Global Challenges for a Sustainable Society (edX)

Our society today is facing many challenges: climate change, hunger, inequality,…

Although you probably have heard about or even personally experienced many of them, the information we get about these issues is often fragmented, incomplete, biased or even completely wrong.

Our team of experts will introduce you to different global challenges we face today and how they are linked to one another. This course will give you a good basic understanding of each of the challenges, their interrelationships and where we may look for possible solutions.

On top of an update of your knowledge on these challenges, you will learn to understand the data, see the bigger picture, and formulate knowledge-based arguments.

What you'll learn

By following this course, you will:

- Know the current state of the challenges and, using this knowledge, be able to test and interpret new information that reaches you regarding these challenges.

- Develop the reflex to critically approach and verify statements around the topics discussed and be able to take a position based on facts and rational considerations

- Know where to find and how to interpret crucial (numerical) material on these challenges.

- Become aware that the world is constantly evolving and have the reflex to update your knowledge.

- Gain insight into the relationship between different issues and, when dealing with one issue understand the implications for the other challenges.

- Understand why people often hold mistaken views (and which are the main ones) and know how to counter them.

Syllabus

- Climate change : on how climate has changed and is changing, why this is happening, what the consequences are and what possible solutions are, both on a personal and an institutional level.

- Biodiversity : on what biodiversity is and its current state is, why biodiversity matters, what the main threats are and how we can prevent and reverse biodiversity loss.

- Demography : on how population sizes have changed over time, why this has happened, what this means for the future and how we can influence these processes.

- Energy : on how to reduce the impact of energy production and how to minimize energy consumption.

- Raw materials and circular economy : on were materials come from, how and with what impact they are processed and discarded, and how circular economy presents a sustainable alternative.

- Food security : on meeting the food demands of a growing world population, with limited land available, while minimizing the environmental impact of agriculture.

- Buildings : on the impact of the construction of buildings, the energy use of buildings and the effects of urban planning.

- Mobility : on the impact of person and freight transport and sustainable transport solutions.

- Economics of sustainable development : on the connection between economy and environment and the shortcomings and opportunities of economics for sustainable development.

- Social and economic inequality : on trends in inequality, the drivers behind it and how inequality is linked to all aspects of sustainability.

- Human behavior : on the psychology of people’s behavior and how we can influence people towards the wanted behavior.

- Global Governance : on the role of law and lawyers in enabling or blocking sustainability and international negotiations and its challenges.