Climate Change Education: Cutting Emissions with a Swiss Army Knife Dave S
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This article was downloaded by: [American University Library] On: 11 October 2013, At: 08:33 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tgmm20 Climate change education: cutting emissions with a Swiss army knife Dave S. Reay a a School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh , High School Yards, Edinburgh , EH8 9JX , UK Published online: 05 Dec 2011. To cite this article: Dave S. Reay (2011) Climate change education: cutting emissions with a Swiss army knife, Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management, 1:3-4, 139-141, DOI: 10.1080/20430779.2011.637669 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20430779.2011.637669 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions opinion piece Climate change education: cutting emissions with a Swiss army knife Dave S. Reay* School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, High School Yards, Edinburgh EH8 9JX, UK The complex and global nature of anthropogenic climate change makes addressing it a challenge for all nations, sectors and insti- tutions. Further education and higher education have a key role to play in providing the world with the many thousands of climate change-trained graduates that are required. Traditionally, such training has been discipline-specific, but interdisciplinary climate change graduates are also required if governments, businesses and public bodies are to tackle climate change effectively. Keywords: carbon management; climate change education; interdisciplinary expertise; skills gap In recent years, calls have come with an increasing frequency for A common solution to this challenge in academia is to improvements in the breadth, depth and interdisciplinarity of utilize an array of experts from different disciplines and to climate change-related education (e.g. Potter, 2009; Rajendran, create a synthesis of their inputs that aims to identify any of 2010; Gillenwater, 2011). The global nature of anthropogenic the gaps and cross-cutting issues that might improve climate change has necessitated all nations and all sectors to climate change strategy, or alter it entirely (e.g. Royal examine their vulnerabilities to its impacts and the available strat- Society, 2009). Unfortunately, few public or private sector egies for mitigation and adaptation. Enhancement of climate institutions have the luxury of being able to draw directly on change-relevant training and education in the world’s colleges such expert panels whenever a new climate change policy and universities is, in my view, urgently required to support or strategy is being considered. Instead, they must rely on these efforts. From architecture to agriculture, from business in-house expertise and hope that, short of having all the studies to medicine (e.g. Bell, 2010), a combination of core right answers, some of their staff at least know all the right expertise with an understanding of climate change has the questions to ask. It is this niche – that of the interdisciplinary potential to increase the effectiveness of practice within these climate change graduate – that has been so poorly provided disciplines as the challenges of climate change intensify. for by further education and higher education to date. Provision of such fundamental knowledge within traditional Much has been made of bridging the skills gap for our tran- disciplines is only the start in unlocking the true potential of sition to a low-carbon economy (House of Commons Environ- education to address the climate change challenge. For the mental Audit Committee, 2010; Wei et al., 2010). Large Downloaded by [American University Library] at 08:33 11 October 2013 most effective climate change strategies at the national, numbers of renewable energy technicians, carbon footprint regional and international levels, a deeper and wider under- auditors, carbon traders and the like are required, but so standing of the impacts of and response to climate change too are graduates capable of taking a holistic view of the is required of decision makers. To date, this role has generally climate change strategies of the companies, public bodies been filled by an assortment of specialists with, for example, and governments that employ them. At their worst, such decarbonization plans for economies being developed by graduates would be complete generalists unable to add any- energy technology specialists, or national adaptation plans thing substantive to climate change-related decisions within being formulated by national policy experts. The risk with an institution. At their best, such individuals could vastly this approach is that important opportunities and antagon- increase corporate performance and ensure government isms are missed – the individual experts having the depth and public sector policy is both robust and well integrated. but not the breadth of knowledge required. These interdisciplinary climate change graduates are * [email protected] Greenhouse Gas Measurement & Management 1 | 2011 | 139–141 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20430779.2011.637669 © 2012 Taylor & Francis ISSN: 2043-0779 (print), 2043-0787 (online) www.tandfonline.com/tgmm 140 Reay fi analogous to a Swiss army knife, with their discipline-speci c Table 1 Selection of 20 positions currently held by graduates of counterparts being the bread knives or letter openers. While the University of Edinburgh’s MSc in carbon management the latter are invaluable in precise roles and for very specific advice, the former are also required to deal effectively with Sector Role Institution Location the very complex challenge that is climate change. Renewable Solar energy IHS USA One specific example would be that of a recent graduate energy advisor Emerging Energy from our MSc in Carbon Management programme here at – the University of Edinburgh. On arrival, this student had a Research PhD study University of The business Amsterdam Netherlands strong background in archaeology, but only a basic under- climate change standing of climate change. Every student must complete strategy an array of core courses covering the science, policy, econ- Policy Climate policy IETA Belgium omics and business of climate change. These mandatory officer courses comprise the bulk (75%) of the taught programme, Government Climate change Government Mauritius with the remaining 25% from elective courses then drawn officer of Mauritius from across the University in areas such as ‘climate change Renewable Renewables Snowie UK ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ law , waste management and energy policy . The aim is to energy manager Group ensure that every graduate, whatever their background and Environmental Environmental Land Singapore eventual post-graduation role, has in-depth interdisciplinary engineering engineer Transport climate change expertise. The elective courses, and their sub- Authority sequent research dissertations, do allow each student to Consultancy Carbon analyst ENDScarbon UK develop many more discipline-specific skills, but only after Consultancy Business Pacific Canada all have a proven holistic understanding of the climate development and Carbon change challenge. strategy Trust In the case of the former archaeologist, this new depth and Renewable Wind farm project ImWind Austria breadth of climate change knowledge, combined with her energy development Operations existing expertise in archaeology, allowed her to more effec- GmbH tively investigate the cross-disciplinary research area of Research PhD study – carbon University of UK ‘climate change impacts on cryospheric archaeology’.By capture and Edinburgh understanding emissions scenarios and climate change pro- storage jections, and by marrying this to her expertise in the types Renewable Anaerobic Carbon UK and locations of key archaeological deposits, she was able energy digestion, Director Renewable to identify the urgent need for a coordinated international Energy response (Molyneaux and Reay, 2011) – a need that a special- Consultancy Climate change and PwC UK ist climate change scientist or archaeologist may well have environmental projects overlooked. Other examples underline this point,