climate change phd thesis

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PhD Thesis: Individual Responsibility for Climate Change: A Social Structural Account

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PhD Dissertation - University of Washington Department of Philosophy

Alex Lenferna

This dissertation makes the moral case for equitably transitioning away from fossil fuels in line with the Paris Climate Agreement’s more stringent target of keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It argues that we should do so while relying as little as possible on risky and uncertain negative emissions and geoengineering technologies, so as to avoid unnecessarily prolonging the fossil fuel era and posing grave potential costs both to the present and future generations. The dissertation addresses a central objection to the moral imperative to transition away from fossil fuels, namely that it will detrimentally impact the poor and vulnerable. It argues in response that protecting the interests of the poor and vulnerable can be best achieved through a rapid yet just transition away from fossil fuels. Additionally, based on the moral case to transition away from fossil fuels in line with 1.5°C, the dissertation also explores what personal moral responsibility agents have to reduce fossil fuel usage and act on climate change more broadly. It situates our moral responsibility in the context of what the author argues is an emergency situation where we need to rapidly and comprehensively move away from fossil fuels to avert catastrophic climate change and the substantial, widespread and unnecessary harms associated with continued fossil fuel dependence. Based on the development of an Anti-Pollution Principle, the author concludes that in the face of this emergency we do have morally demanding moral responsibilities to act on climate change and reducing fossil fuel dependence. The author argues that while we do have some responsibilities to reduce our personal emissions and consumption, the more important task which can often outweigh the need to reduce personal emissions, is the need to push collectively for deep, rapid, and comprehensive structural change.

Peter Critchley

Synopsis and Table of Contents for a forthcoming book. Combining notions of ecological virtue and citizen science, Being at One develops an eco-praxis that sees human beings as active members/partners in a creative, participatory universe in which human and planetary flourishing are co-existent and based upon recognition of the facts of social and natural existence. The value-centred eco-philosophy acknowledges that human beings exist in a dialectical interplay of dependence, independence and interdependence. Further details can be found at: Peter Critchley Being and Place http://pcritchley2.wix.com/beingandplace

1 INTRODUCTION Under the shadow of Nihilism; Weber’s Cage, Nietzsche’s Dance and Marx’s Emancipation 2 ONTO-ECOLOGY Nihilism as the Deepest Problem; Heidegger and Being in the World; Active Be-ing in the participatory universe; 3 RATIONAL FREEDOM Recovering the Good Life – Rational Freedom; What is the Good Life?; Plato; Aristotle; Rousseau; Kant; Nietzsche 4 RATIONAL FREEDOM AND COMMON CONSTRAINT Climate Change Is a Crisis We Can Only Solve Together ; How Individualist Economics Are Causing Planetary Eco-Collapse; Recovering the Common Ground and the Common Good; Who acts for the Common Good?; Rational Action and Good Government 5 THE SOUL OF THE OBJECTIVELY VALUABLE WORLD Fact and Value, the world of science and the everyday lifeworld; Bridging the Gap between Theoretical Reason and Practical Reason; ‘Culture and the Death of God’; ‘The Soul of the World’; 6 THE ECOLOGY OF VALUES The Ecology of Good and Bad; Defining Moral Values; Values, Virtues and Visions; 7 UNIVERSAL MORAL VALUES A Short List of Universal Moral Values; The Case for and against Universal Values; Implications for Ethical Education 8 WHY TRUTH MATTERS Deconstruction and Destruction; Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault 9 VIRTUE Why I work in the virtue tradition; Character and character construction; The Community of Morality; Pope Francis’s Radical Realism: Performance v. Ideology; Morality and the Inner Motives 10 ECO-PSYCHOLOGY Per Espen Stoknes and eco-psychology; Psychology of Identity; Social Psychology; Evolutionary psychology; Fostering the Springs of Action 11 EUDAIMONICS Creative Evolution; Eudaimonics 12 KEEKOK LEE AND ARTEFACTUAL NATURE 13 THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRAXIS AND ECO-PRAXIS Definition of praxis, Aristotle, Leibniz, Kant, and Marx; Nature via nurture 14 THE UTOPIAN ANTHROPOLOGY OF BEING AND PLACE Ecological utopias; 15 THE GREEN POLITY 16 ECOLOGY AND THE CRITIQUE OF POLITICAL ECONOMY Alienation and Social Control; Virtue and Economic Life 17 FUTURES – THE COMEDY OF LIFE THE COMEDY OF LIFE Praxis! Praxis!! Praxis!!!

Michael D Doan

In this paper I engage interdisciplinary conversation on inaction as the dominant response to climate change, and develop an analysis of the specific phenomenon of complacency through a critical-feminist lens. I suggest that Chris Cuomo's discussion of the “insufficiency” problem and Susan Sherwin's call for a “public ethics” jointly point toward particularly promising harm-reduction strategies. I draw upon and extend their work by arguing that extant philosophical accounts of complacency are inadequate to the task of sorting out what it means to be complacent on climate change. I offer a sketch for an alternative account, which I take to be a start in the direction of mapping out a diverse array of “motivational vices” that need to be named, grappled with, and (hopefully) remedied.

