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Climate change is one of the main challenges to humanity in these decades, and as such, it has historical roots. This course aims to uncover contexts of raising greenhouse gas emissions, intensive land use, harming natural ecosystems, and pushing climate planetary boundaries towards the limits of the good livelihood of societies across the globe.
The course aims to provide students with an understanding of the historical context of climate change. It will cover ongoing debates about climate change mechanisms, energy transformation, climate protection policies, and climate misinformation. The current situation is not coincidental; it has specific historical roots, causes, and identifiable mechanisms. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to describe the fundamental causes of climate change from a historical standpoint, gain an understanding of the historical progression of climate policies, and understand essential concepts related to analysing the present situation. Each lesson comprises a lecture followed by a discussion of students' questions. Last update: Moravanský Matěj, Mgr., M.A. (17.01.2025)
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Erasmus students
FF UK or other UK students
(If interested, we can arrange a seminar based on the collected essays during the exam period.) Last update: Moravanský Matěj, Mgr., M.A. (16.02.2025)
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Sources and Recommended Literature 1. Literature and Studies BRAND, Ulrich. Kapitalismus am Limit: Öko-imperiale Spannungen, umkämpfte Krisenpolitik und solidarische Perspektiven. Von den Autoren des Bestsellers “Imperiale Lebensweise”. Oekom Verlag: 2024. MALM, Andreas. Fossil Capital: The Rise of Steam Power and the Roots of Global Warming. London: 2016, Verso. BULLER, Adrienne. The Value of the Whale. Manchester University Press, 2022. CHANCEL, Lucas. “Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019.” Nature Sustainability, 2022. LATOUR, Bruno. Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime. Polity Press: 2018. ROCKSTRÖM, Johan, et al. 2024. “The planetary commons: A new paradigm for safeguarding Earth-regulating systems in the Anthropocene.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 121 (5) SZULECKI, Kacper Szulecki, Tomasz BOREWICZ & Janusz WALUSZKO. „A Brief Green Moment: The Emergence and Decline of Polish Anti-Nuclear and Environmental Movement.“ In: Interface 7, 2015. HORGENSEN, Ståle. Against the Crisis: Economy and Ecology in a Burning World. London, New York: Verso, 2024. RAWORTH, Kate. Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. Random House, 2017. HANIEH, Adam. Crude Capitalism. Verso, 2024. CHRISTOPHERS, Brett. The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet. Verso, 2024. CARTON, Wim & MALM, Andreas. Overshoot: How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown. Verso, 2024. PARRIQUE, Timothée. The Political Economy of Degrowth. Lund University, 2019. THUNBERG, Greta, et al. The Climate Book. London, Penguin Books: 2023. MOORE, Jason W. Capitalism in the Web of Life. London, Verso: 2015. POLANYI, Karl. The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. New York, Beacon Press: 1944. GÖRG, Christoph, Christina PLANK, Dominik WIEDENHOFER, Andreas MAYER, Melanie PICHLER, Anke SCHAFFARTZIK, and Fridolin KRAUSMANN. 2020. “Scrutinizing the Great Acceleration: The Anthropocene and its analytic challenges for social-ecological transformations.” The Anthropocene Review 7 (1): 42-61. BRAND, Ulrich & Marcus WISSEN. “Fordism, post-Fordism and the Imperial Mode of Living.” In CARROL, William K., et al. The Elgar Companion to Antonio Gramsci. Northampton: 2024, Edward Elgar Publishing. CARSON, Rachel. “A Fable for Tomorrow” & “The Obligation to Endure.” In Silent Spring. London: Penguin Books, 2000. MEADOWS, Donella H., Dennis MEADOWS, Jötsrgen RANDERS, William W. BEHRENS. The Limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome Project on the Predicament of Human Mankind. New York, Universe Books: 1972. MANN, Michael E. The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back our Planet. Melbourne, Victoria: 2021. DELAY, Tad. Future of Denial: The Ideologies of Climate Change. London: Verso, 2024. STODDARD, Isak, Kevin ANDERSON, Stuart CAPSTICK, Wim CARTON, Joanna DEPLEDGE, Keri FACER, Clair GOUGH, et al. 2021. “Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven't We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?” Annual review of environment and resources 46 (1): 653-689. CHAUDHARY, Ajay Singh. The Exhausted of the Earth. London, Repeater Books: 2024. PATOČKA, Josef, Martin ČECH & Eva FRAŇKOVÁ. 2024. “Degrowth in the Semi-Periphery: Ecology and Class in Central and Eastern Europe.” Czech Journal of International Relations 59 (2). 2. Audio and video materials Tech Won’t Save Us podcast: https://techwontsave.us/ The Break Down podcast: https://www.break-down.org/ Downstream podcast: https://novaramedia.com/category/video/downstream/ 3. Websites Facts on Climate: https://factsonclimate.org/ World Weather Attribution: https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/ Climate Reanalyzer: https://climatereanalyzer.org/ Last update: Moravanský Matěj, Mgr., M.A. (07.02.2025)
