Description
Globalization, in particular economic globalization, has important impacts on the environment that have to be considered in order to achieve sustainable develop- ment.
The course aims at introducing the students to sustainable development concept in relation to globalization, with a special focus on environmental aspects. Environ- mental issues have gained center-stage in economic analysis and policy-making and their urgency has opened new opportunities in terms of technological innova- tion and entrepreneurship.
Through an interdisciplinary perspective, the course will provide students with competences and instruments for the understanding and analysis of sustainability issues and for the development of solutions oriented towards the promotion of sustainable development processes both at a local, national and international level. The last part of the course will be devoted to engage the students in designing projects to promote sustainable development in Venice, allowing to put in practice what has been learnt during the course.

Introduction and objectives
The course focuses on environmental issues in a globalized contest within the framework of sustainable development. For this purpose the course will cover different themes, starting from the introduction of the concepts of sustainable development and globalization in relation to the environment, exploring then the new concept of Green and Circular Economy, going into depth on climate change and biodiversity issues.

THEME I – SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT
THEME II – SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN PRACTICE: SDG12
THEME III – GLOBALIZATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE (SDG13) AND BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION (SDG14)
THEME IV – PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Course organization and supervision
The overall structure of the course and its thematic organization has been developed by Ilda Mannino (TEN Program - Venice International University) in collaboration with Ignazio Musu (Ca’ Foscari University, TEN Program - Venice International University). Ilda Mannino is also coordinator of the course.
The course is organized around different thematic areas taught by Ilda Mannino and Ignazio Musu.

Course Requirements
Students will be expected to do the required readings and to attend class regularly. Attendance is compulsory for all students. Required readings will be designated on a weekly basis according to the themes listed in the course outline. Students will be also encouraged to find additional material for their final project by searching the Internet and accessing suggested websites.
Field trips and seminars related to the course can be arranged.

Module Essays – There will be a short essay requested to each student for each module – 55% of the final grade.
Final project – There will be a group research project to develop, to present in a written group report and through an oral presentation in class – 35% of the final grade.
Class participation – Overall class participation, in terms of both attendance and interaction, will count for 10% of the final grade

Syllabus

THEME I – INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT

Week 1

Tuesday, 27 February
Introduction to the Sustainable Development Concept
Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program, Venice International University)

Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapter 4; UN (1992), Rio Declaration.

Thursday, 29 February
Introduction to the Sustainable Development Concept part 2
Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program on Sustainability, Venice International University)

Required Readings: Book Ecological Economics, by Michael Common and Sigrid Stagl, Chapter 10: 10.1 and 10.4; UN (1992)

Week 2

Tuesday, March 5
Development of the SD concept: Rio 92 and the Rio Declaration
Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program on Sustainability, Venice International University)

Thursday, March 7
From Rio 92 to the SDGs
Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program on Sustainability, Venice International University)

Required Readings: http://www.undp.org/mdg/; http://www.un.org/millenni- umgoals/reports.shtml, The Millennium Declaration; http://unsdsn.org/; UN 2012, The future we want.

To be read before the next class: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/top- ics/sustainabledevelopmentgoals

Required Readings:
Choose one SDG for the discussion in class

Week 3

Tuesday, March 12
SDGs in depth: presentations by the students

Thursday, March 14
SDGs in depth: presentations by the students

Assignment 1: essay Module I in 1 week

Week 4

Tuesday, March 19
SDGs and SD: Strengths and Weaknesses of SDGs Covid Impacts and Future Perspectives. Alternatives to SD and Economic Growth
Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program on Sustainability, Venice International University)