The Economics of Flourishing

Essays on the theme of economics, ethics, happiness and the virtues. This book has now been published and is available as "The Economics of Flourishing-Well."

Philosophy Compass

Avery Kolers

Social movements are ubiquitous in political life. But what are they? What makes someone a member of a social movement, or some action an instance of movement activity? Are social movements compatible with democracy? Are they required for it? And how should individuals respond to movements' calls to action? Philosophers have had much to say on issues impinging on social movements but much less to say on social movements as such. The current article provides a philosophical overview of social movements. To do so it canvasses contemporary work on the nature of shared agency and collective action, social epistemology, democratic theory, and the theory of individual responsibility for structural injustice. The article finds that contemporary analytic philosophy has considerable work to do if it is to account for the nature, epistemology, ethics, and politics of social movements. There may be more things in the streets than are dreamt of in our philosophy.

This book identifies the contemporary environmental crisis as a call to create a new biocentric civilisation. Proceeding from the identification of the constants of civlised life, the argument seeks to build constructive ecological models by relating Green politics to philosophy and ethics. This approach seeks to develop a practical, institution building orientation out of fundamental Green principles. In the process, the gap between the 'is' of the real world and the 'ought to be' of philosophy is closed via notions of cognitive praxis and ecological praxis. Ensuring the unity of subject and object is a way of recovering the original meaning of politics as creative human self-realisation. Eudaimonia in Aristotle and conatus in Spinoza are identified as crucial to human flourishing, identified as definitive of the good life. Reason is shown to be central to this conception of happiness and the constitution of the common good. The book criticises market society and its atomistic relations as a reversion to the lowest form of reasoning in the Prisoner's Dilemma. In relating ecological praxis to civilisation, the book calls for the extension of communicative and cooperative structures in order to foster and embed the rational restraint crucial to long term freedom for all in social relations and institutions.. The contributions of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Kant, Hegel, Marx and Habermas to this view are all emphasised.

How can we avert ecological catastrophe and avoid social collapse? What is the practical relevance of ethics and philosophy? How can we build community? In the forthcoming book, Being and Place, I address the question of why, despite a wealth of knowledge and know-how, we are failing to respond to social and ecological crisis and bring about the ecological society. The book presents alternative ways of life that can help us create an ecological society. The solutions to our crises, I argue, are within our grasp and can be achieved through practising a notion of eco-praxis. The key question is this: Is humanity capable of creating institutions and sustaining practices that are geared to the long-range collective good, or are we irrevocably short-term thinkers? I do emphasise agency, meaning, will and values in a participatory and creative universe. My main purpose in this book is to provide a diagnosis of the social, moral and ecological failures of modernity, going on to emphasise solutions, transitions, practices and transformations bringing out the social-ecological society - the Ecopolis. I work in the tradition of virtue ethics and am developing the notion of ecological virtue. You can call the virtues qualities for successful/sustainable living, and such qualities are to be defined in terms of the ecological conditions for human and planetary flourishing. If that sounds arcane or abstruse think of it in these terms, our current form of socialisation is concerned with shaping people to be producers geared to the endless accumulation of material quantities and consumers forever running on the hedonistic treadmill. The truth is that the vices of endless production – production for the sake of production, accumulation of means for the sake of means is without end and is a nihilism - and overconsumption are undermining the social and ecological bases of civilised life. All of which begs the question of how to create the ‘happy habitus’ (eudaimonia = flourishing) which enables us to acquire and exercise the virtues, construct the right character, develop the right habits and create capabilities. Within prevailing social relations, there is no necessary connection between the individual/private good and the social/ecological/public good. That means that the common good is something abstract and that all appeals to such a good are lacking in social relevance; they presume a social identity that does not exist. The kind of identity presupposed by the modern market society within which we live is that of the self-interested individual whose own good may well be achieved in ways detrimental to the overall social and ecological good. Any overall good that may result from such self-interested behaviour is indirect. To demand that such an individual serve the common good and live the virtuous life is to expect an altruism which, within prevailing social relations, is irrational, a sacrifice of a tangible and immediate individual self-interest for a vague and intangible general interest. The result, though, is that individual freedom and reason generates a collective unfreedom and unreason (call it the crisis in the climate system and looming eco-catastrophe). As social beings, our lives are governed by collective forces. The problem is that we lack appropriate mechanisms of collective control capable of governing those forces. We require a social identity that establishes a direct connection between individual and social good so that responding to appeals to the common good would indeed be rational and require no irrational sacrifice of self-interest. An identity of this kind is not available within the instrumental market relations upon which society is patterned. Here, individual identity is constituted by abstraction, and the good is defined in terms of private acquisition and enjoyment. Such identity is the polar opposite of the identity given by participation in the politics and culture of the public life we need in order to be ourselves. In my current work, I argue not only for a recovery of virtue ethics, but for its extension as a conception of ecological virtue. This alone is insufficient, creating just another socially impotent and irrelevant ethic to join the club of warring gods in the modern world. We are not short of competing moralities, value judgements with no claim on society other than personal preference. The attempt to rework an ethic of virtue can only succeed if the context has been created to enable the social identity required by that ethic, a social identity which connects individual self-interest and the social interest. Only such a social identity serves to check the problem of the free rider. Without that identity, there is no connection between individual action and overall good, something which inhibits the individual from engaging in action for the greater good.

