Climate Policy and Action: Policy Analysis and Advocacy

Building from the material covered in Climate Policy and Action: Science and Policy Basics, this program explores different ways to analyze public policies and advocate for climate action. We will review climate change mitigation policies, technologies, governance, and actions that Washington state, Evergreen, and cities in North America have adopted, what impact these have had, and how we can create the most effective solutions.

Faculty will help students analyze different approaches to climate solutions, weigh the costs and benefits of these different approaches, and develop skills in policy analysis and advocacy. We will take a critical approach to policy analysis and research, reviewing different actors' influences on the policy process. Critical approaches are essential to understanding how intersecting systems of power influence approaches to policy. Using different frameworks and ideological bases, we will work together to evaluate existing and proposed public policies for climate impact. Students will design an advocacy campaign and think through the process of implementing local, state, and national climate policies. We will support each other in a learning community that is geared towards practical climate action.

This is one of two core courses that comprise the Climate Policy and Action Certificate at Evergreen. Courses are designed to be taken sequentially.