FE401 Environmental- and Energy Politics

Contents and structure

The course will provide an introduction to the most important environmental discourses and an introduction to methods used to analyze environmental impacts of technical systems and products, with an emphasis on consequensal analysis, life-cycle assessment and ecological footprints. The course will give an overview over policy instruments and requirements stimulating increased production and use of renewable energy in Norway. 

The course will give an historical review over Norwegian enviromental- and energy politics, and emphasis will be put on understanding the development and background of the current system. An overview of the most important actors and elements in international energypolitics will also be given. The course will provide a thourogh introduction to the  licence procedure for energy plants based on the legal and practical process based on requirements in the licence procedure. An introduction to qualitative methods will be given, in particular interviews, to use in the project assignment. 

Learning Outcome

Knowledge

• The students will have knowledge about the most important environmental discourses.
• The students will have knowledge about the most common methods for environmental concequensal analysis and asses these in relation to environment and sustainability. 
• The students will have knowledge about the most important actors and policy instruments in national and international energy politics. 
• The students will have knowledge about the most important politcy instruments in order to stimulate to increased production and use of renewable energy
• The students will have knowledge about different types of printed and digital sources and key Norwegian scientific databases

Skills

• The students should be able to develop an application for license for an energy plant
• The students should be able to perform an environmental impact assesment for an energy plant
• The students should be able to use interviews and document analysis in the prosject assignment
• The students should be able to search and find relevant scientific literature in key Norwegian databases

Competence

• The studentes should have basic competence about the most important environmental discources, energy- and enviromental policy tools and the most common methods for enviromental impact assesment
• The students should be able to develop and submitt and application for license for an energy plant

Entry requirements

No

Recommended previous knowledge

No

Teaching methods

Lectures, guestlectures, groupwork.

Compulsory learning activities

Two written assignments. 

Assessment

Written group based projectassignment with groups of 2-5 students. Grade by letters A-F, where F is failed.