Kirsten Ainley

The book is a study of the concepts of agency and responsibility, responding to the lack of explicit consideration of these notions in contemporary international political theory (IPT). In it, I develop an original theoretical viewpoint by critically analysing assumptions about agency and responsibility within mainstream IPT, and supplementing my analysis with insights from select literature within the fields of philosophy, sociology and social psychology. The objective of the book is to provide a more nuanced account of agency and responsibility in the international sphere, and to think through the implications of such an account for ongoing theorising and practice. The core argument I advance is that the individualist conceptions of agency and responsibility inherent in liberal and cosmopolitan liberal thought are highly problematic, serve political purposes which are often unacknowledged, and have led to the establishment of an international institutional regime which is limited in the kind of justice it can bring to international affairs. I outline alternative views of agency and responsibility – agency as sociality and a social practice model of responsibility – which both better describe the way we talk about and experience our social lives, and offer significant possibilities to broaden the scope of international justice and, through this, enable human flourishing.

Christian Gudehus

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Thesis Topics

The dissertation projects of the DK  (in the first phase from 2014 to 2018) contribute to finding answers to three questions:

• How do we understand and deal with climate change uncertainties in the natural and social sciences as well as from the perspective of normative theories?
• What are critical thresholds of environmental, social and economic systems considering their vulnerability and how are these thresholds related to the normative threshold of sufficiency, that is, the threshold of well-being below which persons’ basic rights are infringed or violated?
• What are scientifically sound, technologically and institutionally feasible, economically efficient, and ethically defensible and sustainable strategies to cope with climate change, particularly taking into account the problems of implementation in an environment characterized by uncertainties and thresholds?

Phd projects dealing with research question 1

Phd projects dealing with research question 2

Phd projects dealing with research question 3

• Coordinators
• Doctoral students
• Doctoral students (current)
• Project abstracts
• Poster: DK Topics
• Research Stays
• Guest Lectures
• Summer School "Coping with Climate Change"
• Winter School "Climate Change Thresholds"
• World Symposium "Climate Change Communication"
• Exhibition CliMatters
• Travel emissions statement

Begin of page section: Additional information:

Social media:

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• UNIGRAZonline
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Finished/defended and running PhD theses

• Ahsan, Mehedi (2022 est): Title tbc. University of Potsdam.
• Glockmann, Manon (2021 est.): Title tbc. University of Potsdam
• Krummenauer, Linda (2021 est.) A global assessment of heat-mortality relationships impacting urban population. University of Potsdam.
• Li, Yunfei (2021 est.) : Modeling urban climate in view of past and future urbanization as well as mono- and polycentrism , University of Potsdam.
• Landholm-Haight, David Milan (2021 est.) : Climate change mitigation potential through land use change . Humboldt University Berlin.
• Khadak Singh Mahata (2020): Spatiotemporal Variations of Key Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases in the Himalayan Foothills. University of Potsdam, Dept. Geo- and Environmental Sciences.
• Ford, Alistair Christian (2019): Integrated Land-use Transport Models for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation . Newcastle University/Faculty of Engineering Sciences.
• Sterzel, Till (2019): Analyzing global typologies of socio-ecological vulnerability: The cases of human security in drylands, and rapid coastal urbanization . University of Potsdam/Dept. of Environ. Sciences and Geography, [ Access ].
• Becker, Stefanie Lyn (2018): From regimes to grassroots innovations: a framework for understanding the causes and barriers to community-based initiatives and their impacts on transitions . University of Potsdam/Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences [ Access ].
• Gudipudi, Ramana Venkata (2017): Cities and Global Sustainability: Insights from emission and ecological efficiency . University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ] .
• Bin Zhou (2017): On the Assessment of Surface Urban Heat Islands: size, urban form, and seasonality . University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ] .
• Prahl, Boris (2017): On damage functions for the estimation of storm loss and their generalization for climate related hazards , Free University of Berlin/Dept. of Geosciences, [ Access ].
• Olonscheck, Mady (2017): Climate change impacts on electricity and residential energy demand , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Gutsch, Martin (2016): Model based analysis of climate change impacts on the productivity of oak-pine forests in Brandenburg , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ]
• Böttle, Markus (2016): Coastal Floods in View of Sea Level Rise: Assessing Damage Costs and Adaptation Measures , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Pradhan, Prajal (2015): Food Demand and Supply under Global Change , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Lissner, Tabea (2014): Limitations to human livelihoods and well-being in the context of climate change , Humboldt University Berlin/Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, [ Access ].
• Kit, Oleksandr (2014): Automated identification of slums in Hyderabad using high resolution satellite imagery , Humboldt University Berlin/Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, [ Access] .
• Costa, Luis (2013): Adaptation to Climate Change and its Costs in a Carbon Constrained World , University of Greifswald, [ Access ].
• Tekken, Vera (2013): Socioeconomic vulnerability to climate change: a regional assessment in the context of water stress and tourism development in north-eastern Morocco , University of Greifswald, [ Access ].
• Holsten, Anne (2013): Climate Change vulnerability Assessments in the Regional Context , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Sietz, Diana (2011): Dryland vulnerability – Typical patterns and dynamics in support of vulnerability reduction efforts , University of Potsdam/Dept. Geo- & Environmental Science, [ Access ].
• Reckien, Diana (2007): Intraregional migration in old industrialised regions - Qualitative Modelling of household location decisions as an input to policy and plan making in Leipzig/Germany and Wirral/Liverpool/UK , University of Marburg, [ Access ].
• Kallache, Malaak (2007): Trends and Extreme Values of River Discharge Time Series , University of Bayreuth/Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, [ Access ].
• Rust, Henning (2007): Detection of long-range dependence: application in climate and hydrology . University of Potsdam/Dept. of Physics, [ Access ].
• Eisenack, Klaus (2006): Model Ensembles for Natural Resource Management , Free University Berlin/Faculty of Mathematiks and Information Sciences, [ Access ].

