• Identify and critically evaluate alternative environmental policy instruments.
• Develop written and verbal skills in communicating an environmental economic perspective.
• Understand the issues facing policy designers in an emerging market urban landscape.
• Demonstrate an awareness of contemporary policy and institutional issues in environmental policy in emerging markets as well as a working knowledge of the functions and functioning of the various institutions affecting policy formulation and implementation.

An important consequence of the rapid worldwide growth in developing economies is the dramatic acceleration in urbanization rates, which intensifies the strain on existing infrastructure and the local environment. Moreover, in the past decade or so an ever-increasing number of consumers in these countries have become members of the so-called middle class and have gained better access to credit and consumer markets. This development has had a significant impact on the purchase of durable goods (in particular, automobiles and electric appliances), and brought with it important implications for energy use and environmental practices. Policy changes will likely be required in order to address these environmental challenges. Effective policy formulation requires careful consideration of the role of incentives and economic reasoning together with a detailed awareness of the political pressures that policymakers face. Without these insights, policy measures may be ineffective, or even counterproductive.

This course has been designed to provide students with a clear understanding of the role of incentives and the other economic factors involved in policy design and their impact on the creation of effective policies, enabling them to more precisely assess the potential impact of various sustainability policies discussed in the international media.

In this course particular attention will be given to emerging markets, including a detailed examination of several Brazilian examples that illustrate some key issues associated with sustainability in the face of rapidly excalating urbanization:

• Congestion problems in major Brazilian cities (São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro) – the average gridlock distance in São Paulo is over 120 km during the afternoons leading to high pollution levels in addition to serious inconvenience and spurring new commuting and mobility initiatives.

• Air pollution and renewable fuels – Brazil is one of the world leaders in renewable fuels based on its sugarcane-industry-based ethanol fuel program with more than 80% of new cars able to run on gasoline and on ethanol, with positive effects on the environment.
• Water supply and pollution – São Paulo is facing serious problems of water supply management, with difficulties in serving over 20 million people in drought years (such as 2014) necessitating an integrated approach to demand management and environmental conservation.

The Preliminary Assignment will involve viewing a series of videos and preparing a brief reflective essay on at least two of the video themes that is to be uploaded to CBS Learn for discussion in Class 1. The Mid-term Assignment will involve the analysis of a relevant case by students working in groups for presentation in Class 6 with class discussion following the presentations.

Preliminary Assignment: To help students get maximum value from ISUP courses, instructors provide a reading or a small number of readings or video clips to be read or viewed before the start of classes with a related task scheduled for class 1 in order to 'jump-start' the learning process.

The timetable is available on http://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/summer-university-programme/courses.

Textbook:Fundamentals of Environmental and Urban Economics by Matthew E. Kahn. 2013 ASIN: B00E1U992U. Kindle version available.

Other resources:

Edward Wong, “As Pollution Worsens in China, Solutions Succumb to Infighting,” New York

Times March 21, 2013.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008. Highlights of National Trends, pp. 4-17, 25-26,30, 34.

Goulder, Lawrence. “California’s Bold New Climate Policy.” Economists’ Voice 4(3), 2007.

Goulder, Lawrence, and Andrew Schein. “Carbon Taxes vs. Cap and Trade: A Critical Review.” NBER WP 19338. 2013.

Nordhaus, William. “To Tax or Not to Tax: Alternative Approaches to Slowing Global Warming.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 1(1), Winter 2007. Excerpt: pages 30-39.

Solow, Robert M. “Sustainability: An Economist’s Perspective,” in Robert N. Stavins, Ed.,Economics of the Environment: Selected Readings, 4^th Ed. (London: W.W. Norton), 2000,

pp. 131-140.

Arrow, Kenneth, et al., “Are We Consuming Too Much?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, Summer 2004. pp. 147-155, 159-169.

Bongaarts, John. “Population Policy Options in the Developing World,” Science 263, 11 February 1994.

Das Gupta, Bongaarts, and Cleland, “Population, Poverty, and Sustainable Development: A Review of the Evidence,” 2011, pp. 2, 7-15.Available at https://openknowledge.worldbank.com/handle/10986/3484

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141024-sao-paulo-brazil-drought-water-environment/

Relevant references for Brazilian sustainability and urbanization experiences will be provided on LEARN.