Intro to ENV 350: Energy and

Environment Policy and Politics

September 12, 2016

Policy-making is shaped by conflict over ideas,

interests and institutions

Globe and Mail story from last Friday

What
interests
are
represented
here?
What
institutions?
What
competing
ideas?
What kinds
of power
are being
exercised to
determine
outcome?

Four questions
1.
2.
3.
4.

Why take this course?

Why is 2016 a great time to take this
course?
Why do I want to teach this course?
What is the course about?

Why take this course?

Harnessing cheap, versatile energy from

fossil fuels is central to our civilization.
The rate at which we are burning fossil
fuels is changing the climate.
Climate change threatens our civilization
(and other species).

Bill McKibbens Climate Math

Three Numbers
1. 2 Degrees Celsius: Maximum allowable
increase in global average temperatures.
Cites IEA saying we are on track to six
degrees of warming.
2. 565 gigatonnes: Maximum quantity of
additional greenhouse gases (CO2e) we can
put into the atmosphere and still (possibly)
stay below 2 degrees.
3. 2,795 gigatonnes: Proven reserves of fossil
held by
energy
companies.
Fromfuels
Bill McKibben
(August
3, 2012).
Global Warmings
Terrifying New Math. Rolling Stone Magazine.

Summary: Burning fossil fuels was a

blessing, but has become a curse
Therefore: Broad agreement that some
form of public policy intervention is
required.
But: Smart people disagree on the best way
to intervene.
Goal of this course: Give you the
analytical tools to figure out what to do.

Opening exercise: how do you make sense of

the world?
Theories of change
Progress

Cycles -

Development

Conflict -

Technology

Power -

Ideas -

Evolution -

Markets -

Chaos, Complexity, and

Criticality

A pragmatic proposal: Canadas Ecofiscal

Commission

A revolutionary proposal: Naomi Kleins This Changes

Everything

Why is 2016 a great time to take this course?

Canadian energy policy used to be boring

because there was a broad consensus:

Goal: provide reliable energy at lowest possible

cost.
Best way to do this: allow markets to allocate
resources, with arms-length government agencies
operating under the radar ensuring smooth
functioning of these markets.
There were environmental critiques of this
consensus, but they had relatively little impact on
policy outcomes.

Now: Energy policy is a central point of conflict

within Canadian politics.

Exciting developments in 2016

After a 10 year absence, federal
government is re-entering the sphere of
climate policy-making.
Federal government is negotiating with
provinces over a new, comprehensive
national climate plan (plan due in
November).
Oil sands sector a major driver of
Canadian economy is facing economic
(low price of oil) and environmental
(opposition to pielines) challenges.

More exciting developments

Dramatic reduction in cost of non-fossil

energy means it will cost less to solve
problem than suffer impacts of climate
change.

But: According to climate scientists, the

change is still too slow

Why do I want to teach this course?

Trying to change public policy on energy
and environment is what I do in my day
job.
Ph.D. in political science, specializing in
environmental policy.
17 years with non-governmental
organizations as policy analyst / advocate
(Toronto Environmental Alliance, World
Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace)

Academia vs Advocacy

Academic analysis: Understanding

complexity, inter-relations, influence of
institutions and ideas, as well as how
power is exercised.

Advocacy: Take this understanding of

complexity and identify where the pressure
points are for making change happen.

This course: Develop your academic

analysis of the relationship between
energy, economy and environment.

What is the course about?

Three parts
1. Review historical context of energy systems
and energy transitions in order to
understand policy tools available to decisionmakers.
2. Use contemporary case studies to explore
the approaches to influencing energy and
environmental policy employed by different
policy actors.
3. How public policy can address the
opportunities and challenges presented by
renewable energy as a disruptive
technology.

Assignments

Critical review of one of the major readings

(25%)

Mid-term exam (25%)

Demonstrate that you have closely read and can

critically assess one of the required readings.
Demonstrate your grasp of the material covered in
the course.

Final Essay (50%)

Building on your critical review, demonstrate that

you can apply the concepts studied in the course
to an empirical case studies.

Contact
Course Instructor:

Keith Stewart: climatekeith [at] gmail.com or

keith.stewart [at] utoronto.ca
Office Hours: Mondays 5 6 pm in ES 2104
Teaching Assistants:
Chhavi Narula <c.narula [at] mail.utoronto.ca >
Joaquin Bardello Bandera
<joaquin.bardallobandera [at]
mail.utoronto.ca>

Online
Course website:
www.env350.wordpress.com
Twitter: use hashtag #env350

Questions and Discussion