Finished master theses

• Thapa, Pratibha (2020): Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals: How selection of indicator matters?” , MBA International Management of Resources and Environment, Technical University of Bergakademie Freiberg.
• Foong, Adrian (2019): Evolution of consumption-based agricultural emissions in the last decades , MSc. Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau.
• Garcia Chavez, Oscar Jesus (2019): Influence of vegetation and water bodies on urban cool island intensity in the biggest clusters of Mexico , MSc. Global Change Management, Eberswalde University of Sustainable Development.
• Putra, Panji (2019): Water, energy and food security nexus under climate change in South Asia , MSc. Environmental and Resource Management, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus–Senftenberg.
• Seydewitz , Tobias (2019): Global assessment of deforestation drivers across the tropics: impacts on carbon stocks and ecosystem service , MSc. Forest Information Technology, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.
• Warchold, Anne (2019): Categorization of sustainable development goal (SDG) interactions at regional and global scale , M.Sc. Management Science, University of Leipzig.
• Reitemeyer, Fabian (2019): Erstellung einer Treibhausgasbilanz für Bezirke und Vergleich mit einer verbraucherbasierten Treibhausgasbilanz mit direkten und indirekten Emissionen , MSc. Geoecology, University Potsdam.
• Ganzenmüller, Raphael (2018): Exploration of Sectoral Greenhouse Gas Emission Dynamics and Sustainable Low-Carbon Pathways . MSc. Sustainability, Society and the Environment, Christian Albrecht University Kiel.
• Schägg, Elena (2018): Political rationalities and visions of change of repair cafés in Berlin , MSc. Integrated Natural Resource Management, Humboldt University.
• Zenina, Evetta (2017): Environmental and Technical efficiency of agricultural production: a global study on the influence of trade liberalization, MSc. Integrated Natural Resource Management, Humboldt University Berlin
• Akuraju, Vamsidhar (2017): Sustainability of cities: Urban scaling and Sustainable Development Goal 11 indicators , MSc. Environmental and Resource Management, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg.
• Wu, Kai-Ti (2017): Probabilistic Elementary and Game of Life Cellular Automata Models applied to Urban Spatiotemporal Patterns - Case Study from China as an example , Technical University Berlin.
• Askew, Stefan (2015): Governance Innovations in the Transition towards Sustainability: A Case Study of the Freiland Project in Potsdam , University Graz, Austria
• Gogoi, Pratiksha (2015): Challenges of the groundwater supply system in Khulna city, Bangladesh, and foreseeable consequences of climate change , MSc. Urban Management, Technical University Berlin.
• Haussmann, Sarah (2015): Network and organizational structure of sustainability initiatives in Germany , Universität Freiburg.
• Ceren Hiç (2014): An Estimation of Food Waste and its Implications on Food Security and Environment , MSc. Agricultural Economics, Humboldt University Berlin.
• Natalie Ward (2014): The case for green space: Berlin's urban gardening initiatives and their contribution to ecosystem services , MSc. Global Change Management, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development.
• Linda Krummenauer (2013): Deriving impact functions for heat related mortality in cities . MSc. Geography, University of Bonn.
• Steffen Kriewald (2012): A dynamical couples model for a sustainable urban-bio-region . MSc. Physics, University Potsdam.
• Franziska Kaiser (2012): Über die Phasenstatistik phänologischer Daten und den Einfluss des Klimawandels , MSc. in Physics, University Potsdam.
• Iya I. Lowe (2012): Managing the Climate in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Sahel Syndrome in the Sahel Region , MSc. in Public Management, University Potsdam.
• Bin Zhou (2012): Urban Heat Islands: A study based on a vast number of urban agglomerations , MSc. in Geography of Global Change, University of Freiburg.
• Julia Marusczyk (2012): Climate Change Adaptation as a Process: Cost Implications for India's Agriculture , MSc. Global Change Management, Eberswalde University of Sustainable Development.
• Mohamed Moustafa Fawzy (2012): Transitioning to Green Growth Economy: How to ensure the green economy models of development are sustainable for growth , MSc. Public Management, University Potsdam.
• Sawako Tada (2012): The Role of Science in Risk Policy Making: The Case of the Nuclear Power Plant Accident in Fukushima , MSc. Public Management, University Potsdam
• Jingjing He (2012): Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation into Poverty Reduction Planning in China , MSc. Public Management, University Potsdam.
• Anto Dominic Raphael (2011): Evaluation of meteorological fire risk indices for German states , MSc. in Forest Information and Technology, Eberswalde University.
• Martin Budde (2011): Klimaprojektionen und deren Unsicherheiten für die Region Hyderabad (Indien) auf der Basis der IPCC AR4 Rechnungen und lokaler Beobachtungsdaten , University Potsdam.
• Dennis Möller (2011): Einfluss von Grosswetterlagen auf das Sturmflutverhalten in der Ostsee , MSc. Geography, University of Bonn.
• Protze Nele (2010): Die räumliche Ausprägung der Hitzevulnerabilität städtischer Bevölkerung im Rahmen des globalen Klimawandels - Beispiel Berlin , MSc. Geography, Free University Berlin.
• Mady Olonschek (2010): Development of the Future Heating and Cooling Energy Demand of Households in Germany under Climate Change , MSc. Geography.
• Tabea Lissner (2008): Vulnerability Analysis for North-Rhine Westphalia - Climate Impacts on Human Health , MSc. Geography, Humboldt University.
• Carsten Walther (2007): Multiregression-Clustering for classification of human-environment systems , MSc. in Physics, University Potsdam.
• Dirk Rommeney (2006): A cellular automaton model for the simulation of urban land use , MSc. Geoecology, University Potsdam.
• Jaime Rojas Hernandez (2006): Consumption dynamics of interdependent lifestyle groups , MSc. in Physics, University Potsdam.
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• Graduate Program

