911±¬ÁÏÍø

The module covers international energy issues and challenges, spanning the main energy resources and systems, with emphasis on the interplay of technology, economics and political economy. An indicative outline of the course is as follows:

Lectures 1-3Ìýset out the basic structure and trends of global energy use and associated challenges, together with potential future pathways. We also consider electricity development and trends in renewable energy generation, the global structure of fossil fuel resources and the political economy of international oil and gas markets.

Lectures 4-5Ìýlook at the global challenges particularly posed by climate change, and the structure of potential solutions to it, through the lens of the intellectual framework developed in ‘Planetary Economics’, and how the international community has sought to address the problem thus far.

The course then turns to look explicitly at the design, economics and political economy of energy policy

Lectures 6-9Ìýanalyse the policy choices at national and regional levels. This starts with established issues in energy markets and market design, including regulatory dimensions of network-based industries; then looking explicitly at the theory and practice of the ‘Three Pillars’ of energy-climate policy: pricing and markets (including carbon pricing), energy efficiency, and innovation & infrastructure investments.

°Õ³ó±ðÌýfinal lectureÌýwill outline different scenarios for future development of the global energy system, potential costs and benefits, consequences for key resources (including fossil fuels), and the inherent uncertainty such projections entail.