Ignazio Musu (Scientific Coordinator), Venice International University
Globalization has important impacts on the environment, that must beconsidered in order to achieve sustainable development. Environmental issueshave gained center-stage in economic analysis and policy-making, and theirurgency has opened new opportunities in terms of technological innovation andentrepreneurship.
The course will cover different themes, starting from the introductionof the sustainable development concept and the illustration of the Millennium Development Goals. The case study of China will be considered as representative of the relationship between economic development andenvironmental issues.
The course will also explore the role of firms forsustainable development, considering Corporate Social Responsibility and Industrial ecology. Finally the course will study, from different perspectives, climate change as one of the main global environmental issue, consideringscientific evidences, energy implications and policies in climate change.
Through an interdisciplinary perspective, the course will providestudents with key competences and instruments for the analysis of natural and environmental resources in a sustainable perspective and for the development of policies oriented towards the promotion of sustainable development processesboth at a national and international level.
Course organization and requirements
Students will be expected to do the required readings and to attend class regularly. Attendance is compulsory for all students. Required readings will be designated on a weekly basis according to the themes listed in the course outline. Students will be also encouraged to find additional material for their papers by searching the Internet and accessing suggested websites.
Field trips and seminars related to the course will be arranged.
Orientation Week: Introduction to the Course
Theme I – Sustainable development and Globalization
Week 1
Lecture 1: Interaction Between Society and Environment – part I. Prof. Margherita Turvani
Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapters 3-4.
Lecture 2: Interaction Between Society and Environment – part II. Prof. Margherita Turvani
Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapter 5: 5.5.6.2, 5.4; Chapter 6: 6.1, 6.2, 6.3.6-6.6.3; Chapter 7.
Week 2
Lecture 1: Introduction to Sustainable Development. Prof. Margherita Turvani
Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapter 10.1, 10.4
Lecture 2: Globalization and Sustainable Development: Millennium Development Goals. Prof. Margherita Turvani
Required Readings: http://www.undp.org/mdg/, www.MAweb.org
FIELD TRIP – full day
Theme II – Policies for sustainable development
Week 3
Lecture 1: How Markets Work. Prof. Ignazio Musu
Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapter 8.
Lecture 2: Market Failures. Prof. Ignazio Musu
Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapter 9.
Week 4
Lecture 1: Economic Instruments for Environmental Policies. Prof. Ignazio Musu
Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapter 11.
Lecture 2: International Aspects of Environmental Policies for Sustainable Development. Prof. Ignazio Musu
Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapter 12.
Theme III – Sustainable urban development
Week 5
Lecture 1: Trends in Urban Population Growth and Urbanization. Prof. Margherita Turvani
Required Readings: UN-HABITAT, 2009, State of the world's cities (2008/2009), Part 1 (1.1;1.2;1.3) Spatial Harmony, ISBN: 978-92-1-132010-7; UN-HABITAT 2010 , State of the World's Cities 2010/2011, Bridging The Urban Divide, Part 1 (1.1; 1.2) Urban Trends, ISBN: 978-92-113-2211-8; M. E. Kahn, 2006, Green Cities: Urban Growth and the Environment , Brookings Institution Press, Cap. 6,8.
Lecture 2: Cities and the Environment. Prof. Margherita Turvani
Required Readings: UN-HABITAT, 2009, State of the world's cities (2008/2009), Part 3 Environmental Harmony, ISBN: 978-92-1-132010-7; M. E. Kahn, 2006, Green Cities: Urban Growth and the Environment, Brookings Institution Press, Cap. 2, 3, 4.
Seminar on Sustainable Urban Development
Theme IV – The role of corporate social responsability in promoting sustainable development
Week 6
Lecture 1: Business Ethics and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility): Why Companies Ask for Ethic. Prof. Chiara Mio (Ca' Foscari University)
Required Readings: Fee (2008). Discussion Paper Sustainability Information in Annual Reports. Building on Implementation of Modernization Directive; GRI Guidelines last version.
Lecture 2: TBL (Triple Bottom Line): Environment, Ethic and Economic. Prof. Chiara Mio (Ca' Foscari University)
Required Readings: Ernst & Young (2008) Keep the Balance Steady. Survey on the quality of sustainability reports 2007.
Week 7
Lecture 1: Measuring Environmental Costs. Prof. Chiara Mio (Ca' Foscari University)
Required Readings: Adams C.A., Mcnicholas P. (2007) "Making a difference. Sustainability reporting, accountability and organizational change" in Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol 20, N 3, 2007 p 382; Gray R. (2006). Does Sustainability reporting improve corporate behaviour? Wrong Question? Right time?, in Accounting and Business Research, International Accounting Policy Forum, pp 65 -88
Lecture 2: Measuring Environmental Performances. Prof. Chiara Mio (Ca' Foscari University)
Required Readings: Schaltegger S., Wagner M. (2006) Integrative management of sustainability performance, measurement and reporting, in International Journal Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, vol. 3, N. 1, 2006 pp 1-19; Waddock S., McIntosh M (2009) Beyond Corporate Responsibility: Implications for Management Development" in Business and Society Review, N. 1:3, pp 295-325.