Interdepartmental PhD Emphasis in Climate Sciences and Climate Change

Rationale for this phd emphasis.

Climate Sciences is the study of the physical processes that control climate on Earth including variations and interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, land and hydrosphere. Climate variations and changes are known to occur on broad ranges of spatial and temporal scales, ranging from decades, centuries, millennia and millions of years. Climate science can also inform the study of climate change, which is broadly defined as changes to the baseline of mean conditions and variability over long periods. Climate change since the beginning of the industrial revolution is one of the major issues affecting the environment and the future of humanity.

Anthropogenic influences on climate are already detectable and expected to continue into the future; examples of the impacts of climate change include extreme precipitation, droughts, heat waves, sea level rise, loss of habitats, food and water insecurity, economic and political stability to name just a few. Mitigation and Adaptation might involve economic regulations such as cap-and-trade or carbon tax, which put a price on carbon emissions.

Research in Climate Sciences and Climate Change requires specialized training in specific disciplines such as Atmospheric Sciences, Oceanography, Geology, Geography, Ecology, Economics, as well as interdisciplinary education across different areas. UCSB has a long tradition for carrying out research in Climate Sciences and Climate Change impacts. This research includes the study of the fundamental physical processes controlling climate on Earth and its response to human activities as well as the impacts of climate on humans and the environment. Research and teaching at UCSB is highly specialized as well as interdisciplinary.

This Interdepartmental PhD Emphasis in Climate Sciences and Climate Change provides doctoral students a broader understanding of the physical principles governing climate on Earth, climate changes associated with natural variability and anthropogenic forcings, and the impacts of climate change on the environment and society. The PhD emphasis provides graduate students with both core-training opportunities to gain access to methodological expertise across UCSB as well as to interact with Faculty, Researchers and graduate students in disciplines other than their own. Furthermore, the PhD Emphasis provides graduate students opportunities to learn how to effectively teach Climate Sciences and Climate Change. The Emphasis is administered in the Department of Geography. The PhD Emphasis formally acknowledges and builds upon existing collaborations among the departments and the Bren School listed herein.

Program of Study

Participation in this emphasis is optional and independent of the doctoral curriculum and degree requirements established by the student’s home department.

Admission to the Emphasis

Applications to the PhD Emphasis are accepted at any time during a graduate student’s academic tenure at UCSB. It is expected that most students will apply for admission between their first and third year of graduate study. Application materials consist of:

• Application form
• Student’s letter including research interests in climate sciences and climate change, expectations related to the emphasis and career goals
• Letter of support from PhD Advisor

The Director of the PhD Emphasis (see Faculty roster) reviews applications on a routine basis and informs applicants the outcome of their applications. Criteria for admission will include:

• Admission into a PhD program at UCSB
• Good academic standing
• Recommendation and strong support from the student’s PhD Advisor

Kathryn Ficke

Charles Jones

Departments & programs.