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History of Climate Change (summer semester 2024/2025) Type: Lecture Teacher: Mgr. Matěj Moravanský MA Matěj Moravanský is a PhD student in modern social and economic history at Charles University Prague and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. He focuses on the environmental history of Central Europe, energetic policies, and nature protection during the socialist period and on the post-1989 transformation. He also works as a climate reporter at Deník Referendum and covers just transformation, energy policy, and strategies of climate disinformation. Kontakt: matej.moravansky1998@gmail.com Course Content and Targets Climate change is one of the main challenges to humanity in these decades, and as such, it has historical roots. This course aims to uncover contexts of raising greenhouse gas emissions, intensive land use, harming natural ecosystems, and pushing climate planetary boundaries towards the limits of the good livelihood of societies across the globe. The course aims to provide students with an understanding of the historical context of climate change. It will cover ongoing debates about climate change mechanisms, energy transformation, climate protection policies, and climate misinformation. The current situation is not coincidental; it has specific historical roots, causes, and identifiable mechanisms. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to describe the fundamental causes of climate change from a historical standpoint, gain an understanding of the historical progression of climate policies, and understand essential concepts related to analysing the present situation. Each lesson comprises a lecture followed by a discussion of students' questions. Schedule of Classes and Topics 1. Introduction An introduction of students, explanation of course content, literature, and objectives. 2. Where We Are: Climate, Crisis and Change Brief history of climate science and introduction to basic climate change mechanisms. Literature: Oppenheimer, Michael. The Discovery of Climate Change. In Thunberg, Greta, et al. The Climate Book. London: 2023, Penguin Books. Richardson, Katherine, Will Steffen, Wolfgang Lucht, Jørgen Bendtsen, Sarah E. Cornell, Jonathan F. Donges, Markus Drüke, et al. 2023. “Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries.” Science Advances 9 (37). 3. The Birth of Fossil Capitalism Climate change is not solely a natural, physical, or meteorological phenomenon but rather a nature-social issue. The current situation has been caused by socio-economic structures and their specific historical development over the past few centuries. In this lecture, we will examine the Industrial Revolution as one of the catalysts for climate change. Literature: Malm, Andreas. “In the Heat of the Past: Towards a History of the Fossil Economy.” In Fossil Capital: The Rise of Steam Power and the Roots of Global Warming. London: 2016, Verso. Moore, Jason W. “The Capitalization of Nature, or, the Limits of Historical Nature.” In Capitalism in the Web of Life. London: 2015, Verso. 4. The Great Transformation and the Great Acceleration Climate change is not a continuous linear historical process but a fast rupture event. What are the significant ruptures in the process of emerging climate change? Literature: Polanyi, Karl. “Man, Nature, and Productive Organization.” In The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. New York: 1944, Beacon Press. Görg, Christoph, Christina Plank, Dominik Wiedenhofer, Andreas Mayer, Melanie Pichler, Anke Schaffartzik, and Fridolin Krausmann. 2020. “Scrutinizing the Great Acceleration: The Anthropocene and its analytic challenges for social-ecological transformations.” The Anthropocene Review 7 (1): 42-61. 5. Climate Change and Cold War: Western and Eastern Fordism Great acceleration took place on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The improvement of economic performance, rising consumption goods productivity such as automobiles, and extensive ecological harms emerged in these decades in the Soviet Union, the US, and Western and Eastern Europe. Literature: Brand, Ulrich, and Wissen, Marcus. “Fordism, post-Fordism and the Imperial Mode of Living.” In Carroll, William K., et al. The Elgar Companion to Antonio Gramsci. Northampton: 2024, Edward Elgar Publishing. 6. Climate Change and Cold War: Race of Western Academia and Soviet Lysenkism for Better Ecology & Reflection of the First Half of the Course Scientists on both sides of the Iron Curtain worked to share expertise on climate change and ecological topics. It wasn't just a scientific race and an ideological competition to determine which system was more suitable for ecosystems and the planet. The students will have the chance to review the course material, the teacher's performance, and their active involvement in the first half of the course. Literature: Doose, Katja. 2021. “A Global Problem in a Divided World: Climate Change Research during the Late Cold War, 1972–1991.” Cold War History 21 (4). 