Climate Change for Decision-Makers: Challenges, Transformations, Strategies

Course overview

Climate change is the defining challenge of our time and it is driving a profound societal transformation that affects every government, industry and all human activity. This transformation raises a host of complex questions and uncertainties around jobs, finance, technological innovation, politics and social stability.

This research-informed and practice-infused course focuses on three main aspects of climate change and its societal implications: metrics, technology and governance. Explore the interconnections between the issues raised by climate change and understand how it affects your organisation; gaining the expertise to develop your own position or strategy to solve these issues within your context.

This course will provide decision-makers with the ability to develop a 360-degree view of climate change and the implications for society. You will gain the confidence to find new innovative pathways to address climate change, and understand its broader collective political and legal implications.

What will I learn?

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• navigate a vast flow of information and identify only the main and most reliable sources, avoiding the main forms of disinformation
• connect abstract and highly technical scientific knowledge from a range of disciplines to everyday manifestations of climate change
• use acquired knowledge and understanding of interconnections in new contexts
• articulate complex concepts from a range of disciplines to a wider audience
• analyse relevant issues, placing them in their proper scale and assessing their interconnections with other issues at different scales
• exercise judgement with respect to different claims about climate change scenarios, decarbonisation pathways, emerging issues and their implications
• develop a position or strategy for your organisation informed by the knowledge and skills acquired through the course.

Who is this course for?

This course is aimed at:

• senior professionals, who have deep knowledge of some specific aspects but need to ‘zoom out’ and capture the overall picture
• mid-career professionals who need this broader understanding for career progression (to management or strategic positions) or career re-orientation
• a wide range of government officials active in specific segments of the policy cycle
• politicians and their staff, who may need a solid and self-contained understanding of the issue for a variety of policy and political purposes
• consultants in the management consulting and environmental/ESG consulting industries
• professionals in the financial services industry interested in gaining an understanding of the implications of climate change for finance
• staff from intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations in need of an up-to-date, scientifically informed overview of the subject.

Course delivery

Our certificated courses reflect the Cambridge experience and values, with low student to tutor ratios and academically rigorous standards. Our learning model is designed to help you advance your skills and specialise in emerging areas that address global challenges. We will help you build your network through an engaging and impactful learning journey that encourages collaboration. Courses are delivered in weekly modules, allowing you to plan your time effectively. The assessment criteria will be presented to you at the start of the course, so you can approach your studies with confidence and motivation, knowing what is expected of you and how to meet those expectations. 

Throughout your online learning experience, you will have access to your course tutor, who will help facilitate your learning and provide you with support and guidance during your studies. You can interact with your tutor through a range of media, such as live sessions, discussion forums, email or canvas messaging. 

Each course includes a balance of:

• interactive learning and real-world application so you can directly apply what you’re learning to your own context
• diverse teaching methods to enhance learning outcomes which will be delivered via learning activities such as University of Cambridge academic led videos, quizzes and group work  
• optional live sessions (1 hour) with University of Cambridge academics and tutors to deepen your understanding of the week's material. These sessions may include an informal Q&A, a short lecture or a breakout activity that builds on the content introduced that week. All sessions are recorded and made available to stream so you can catch up whenever suits you
• guided critical thinking via our reflective workbook so you can collect, structure and summarise information and your thoughts as you progress through the course. 

What will I get on completion?

Evidence your learning with a Certificate of Achievement from the University of Cambridge on successful completion.