• Bren School of Environmental Science and Management

Earth Science

• Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science

  Related Faculty

• Elizabeth Ackert, Geography
• Diana Arya, Associate Professor, Education
• Kathy Baylis, Geography
• Leila Carvalho, Geography
• Kelly Caylor, Geography / Bren School
• Olivier Deschenes, Economics
• Timothy DeVries, Geography / IGPMS
• Qinghua Ding, Geography / IGPMS
• Steve Gaines, Bren School
• Vamsi Ganti, Geography
• Kostas Goulias, Geography
• Danielle Harlow, Professor and Associate Dean, Education
• Charles Jones, Geography - Director of the Emphasis
• David Lea, Earth Science / IGPMS
• Lorraine Lisiecki, Earth Science / IGPMS
• Hugo Loaciga, Geography
• Karin Lohwasser, Assistant Teaching Professor, Education
• David Lopez-Carr, Geography
• Joe McFadden, Geography
• Sally MacIntyre, IGPMS / Bren School
• Kyle Meng, Bren School / Economics
• Andrew Plantinga, Bren School
• Samantha Stevenson, Bren School
• Stuart Sweeney, Geography, Chair
• Naomi Tague, Bren School
• Anna Trugman, Geography
• Syee Weldeab, Earth Science / IGPMS
• Dave Siegel, Geography / IGPMS
• Ian Walker, Geography

Required Coursework

All students enrolled in this PhD Emphasis need to fulfill the following requirements:

Students are required to enroll and successfully pass a one-quarter, 4 Unit seminar course: GEOG 287 Seminar in Climate Sciences and Climate Change. The instructor for this course will be one of the Faculty participating in the Emphasis. This course covers key concepts and research methods related to climate, climate variability and change and impacts. Lectures consist of guest seminars primarily from Faculty participating in the Emphasis; the course serves as a venue to foster interaction among graduate students participating in the Emphasis, Researchers and Faculty.

Students are required to take two courses from the following list:

• GEOG 266 Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences Units: 4 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• GEOG 263 Introduction to Physical Oceanography Units: 4 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• GEOG 276 Geographical Time Series Analysis Units: 3 – Prerequisite: GEOG 172
• GEOG 213 Polar Environments Units:4 – Prerequisite: GEOG 3 or Geog4, ES 1 or 2, or EARTH1
• GEOG 243 Vegetation-Atmosphere Interactions Units: 4 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• GEOG 246 Advanced Hydrologic Modeling Units: 4 – Prerequisite: GEOG 112 and 116
• GEOG 267 Chemical Oceanography Units: 4 (cross-listed with EARTH 276) – Prerequisite: CHEM 1C and graduate standing
• GEOG 281: Introduction to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project
• GEOG 273: Trait-based Ecological Modeling
• EARTH 205 Earth’s Climate: Past and Present Units: 3 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• EARTH 206 Introduction to Climate Modeling Units: 4 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• EARTH 266 Chemical Oceanography Units:4 (cross-listed with GEOG 267) – Prerequisite: CHEM 1C and graduate standing
• EARTH 276 Geological Oceanography Units: 4 – Prerequisite: graduate standing

Bren School

• ESM 203 Earth System Science Units: 4 – Prerequisite: GEOG 3 or equivalent IGPMS
• EARTH 266/GEOG 267 Chemical Oceanography Units: 4 – Prerequisite: CHEM 1C and graduate standing
• GEOG 263 Introduction to Physical Oceanography Units: 4– Prerequisite: graduate standing

The total number of units will vary depending on which courses are selected from this list:

• Geog 244 Society and Hazards Units: 4 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• Geog 254 Demography Units: 4 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• Geog 288EA Urban Geography
• ESM 229 Economics and Policy of Climate Change Units: 4 – Prerequisite: ESM 204
• ESM 237 Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Units: 4 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• ECON 260F Demand for Environmental Goods Units: 2 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• ECON 260G Environmental Externalities and Regulation Units: 2 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• ECON 260H Climate Change, Adaptation, and Policy Units: 2 – Prerequisite: graduate standing
• ED 256 Technology and Education Contexts
• ED 287 Informal STEM Education
• ED 221H Design-based Research and Research-based design

Students are required to enroll and present their research in the GEOG 280 Geography Climate Research Meetings, which are a forum for researchers and students to discuss research topics in Climate Sciences and Climate Change. The meeting is held in the Earth Research Institute (ERI). Students are required to enroll in the Climate Research Meetings for a minimum of three quarters as a way to foment their participation in climate research topics.

The PhD dissertation of students participating in this Emphasis needs to have a strong focus in Climate Sciences and/or Climate Change. Furthermore, a member of the student’s PhD committee needs to be a member of the core Faculty participating in the Emphasis in Climate Sciences and Climate Change. No other limitations are set for the other members of the PhD committee.

Alumnus Testimonial

Emily Williams, PhD: “Participating in the Interdepartmental PhD Emphasis in Climate Sciences and Climate Change helped me build a robust interdisciplinary lens and toolbox through which to engage with climate science and policy. Through the emphasis, I was able to take courses across departments on climate sciences, policy, and impacts, providing me with foundational knowledge of the socio-political and physical dimensions of climate change. The emphasis also offered opportunities for professional development, such as presenting my graduate research to students and faculty in the climate seminar, thereby receiving invaluable feedback from distinguished scholars in the field. The rich training I gained has set me up to do both postgraduate research and advocacy, as I engage with academia and non-profits on issues of climate change and historical justice”.

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Climate Change, Sustainability and Society PhD

Most students complete this programme in 4 years full-time.

Explore environmental change and the diverse responses needed to foster behaviours, practices and policies which promote sustainability.

