Environmental Economics 

Course Overview

This new two-part course is designed to provide a practical introduction to the concepts, approaches and methods used in economics to address challenges in water and environmental management. It has been jointly developed with eftec, the UK’s leading dedicated environmental economics consultancy and coordinator of the UK Network of Environmental Economists, and Environmental Policy Consulting, which specialises in the application of environmental economics to water management.

The course will be of interest to those working in the private sector, in public agencies and in non-profit organisations with an interest in how economics impacts on decision making in relation to the natural environment. It is relevant to a range of sectors and fields, including agricultural economy, environmental consulting, water management, green infrastructure, climate change, natural capital, natural resource management, environmental policy/advocacy and environmental impact/sustainability assessment.

Part One of the course introduces key concepts, methods and valuation techniques used in environmental economics to support decision making. Part Two of the course will encompass application to real world challenges, including climate change, biodiversity, green infrastructure, resource management and natural capital.

Format:

The online format will combine webinars and self-learning using moodle, a web-based learning platform or course management system. Each part of the course is split into 4 modules (8 in total). Each part runs over a two-week period (four weeks in total), with a 1-2 hour webinar session on Tuesday and Thursday of each week (same time). Students will be expected to undertake reading and complete tasks between sessions.

Each module will consist of:

• An introduction to and overview of the module (webinar presentation)
• A practical exercise or group discussion task
• Self-assessment questions for completion prior to the next webinar session

Trainers and speakers.

The course will be run by eftec (Ece Ozdemiroglu, Allan Provins) and Environmental Policy Consulting (Bruce Horton). Additional speakers may be used to support the ‘applications to policy’ modules.