Seminar
Midterm Exam
Midterm Break
Theme V – Environment and Development: China's challenge
Week 8
Lecture 1: The Sustainable Development Paradox in China – What is Behind the 10% Annual Growth Rate in GDP? Helen Ding (FEEM and Ca' Foscari University)
Required Readings: Holz C.A. (2005). China's Economic Growth 1978-2025: What We Know Today about China's Economic Growth Tomorrow. Zhang A., Economic Growth and Human Development in China; OECD (2005). Economic Survey of China, 2005; East-West Centre (1996). Environmental Problems in China: Estimates of Economic Costs.
Week 9
Lecture 1: The Main Features of Chinese Development – Case Study. Helen Ding (FEEM and Ca' Foscari University)
Required Readings: Nature (2005). China's Place in the World. Environmental impact of a giant; Zhang J., vanWitteloostuijn A., Zhou C. (2005). Chinese Bilateral Intra-Industry Trade: A Panel Data Study for 50 Countries in the 1992–2001 Period, Kiel Institute for World Economics; Hu V. (2005). The Chinese Economic Reform and Chinese Entrepreneurship; Xu B, Lu J.(2009)- "Foreign direct investment, processing trade, and the sophistication of China's exports", China Economic Review; Liu J., Diamond J. (2005). "China's environment in a globalizing world", Nature, Vol 435|30; Fung K.C., Iizaka H., Tong S. (2002). Foreign Trade of China, international conference on "China's Economy in the 21st Century", June 24-25, 2002, Hong Kong.
Lecture 2: Overview on Environmental Issues and Governance in China. Helen Ding (FEEM and Ca' Foscari University)
Required Readings: OECD (2006). Working Party on Environmental Performance Environmental Performance Review of China Conclusions and Recommendations. Zhang J. (2002). Environmental Protection and Legal System Construction in China; Li D. D., "China's Advantage in International Environmental Concerns", China and World Affairs.
Seminar
Theme VI – A global Challenge to sustainable development: climate change
Week 10
Lecture 1: Introduction to Climate Change. Prof. S. Gualdi (Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change)
Required Readings: IPCC (2007).Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report Synthesis Report;
Lecture 2: Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change. Prof. Carlo Giupponi (Ca' Foscari University)
Required Readings: IPCC (2007). Working Group I - Summary for Policymakers; IPCC (2007). Working Group II - Summary for Policymakers; IPCC (2007). Working Group III - Summary for Policymakers.
Week 11
Lecture 1: Energy Issue and Climate Change. Prof. Arturo Lorenzoni (University of Padua)
Lecture 2: International Environmental Agreements and Climate Change. Dr. Simona Pinton (University of Padua)
Required Readings: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992); Danish K. W. (2007). Exploring how Today's Development Affects Future Generations around the Globe: in this Issue: Climate Law Reporter: an Overview of the International Regime Addressing Climate Change, 667 of 998 DOCUMENTS, Sustainable Dev. L. & Pol'y, 10; Ackerly B., Vandenbergh M. P. (2008). "Climate Change Justice: The Challenge for Global Governance", 589 of 998 DOCUMENTS, 20 Geo. Int'l Envtl. L. Rev. 553. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998).
Week 12
Lecture 1: International Environmental Agreements and Climate Change. Dr. Simona Pinton (University of Padua)
Required Readings: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992); Danish K. W. (2007). Exploring how Today's Development Affects Future Generations around the Globe: in this Issue: Climate Law Reporter: an Overview of the International Regime Addressing Climate Change, 667 of 998 DOCUMENTS, Sustainable Dev. L. & Pol'y, 10; Ackerly B., Vandenbergh M. P. (2008). "Climate Change Justice: The Challenge for Global Governance", 589 of 998 DOCUMENTS, 20 Geo. Int'l Envtl. L. Rev. 553. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998).
Seminar
FIELD TRIP full day
Lecture 2: Presentation of the research papers and team projects.
Exam Week
VIU Lectures
VIULECTURES is an initiative promoted by VIU to provide a platform for international and local professors to discuss key and current issues.
Recent Lectures have been:
When and Where did Globalization Begin?
David Northrup, Boston College and Stefano Micelli, VIU/Ca' Foscari
From Property to Development. Chinese Economic Growth in a Historical Perspective
Bozhong Li, Tsinghua University and Ignazio Musu, VIU-TEN Center/Ca' Foscari
Participation in the VIULECTURES can be counted towards 40 hours of seminars/field trips for students of Globalization Program