In this interdisciplinary pathway, you will investigate sustainability topics using insights and perspectives from multiple disciplines, with a primary focus on social sciences (e.g., psychology, policy studies, political science, development studies, education, economics, social geography, sociology).

Find out what our research graduates go on to do

Department of Psychology

• Programme structure

Most students complete this programme in 4 years. You cannot take less than 2 years to finish your research and the maximum time you are allowed is normally 4 years.

This programme is only available through the Southwest Doctoral Training Partnership. Applications open from October each year and close around January. More information is available to Study as a South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP) student at Bath

You may start this programme at any time. Most students start in September.

Occasionally we make changes to our programmes in response to, for example, feedback from students, developments in research and the field of studies, and the requirements of accrediting bodies. You will be advised of any significant changes to the advertised programme, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions.

Your academic progress and general welfare will be monitored by your supervisor.

Academic milestones

• Registration
• Candidature
• Confirmation
• Give notice of intention to submit a thesis / portfolio
• Submission for examination
• Examination (Viva Voce)
• Examiners report
• Final submission of thesis / portfolio
• Programme content
• Doctoral skills online
• Doctoral skills workshop
• Research project
• Supervisory team

Research content

Sustainability topics can be wide-ranging, with the content of your research determined with your PhD supervisory team. However, in line with the goals of this PhD programme, your thesis will have a primarily social science focus.

While you will have a lead (primary) supervisor, you should also have at least one additional supervisor working in a different discipline to help you develop your interdisciplinary insights.

Professional Development

Professional development is a crucial element of doctoral study, not only in supporting your research but also as part of your longer term career development. Our DoctoralSkills workshops and courses will help you build your skills and help you succeed in your doctorate.

Read more about professional development support

Assessment methods

Assessment description.

Most research students who ‘do a PhD’ register in the first instance as probationer for the programme of PhD. Confirmation of PhD registration is subject to your passing an assessment process, which normally involves submission of written work and an oral examination.

Candidates are expected to carry out supervised research at the leading edge of their chosen subject, which must then be written up as a substantial thesis.

The final stage of the PhD programme is the oral or viva voce examination, in which students are required to defend the thesis to a Board of Examiners.

• Entry requirements

Academic requirements

• A good first degree in a social science subject, or
• an equivalent degree in another subject, together with substantial relevant work experience

Underlying these conditions is a belief that students must bring a minimum combination of theoretical knowledge and practical experience to the programme. Marginal cases are often dealt with at interview, and it is not uncommon for relatively inexperienced students to be asked to defer entry.

English Language requirements

You will normally need one of the following:

• IELTS: 7.0 overall with no less than 6.5 in all components
• The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic): 69 with no less than 62 in any element
• TOEFL IBT: 100 overall with a minimum 24 in all 4 components

You will need to get your English language qualification within 24 months prior to starting your course.

If you need to improve your English language skills before starting your studies, you may be able to take a pre-sessional course to reach the required level.

Two references are required for this programme (at least one of these should be an academic reference from ypur most recent place of study).

• Fees and funding

Fees and funding information for Climate Change, Sustainability and Society PhD

Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on whether you are a Home or Overseas student.

Learn how we decide fee status

Tuition fees are liable to increase annually for all University of Bath students. If you aren't paying your fees in British pounds, you should also budget for possible fluctuations in your own currency.

Find out more about student fees

Funding options

This is an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) recognised programme, suitable for ESRC-funded 1+3 awards or subsequent +3 applications (MRes and PhD)

ESRC-funded students are able to claim (during their studies) for three additional allowances:

• Overseas Fieldwork Allowance
• Difficult Language Training
• Overseas Institutional Visits

For more information on these allowances please see the ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide . Please note that if you anticipate such activities you should outline the details in your application.

Find funding for Doctoral research

Payment options

You can pay your tuition fees by Direct Debit, debit card, credit card or bank transfer.

Paying your tuition fees

• Application information
• Programme title Climate Change, Sustainability and Society PhD
• Final award PhD
• Mode of study Full-time
• Course code RHPS-AFM02
• Department Department of Psychology as part of the ESRC South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP) in economic and social science
• Location University of Bath Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY

3 months prior to the intended start date (for international applicants) or 2 months prior to the intended start date (for home applicants). For example, for an end of September start, the deadline is 30 June (international) and 31 July (home).

• Regulator The Office for Students (OfS)

Applicant profile

Your proposal should address a problem or question with strong links to the themes of this interdisciplinary pathway.

Prior to applying, please contact and gain agreement to supervise you from an academic staff member (who will become your lead supervisor), as well as your additional supervisor(s), as their agreement to supervise is critical for acceptance into the PhD program. Your lead supervisor may be able to advise on the most suitable additional supervisor(s). Gaining feedback on your proposal from your potential supervisors prior to submission is strongly encouraged.

The proposal itself should include;

• a brief review of relevant background literature (to contextualise the issue)
• a core research question or theme
• an outline of the possible methods that could be used to address this question.
• how your research will draw on interdisciplinary perspectives

If you wish to study for both the MRes and the PhD (the 1 + 3) you should apply for the PhD but indicate on the Application Form, that you also wish to study for the MRes.