7. Birth of Reflection: Oil Shocks, Limits to Growth, Silent Spring, and its Czechoslovak Echoes Growing numbers of ecological disasters and economic crises linked to oil shocks in the 1970s created conditions for the emergence of a reflection on socio-economic impacts on natural ecosystems, the environment, and planetary systems. This reflection was crucial for developing the first climate change policies. Literature: Carson, Rachel. “A Fable for Tomorrow” & “The Obligation to Endure.” In Silent Spring. London: Penguin Books, 2000. Meadows, Donella H., Meadows, Dennis L., Randers, Jötsrgen, Behrens, William W. “The Limits to Exponential Growth” In The Limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome Project on the Predicament of Human Mankind. New York: 1972, Universe Books. 8. The Lie Factory: the Birth of Climate Disinformation The lecture by climate disinformation researcher Vojtěch Pecka shows us how climate corporations have hidden outcomes and warnings about climate science in the past and also today. Literature: Mann, Michael E. The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back our Planet. Melbourne, Victoria: 2021, Scribe. DeLay, Tad. Future of Denial: The Ideologies of Climate Change. London: Verso, 2024. 9. Global Efforts: Rio, the Ozone Hole, Copenhagen, Paris and Green Deals Almost three decades have adopted clear ambition for mitigating climate change by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Why, despite many summits, declarations, and sustainable targets, can we bend the emission curve? The commitments of the states around the globe cover almost 90 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, so nearly every nation on the planet has some climate policy. In the European Union, this is commonly known as the Green Deal; what are these policies, and which are effective? Literature: Stoddard, Isak, Kevin Anderson, Stuart Capstick, Wim Carton, Joanna Depledge, Keri Facer, Clair Gough, et al. 2021. “Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven't We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?” Annual review of environment and resources 46 (1): 653-689. 10. “We Are Not on the Same Boat” The impact of climate change differs for people around the world. Latin American maize producers and Indian textile workers have distinct roles in addressing climate change compared to Europeans or Americans. They are also differently affected by climate change and have different expectations for policies to address the climate crisis. How do perspectives on climate change differ between core economic countries and those on the periphery? Literature: Chaudhary, Ajay Singh. “We´re Not in This Together”. In The Exhausted of the Earth. London: 2024, Repeater Books. Patočka, Josef, Martin Čech, and Eva Fraňková. 2024. “Degrowth in the Semi-Periphery: Ecology and Class in Central and Eastern Europe.” Czech Journal of International Relations 59 (2). 11. Varieties of Transformations, Green Capitalism, and Technofixes Carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy, or geoengineering. A degrowth, green capitalism, or communism, new social-nature relations: climate change has many solutions, but what are the primary perspectives? Literature: Carton, Wim, and Malm, Andreas. “The Limit Is Not a Limit”. In Overshoot: How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown. London: 2024, Verso. Christophers, Brett. “Introduction”. In The Price Is Wrong. London: 2024, Verso. Raworth, Kate. “Be Agnostic about Growth.” In: Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. London: 2018, Random House. 12. Conclusion, Reflection and Feedback In this concluding lesson, we will summarize key points about the history of climate change and the potential future developments in addressing the climate crisis. Additionally, we will gather feedback and reflect on the entire course. 13. Lecture cancelled - rector's day Other Sources and Recommended Literature 1. Literature and Studies BRAND, Ulrich. Kapitalismus am Limit: Öko-imperiale Spannungen, umkämpfte Krisenpolitik und solidarische Perspektiven. Von den Autoren des Bestsellers “Imperiale Lebensweise”. Oekom Verlag: 2024. BULLER, Adrienne. The Value of the Whale. Manchester University Press, 2022. CHANCEL, Lucas. “Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019.” Nature Sustainability, 2022. LATOUR, Bruno. Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime. Polity Press: 2018. ROCKSTRÖM, Johan, et al. 2024. “The planetary commons: A new paradigm for safeguarding Earth-regulating systems in the Anthropocene.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 121 (5) SZULECKI, Kacper Szulecki, Tomasz BOREWICZ a Janusz WALUSZKO. „A Brief Green Moment: The Emergence and Decline of Polish Anti-Nuclear and Environmental Movement.“ In: Interface 7, 2015. HORGENSEN, Ståle. Against the Crisis: Economy and Ecology in a Burning World. London, New York: Verso, 2024. 2. Audio and video materials Tech Won’t Save Us podcast: https://techwontsave.us/ The Break Down podcast: https://www.break-down.org/ 3. Websites Facts on Climate: https://factsonclimate.org/ World Weather Attribution: https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/ Last update: Moravanský Matěj, Mgr., M.A. (18.02.2025)
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