Professor of Environmental Economics
Environmental Economics
What You'll Learn
- Understand key concepts like market failures and externalities in relation to the environment
- Learn how environmental economics is used to create and evaluate sustainability policies
- Explore methods of valuing environmental goods and services that are not typically sold in markets
- Learn economic approaches to assessing the global transition to renewable energy and climate policies aimed at limiting global temperature increases
7 Modules
14 Hours
2 hrs per module (approx.)
Rating
About Environmental Economics
Environmental economics is a powerful and comprehensive approach to understanding, assessing, and addressing the world’s most pressing environmental and sustainability challenges. This course, “Environmental Economics,” provides training in the principles, conceptual frameworks, and applications of environmental economics.
The course will help you develop and analyze climate policy and energy policy, and assess sustainability policy and practice. You will begin by exploring the key concepts of the sustainability economy, including market failures and externalities, like CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Learn how to use tools like benefit-cost analysis, time discounting, and environmental policy instruments to make strategic decisions in your role. Additional topics covered include the economic valuation of nonmarket environmental goods and services, specific policy instruments like CO2 cap-and-trade programs, time discounting for intertemporal decision-making, benefit-cost analysis of environmental regulations, the global energy transition to renewables, and global climate policy.
By understanding both sustainable and unsustainable economic practices and activities, you’ll learn to make policy and financial decisions that have positive impacts on our planet and your organization.
This is the first course in “Green Skills for a Sustainable and Just Future," a course series dedicated to shaping the next generation of sustainable practices and leadership.
Skills You'll Gain
- Cost Benefit Analysis
- Decision Making
- Energy Analysis
- Environmental Economics
- Environmental Justice
- Market Value
- Policy Analysis
- Sustainability Initiatives
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Environmental Economics introduces principles and tools used to evaluate environmental policies and sustainability outcomes. Learners apply economic frameworks to real-world challenges such as valuation, regulation, energy transitions, and climate policy through quizzes and practice exercises. This course is part of the Green Skills for a Sustainable and Just Future series.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Introduction to Environmental Economics
- Video: Welcome to Environmental Economics
- Reading: Meet Your Instructor
- Reading: Syllabus
- Reading: Help Us Learn About You
- Discussion Prompt: Meet Your Fellow Global Learners
- Reading: Optional Module 1 Resources
- Reading: Microeconomics Review and Pretest
- Video: (Optional) Review: Consumer Demand Model
- Video: (Optional) Review: Consumer Decision-making and Consumer's Surplus
- Video: (Optional) Review: Producer Supply Model
- Video: (Optional) Review: Competitive Market Equilibrium
- Video: Externality: One Bridge to Environmental Economics
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Externalities
Module 2: Economic valuation of Nonmarket Environmental Goods and Services
- Reading: Optional Module 2 Resources
- Video: Economic Valuation of Nonmarket Environmental Goods and Services
- Reading: Dasgupta Review: Nature's Value Must Be at the Heart of Economics
- Video: Travel Cost Method
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Travel Cost Method
- Video: Hedonic Price Method
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Hedonic Price Method
- Video: Contingent Valuation Method
- Video: Nonmarket Valuation for Estimating Damages from the BP Oil Spill
Module 3: The Economics of Environmental Regulation
- Reading: Optional Module 3 Resources
- Video: Economics of Environmental Regulation: The Need for Environmental Regulation
- Video: The Marginal Cost of Abatement
- Video: Command-and-Control Regulation and Market-Based Regulation
- Video: What is Least-Cost Regulation?
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Analytical Frameworks
- Video: Compare and Contrast: Command and Control Regulation Versus Market Based Regulation
- Video: Market-Based Programs for CO2 Emissions: California Cap-and-Trade
- Video: Summary of Module 3: Economics of Environmental Regulation
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Environmental Regulation
Module 4: Time Discounting: Intertemporal Decision-Making and the Discount Rate
- Reading: Optional Module 4 Resources
- Video: Introduction to Time Discounting
- Video: Time Discounting: The Algebra of Discounting
- Video: How to Select a Discount Rate
- Video: Climate Policy Application: The Social Cost of Carbon
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Time Discounting and Social Cost of Carbon
Module 5: Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Framework for Evaluating Public Policies and Programs
- Reading: Optional Module 5 Resources
- Video: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA)
- Reading: CO2 Emissions Standards Executive Summary
- Video: Scoping the Benefit-Cost Analysis
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Scoping a Benefit-Cost Analysis
- Video: Quantitative Estimates of Benefits and Costs
- Video: Applying the Benefit-Cost Test
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Applying the Benefit-Cost Test
Module 6: Global Energy Transition: Fossil Fuel to Renewable Energy Resources
- Reading: Optional Module 6 Resources
- Video: Introduction to the Energy Transition
- Video: The Economic Approach to Depleting a Nonrenewable Natural Resource
- Video: A Numerical Example of Depleting a Nonrenewable Natural Resource
- Graded Assignment: Exercise of Depletion Path and Price Path
- Video: Transitioning from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy Resources
- Video: Application: An Empirical Model of Transitioning to Renewables
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Transitioning from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy
Module 7: Global Climate Policy: A Carbon Budget as an Expression of Climate Policy
- Reading: Optional Module 7 Resources
- Video: Introduction to Climate Policy
- Video: The Carbon Budget as the Limiting Stock on the Economy
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on the Carbon Budget
- Video: The Benefit-Cost Approach to Climate Policy: Model Elements
- Video: The Benefit-Cost Approach to Climate Policy: Results
- Graded Assignment: Exercise on Benefit-Cost Approach to Climate Policy
- Video: Course Wrap-Up
- Reading: Post Course Survey
Grading Policy
The course grading is based on module quizzes (6) worth 96% of the total grade, and a pretest worth 4% of the final grade. Learners must earn an overall grade of 80% to pass.
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Beginner Level
Participants will need to know introductory microeconomic principles related to analysis of markets.