Progression from the MRes to the PhD stage is dependent on achieving an acceptable level of achievement (typically an overall average of 60% on at least the taught component of the MRes).

See our guide about how to apply for doctoral study

Selection process

See our guide for information on how to apply for ESRC SWDTP funding

Immigration requirements

If you are an international student, you can find out more about the visa requirements for studying in the UK .

For additional support please contact the Student Immigration Service for matters related to student visas and immigration.

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• Apply for this programme
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• Climate Change, Sustainability and Society PhD part-time

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DPU PhD candidate successfully defends thesis on climate change adaptation in Colombia

18 February 2021

Congratulations to Monica Bernal who has successfully defended her thesis titled 'Co-Producing Knowledge and Politics for Climate Change Adaptation. The Case of Colombia’s Capital Region'

Monica Bernal argued that there are two types of co-production for climate change adaptation. One purposeful knowledge co-production, where science and policy stakeholders form partnerships to develop science-informed solutions to the impacts of climate change. The second is an inherent type of co-production. A co-production of knowledge and politics that is intrinsic to purposeful approaches, and which shows how science informing policy is not a unidirectional relationship. Science production for climate change adaptation is not devoid of politics and, on the other hand, policy actors often ‘filter’ science to accommodate exiting institutional arrangements for policy-making and governance more broadly.

Developing countries are increasing their efforts for adapting to climate change as they are more vulnerable and more exposed to its impacts than their industrialised counterparts. Her thesis analyses the co-production of knowledge and politics in the context of climate change adaptation to further our understanding of how developing countries, regions and cities are approaching development planning and governance in the context of a changing climate. Her study examines the case of Colombia’s Capital Region, formed by Bogotá—Colombia’s capital city—and Cundinamarca, its surrounding region. From 2009 to 2014, Capital Region engaged in the first attempt in Colombia to incorporate climate change adaptation into urban and regional planning and governance, a project catalysed by the worst extensive climate-related disaster that Colombia has experienced to date: La Niña 2010–11. In this way, her study offers a critical understanding of how adaptation responses are specific, not only to local geophysical and socioeconomic conditions, but to local ways of understanding and governing novel phenomena. The findings also reveal that in the case of Colombia and Capital Region, there are three main entry points for climate change adaptation into development planning and governance: territorial development, disaster risk management and water sustainability.  In addition, the co-production of knowledge and politics for adaptation in Colombia manifests, in spatial terms, as territories of adaptation: through processes of territorial development, through political-administrative, jurisdictional and ecological narratives, and through efforts to mainstream adaptation planning and governance into projects of regional integration.

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ES PhD Dissertation Defense: Liying Li

Friday, June 28, 2024 2:30pm to 5:30pm

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About this Event

5200 N Lake Rd, Merced, CA 95343

 INTEGRATED AGRICULTURAL WATER AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT FOR CONSERVING WATER, CARBON, AND AVIAN BIODIVERSITY UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE: A SYNTHESIS APPROACH

Abstract    California has diversified landscapes and complex water networks, contributing to its intertwined ecosystems’ relations so that biodiversity conservation and human socio-economic development share close to the same set of water and land resources. Biodiversity is threatened by climate change. Intermediate conservation actions are required and need to be supported by scientific information that minimizes the trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and human socio-economic development.    In this doctoral research, I designed a synthesis future-oriented approach that integrates multi-disciplinary methods, namely economic optimization, remote sensing, ecological modeling of species distribution, and systematic conservation plan. With this approach, I aim to help us find the conservation solutions that are good today but also are going to be good 100 years from now. I applied this approach to California’s Central Valley and predicted the weekly ranges of locally prevalent shorebird species and water and land opportunity costs with climate change scenarios. The conservation actions considered in this research are to create dynamic flooded habitats on agricultural lands as a nature-based solution to carbon sequestration, groundwater overdraft, and shorebird conservation. Conservation prioritization was created based not only on species’ seasonal dynamics but also on varying seasonal costs resulting from timed land use on a cultured landscape of California and a range of water availability scenarios. I considered both spatial and temporal hydrological connectivity, which gives broader implications for conserving aquatic species such as fish and amphibians than avian species only.    I found that if we navigate the use of environmental flow in a relatively blind way, it will significantly conflict with agricultural production with minimal positive ecosystem benefits. To do it right, we must understand the new hydrological patterns and build more storage to make use of excess flows, particularly in the southern part of Central Valley. Climate change and water conservation management will increase the costs of water used for environmental use. The intellectual merit of this thesis is synthesizing different metrologies across disciplines and making broader implications for integrated agricultural land use and water management in California for climate change adaptation and ecosystem conservation.    

Biography    Liying Li is a PhD Candidate in the Environmental Systems graduate program at UC Merced. She graduated from the London School of Economics in the UK with an M.Sc. in Environmental Policy and Regulation. In line with her interest in assisting decision-making in climate change adaptation and environmental policies, she has been studying climate change adaptation and greenhouse mitigations. After joining UC Merced, Liying extended her studies to include water allocation optimization, ecological modeling, and conservation planning with climate change.      

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