5 Climate Change e-Courses to Take Today
By Pilar Lagos
At the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), we think that education is a highly cost-effective way to address climate change, especially if combined with a lifetime learning approach. We also believe that it is important to invest in people’s learning and skills on climate change.
For this reason, in 2014, the One UN Climate Change Learning Partnership (UN CC:Learn) developed the Introductory e-Course on Climate Change, which provides an overview of everything related to climate change.
To date, more than 10,000 people have completed our flagship course Introductory e-Course on Climate Change. We can already demonstrate the impact that our courses are having in people from all over the world, for example, from Mexico to Pakistan.
Ahead of our participation at the UN Climate Change Conference taking place from 6–17 November 2017 in Bonn, Germany, we compiled a list of climate change related e-courses that will surely provide you with important information about climate change. And best of all, you will polish your skills too!
1. From Climate Science to Action: Taught by the World Bank Group, this MOOC gives you the opportunity to learn about regional climate change impacts and sector-specific strategies to increase resilience and move towards a low-carbon future.
The MOOC ‘From Climate Science to Action’ is divided into four weeks. The first two weeks, you’ll receive a comprehensive overview of the scientific evidence for climate change, followed by region-specific insights on the impacts of a warmer world in the 21st century. The last two weeks will focus on action strategies that are being undertaken in different regions and countries to meet the climate challenge. #learnclimate
Find out more about the course here.
Photo: UN/Eskinder Debebe
2. Introductory e-Course on Climate Change: Created by UN CC:e-Learn, find out everything you need to know about the basics of climate change. The course is divided in six modules, and each module takes about two hours to complete. You’ll need to pass a quiz after each module to receive a certificate from UNITAR. Bonus: this course is now available in five languages. #thinkclimate
Start learning today! Join UN CC:e-Learn here.
3. Climate Change: The Science: This self-paced course taught by The University of British Columbia offers participants an introduction to climate change basics. You’ll learn about flows of energy and carbon in Earth’s climate system, how climate models work, climate history, and future forecasts.
In seven weeks, you’ll be able to explain climate science basics to anyone, evaluate scientific evidence about climate change and global warming, and, most importantly, you’ll practice communicating about climate change issues in your region.
Meet like-minded people from around the world and share your own story! Access the course here.
4. Open 2 Study’s Climate Change Course: This e-course will help you navigate how climate change is affecting us, why we should care about it, and what solutions we can employ. This course requires approximately 2–4 hours of study per week. You’ll be watching videos and interviews featuring Tim Flannery, one of Australia’s leading writers on climate change. You’ll also take quizzes and assessments. The total video time for this course is approximately 3 hours 30 minutes.
The course is currently running, so start learning now.
5. Climate Change: Challenges and Solutions: Taught by the University of Exeter, this course aims to explain the science of climate change, the risks it poses and the solutions available to reduce those risks. The course is aimed for entry level university students, and seeks to provide an inter-disciplinary introduction to this broad field.
The course will set contemporary human-caused climate change within the context of past nature climate variability. It will also take a risk communication approach by balancing the ‘bad news’ about climate change impacts on natural and human systems with the ‘good news’ about potential solutions. Although the course is yet to be announced, you can show your interest by registering.
Sign up here.
We hope you find this list helpful and if you are still eager to expand your knowledge on climate change, check out our compilation of UN learning platforms which include a wide array of resources related to climate change or visit: https://unccelearn.org/
Happy learning!
About UN CC:Learn
UN CC:Learn is a partnership of more than 30 multilateral organizations supporting countries to design and implement systematic, recurrent and results-oriented climate change learning. Through its engagement at the national and global levels, UN CC:Learn contributes to the implementation of climate change training, education and public awareness-raising.
