SUSTAINABILITY COURSES AT CBS: SUSTAINABILITY AND POLICY ANALYSIS – ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE ECONOMICS
By Jens Asker Aarkrog Wahlgren
Can economic efficiency and sustainable development go hand in hand? No, some would argue and point to the obvious degradation of the environment that has taken place since the beginning of industrialization. But rather than falling into a discourse, where a natural trade-off exists between economic progress and the health of the environment, it first makes sense to explore the ways in which economic and policy tools can be utilized to promote sustainability. This article zooms in on the course ‘Sustainability and Policy Analysis: Environmental and Resource Economics’ and asks IBP student, Christina Hounisen, how useful it is to take an interdisciplinary approach to environmental studies through a study of economics and policy analysis.
What is your name, age, nationality, and study program?
My name is Christina Hounisen, I am 23 years old, from Denmark, and I am currently studying a BSc International Business & Politics (IBP).
What is the course about?
The course applies economic principles to assess and evaluate policies related to fixing market externalities, such as pollution. It assesses how environmental economists use normative decision-making criteria in project appraisals to account for the positive/negative environmental impacts, when making suggestions for policy makers that maximize social net benefits. The course is more qualitative (no calculations were actually required for the economics part, and the exam consisted of essay questions), however economic principles and graphs are used to understand how topics from micro-economics can be applied to issues like carbon pricing, pollution damage, biodiversity and resource extraction.
Why did you choose this course?
I find the term ‘sustainability’ to be used in various and intangible ways, and since I have a strong interest in how we can mitigate climate change it was important for me to gain solid knowledge on how to actually assess the environmental impacts of economic activities. Also, I do enjoy economics and find policy analysis to be quite relevant for my studies. Therefore, applying economics to assess sustainability and understand the potential damages to the environment if we do not factor in the environmental costs and externalities of projects was interesting.
Whom would you recommend this course?
Students that enjoy economics and policy analysis and who have a keen interest in climate change. Also, this course is quite technical in terms of how ecosystems work, what biodiversity means, etc., so students who enjoy natural sciences would probably find that aspect interesting. The course also has a historical events dimension, so if you would like to grasp how different nation states have responded to climate change issues and better comprehend the international environmental agreements already in place, I would really recommend the course.
What are your key takeaways of the course so far?
Extremely useful in terms of understanding the challenges business and governments face when dealing with climate change. Both why it is difficult to be “sustainable” and can come at a high cost, but also why governments should be key actors in the green transition. It makes economic sense that the state should to some degree intervene to regulate behavior and ensure a sustainable growth path that does not make future generations worse off than the current one. However, it is also clear that market-based incentives, such as carbon pricing, are most cost-effective to reduce emissions for instance.
How are you hoping to use the knowledge you acquire in this course for future studies or work?
A general understanding of how we can measure and evaluate projects’ environmental impacts is something we will only have to do more of in the future, so I definitely find the course beneficial with regards to future work possibilities. Also, it’s just really interesting and useful knowledge to have, and I will take the new perspectives I have gained from this course with me to critically reflect on the interrelation between economics and the environment.