

Skip About this course

Want to be a key player in transitioning your organisation to the low carbon economy? This course is ideally suited to business managers, financial managers, business-intelligent analysts and data scientists interested in remaining competitive in a low carbon economy.

This course will equip you with the knowledge and essential skills to manage the risks and opportunities of transitioning to the low carbon economy. Adopting the role of a key employee in a fictitious company, you will learn about different policy responses to climate change, how to measure your organisation's carbon footprint, how to compare projects based on emissions reduction and cost, and how to participate in an emissions trading scheme.

This interactive course incorporates videos, expert insights, real-world case studies, skills-based practical exercises and scenario-based problem solving to teach you the essential policy and mathematical concepts that organisations are looking for in order to manage their emissions, select financially viable projects, and meet their potential compliance obligations into the future.

At a glance

  • Institution: UQx
  • Subject: Business & Management
  • Level: Introductory
  • Prerequisites:

    No prerequisite courses needed, however secondary math and a basic ability to navigate spreadsheets are required.

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Emissions Trading, Climate Policy, Problem Solving

What you'll learn

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  • Why climate change is a public policy issue and what types of policies exist to address it
  • How these public policies work to encourage adaptation to and mitigation of climate change
  • The benefits of carbon emissions management
  • How to calculatethe emissions of an organisation using carbon footprinting
  • How to use Marginal Abatement Cost Curves (MACCs) to visualise and compare projects by cost and emission reduction volume
  • How to engage in an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), optimise a project portfolio, purchase the correct mix of ETS options (e.g. auction allowances, carbon offsets and secondary market allowances) and limit penalty payment.

INTRODUCTION

Meet your peers and the course contributors from around the world and complete an introductory survey. We will also be introduced to the fictional country of ‘Tasland’, where local businesses and inhabitants alike are keeping a close eye on an upcoming government response to address climate change.

PART 1: The fundamentals of carbon and climate change policies

Learn about climate change and its implications for private and public sector organisations, and use an interactive map tool to explore climate change impacts under different warming scenarios. Investigate public policy approaches to climate change, the implications of these for organisations and understand what carbon action leadership involves.

PART 2: Climate policies worldwide

Use case studies to explore current climate mitigation, adaptation policies, and explore essential skills that organisations need to manage their emissions and potential compliance obligations into the future.

PART 3: Carbon footprinting (measure)

Tasland government announces its long-awaited climate policy choice! Peer into a Tasland boardroom discussing how their company will comply with government policy. Learn how to measure your organisation’s carbon footprint, and some common mistakes to avoid, in order to comply with the new policy.

PART 4: Carbon abatement (manage)

Examine financial appraisal of carbon abatement projects. How do we identify the cheapest ways to reduce our carbon footprint? Learn about Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) visualisation, and apply your new understanding to build a MACC for a Taslandian company.

PART 5: Organisational management in the low carbon economy

Study the design features of an emissions trading scheme. Taslandian companies are now seeking employees with the skills and knowledge necessary to manage their carbon management responsibilities effectively.

Apply everything you’ve learnt by taking on the management responsibility for two Taslandian companies, making decisions on how to engage with the risks and opportunities of a carbon constrained world, while continuing to maximise economic output. Help your company to build resilience in the face of climate change, and prosper in the low carbon economy!

Approach: Videos, guest expert insights, student leaderboard, real-world case studies, quizzes, discussions, polls, skills-based practicals, scenario-based problem solving.

Learner testimonials

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"I really enjoyed the pace of the course and the exercises which really helped me practice some of the concepts." - Previous Learner

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