Climate Action field course: causes, consequences and solutions to the climate challenge

In 2015 the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 interconnected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) addressing the global challenges of poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace, and justice. Science and education are fundamental to reaching the SDGs. The SDG313 course aims to contribute to these goals and address the UN Agenda 2030, as well as the new challenges set by the UN Ocean Decadeand the recent IPBES assessment 

A key priority of the field course is to identify tractable research questions related to SDG 13 (Climate Action), and to make substantial progress in researching these questions in group projects. The course emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches to climate change, covering topics related to energy, oceans, governance, and ethical sustainable transitions. It aims to provide a holistic understanding of climate-related issues, exploring diverse knowledge systems, worldviews, and values. 

Together, we will explore the many sides of climate change, the possibilities, the challenges and how we know and understand the world through the eyes of natural science, social science, art, indigenous and local knowledge. 

The centerpiece of the course is a field segment aboard the tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, offering unique opportunities for in-depth, on-site learning and international academic networking. 

Course Structure: 

The course consists of three major parts: 

• Online Seminars and Group Work: Preparatory work includes four obligatory online seminars (2 hours each) and group project planning. 
• Pre-boarding Workshop: Students meet for a two-day workshop at the port of departure with presentations and discussions of the science and projects to be pursued during the field course. 
• Field Course Segment: Students board the ship for intensive fieldwork and lectures. 
• Workshop and Final Reports: The course concludes with a workshop at the destination port, followed by the submission of final reports. 

The course aims to recruit a highly interdisciplinary student group and to facilitate an exchange of individual differences of opinions and actions, while taking into account cultural and social backgrounds and learning how to accommodate these differences. The field component will facilitate active and experimental learning. 

Knowledge 

Upon completion of the course, a student should be able to: 

• Explain oceanographic and meteorological concepts related to global wind systems and ocean currents. 
• Explain the dynamics of the large-scale Atlantic Ocean circulation and its changes. 
• Integrate different knowledge systems to inform and solve research questions. 
• Explain sustainability concepts and frameworks connecting humas and the ocean. 
• Identify and explain sustainability scientific concepts, frameworks and assessments that connect humans and our ocean. 
• Discuss international climate change mitigation policies and their relevance to Agenda 2030. 

Skills 

Upon completion of the course, a student should be able to: 

• Perform basic meteorological and oceanographic field observations. 
• Retrieve and calibrate key climate data.¿ 
• Access and explain emission and temperature projections from integrated assessment models. 
• Employ sustainability concepts in research. 
• Design and present studies using qualitative and quantitative methods. 

General competences 

Upon completion of the course, a student should be able to: 

• Analyze current scientific knowledge and identify research needs. 
• Accommodate diverse values, worldviews, and cultural backgrounds. 
• Collaborate across disciplinary boundaries. 
• Critically evaluate different types of arguments in societal debates. 
• Compose scientifically valid arguments in societal debates. 
• Analyze uncertainty and its role in science and decision-making. 
• Evaluate current political processes related to climate change and the oceans.