The Sustainability Journey: Climate Conversations in English

Timetable

15 meetings of 90 minutes every week in the winter semester 2026/27

Module aim (aims)

This course is designed to equip you with the language skills needed to engage meaningfully in discussions about climate change in international contexts. By the end, you will be able to confidently articulate your insights, interpretations, and proposed solutions to the climate crisis, with a particular focus on sustainable cities.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

The course is dedicated to students at B1+ level of English (CEFR) who have some basic understanding of environmental sciences and are curious about climate change.

Syllabus

During the course you will:

1. Explore the meaning of sustainable development and analyze the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

2. Showcase climate change by describing extreme weather phenomena experienced in your countries.

3. Take a closer look at the greenhouse effect and global warming, understanding their impacts on our environment. 

4. Analyze the natural causes of climate change and the historical perspectives, unraveling the intricacies of our planet's climate.

5. Examine human-induced climate change, exploring our role in shaping the climate.

6. Explore the storage and circulation of CO2 and the oceanic carbon pump, gaining insights into their role in the Earth's climate system.

7. Investigate the dynamics of changing human behaviors in response to environmental challenges.

8. Analyze trends in transforming cities for a more sustainable future.

9. Compare diverse approaches to making cities greener, fostering sustainability in urban planning.

10. Design and deliver in class a collaborative presentation, outlining actionable steps towards achieving SDG 11 and 13 in your countries.

Reading list

References

1. Rebecca, "If you win the popular imagination, you change the game" - why we need new stories on climate, The Guardian, (12 Jan., 2023),
2. Myers, et al, "Consensus revisited: quantifying scientific agreement on climate change and climate expertise among Earth scientists 10 years later", Environmental Research Letters Vol.16 No. 10, 104030 (20 October 2021); DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/ac2774
3. Cook et al., "Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature", Environmental Research Letters Vol. 8 No. 2, (15 May 2013); DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024
4. R. L. Anderegg, “Expert Credibility in Climate Change”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 107 No. 27, 12107-12109 (21 June 2010); DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1003187107