Readings:
Reid A.J. et al. (2017). Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals still neglecting their environmental roots in the Anthropocene, Environmental Science and Policy 77, pp 179–184.
Lomborg B. (2017). The Mis-Measure of Development;
Bali Swain R. (2017). A critical analysis of the Sustainable Development Goals, in W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research, World Sustainability Series.
Latouche S. (2003). Sustainable development as a paradox. Symposium Baltic Sea 2003.
Gdansk, Kaliningrad, Tallinn, Helsinki and Stockholm; Bali Swain R. (2017). A critical analysis of the Sustainable Development Goals, in W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research, World Sustainability Series.
Naidoo R. & Fisher B. (2020). Sustainable Development Goals: pandemic reset, Nature, Vol 583;
Alibegovic M, Cavalli L., Lizzi G., RomaniI. (2020). COVID-19 & SDGs: Does the current pandemic have an impact on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals? A qualitative analysis, FEEM Brief, 07, June 2020;

Suggested readings: Font Vivanco D., McDowall W., Freire-González J., Kempd R., van der Voet E. (2016). The foundations of the environmental rebound effect and its contribution towards a general framework, Ecological Economics, 125, pp. 60– 69.

Thursday, March 21
Lecture: The Planet Boundaries
Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program on Sustainability, Venice International University)

Required readings: Steffen W., Richardson K., Rockström J., Cornell S. E., Fetzer I., Bennett E. M., Biggs R., Carpenter S. R., de Vries W., de Wit C. A., Folke C., Gerten D., Heinke J., Mace G. M., Persson L. M., Ramanathan V., Reyers B., Sörlin
S. (2015). Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet, Science 347 (6223), doi: 10.1126/science.1259855

Johan Rockström | Planetary boundaries: scientific advances | Frontiers Forum Live 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KfWGAjJAsM&list=PLpCH1XIO3lYtREL- TupGHOfrbylNlPhPKR&index=7

THEME II – SDGs AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE (SDG13), ENERGY TRANSITION (SDG7) AND BIODIVER- SITY (SDG 14 & 15)

Week 5

Tuesday, March 26
Economic Globalization and the Environment
Prof. Ignazio Musu (Ca’ Foscari University and TEN Program, Venice International University)

Readings: Jonathan Harris, Brian Roach, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Routledge, fifth edition, 2023, chapters 2, 3 and 8.

Thursday, March 28
Energy: The Great Transition
Prof. Ignazio Musu (Ca’ Foscari University and TEN Program, Venice International University)

Readings: Jonathan Harris, Brian Roach, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Routledge, fifth edition, 2023, chapter 11; Daniel Yergin, The New Map, Penguin Books, 2022

Mid-term break April 1 - 5

Week 6

Tuesday, April 9
Scenarios of Climate Change
Prof. Ignazio Musu (Ca’ Foscari University and TEN Program, Venice International University)

Required Readings: N. Stern, Why are we waiting?, MIT Press, 2015, ch.7-9, World Energy Outlook, International Energy Agency, October 2023;

Thursday, April 11

Dealing with the energy crisis and climate change.
Prof. Ignazio Musu (Ca’ Foscari University and TEN Program, Venice International University)

Suggested Readings: W. Nordhaus, The Spirit of Green, Princeton University Press, 2012, ch.22-23; Jonathan Harris, Brian Roach, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Routledge, fifth edition, 2023, chapters 12-13.

THEME III – SDGs AND THE ENVIRONMENT: SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION (SDG12)

Week 7

Tuesday, April 16
Focus on SDGs 12: Introduction to Green Economy Concept and Ideas
Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program on Sustainability, Venice International University)

Required Readings: Lifset R. & Graedel T.E. (2002). Industrial ecology: goals and definitions in A handbook of industrial ecology, Robert U. Ayres, Leslie Ayres (eds.); Georgeson L., Maslin M. and Poessinouw M. (2017). The global green economy: a review of concepts, definitions, measurement methodologies and their interactions. In Geography and Environment, 2017, 4 (1), e00036.

Thursday, April 18
Focus on SDGs 12: Implementing the Life Cycle Thinking: Eco-design and LCA Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program on Sustainability, Venice International University)

Required Readings: Rebitzer G. et al. (2004). Life cycle assessment Part 1: Frame-work, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications, Environment International 30 (2004) 701 – 720; Science direct (2017), Life Cycle Assessment papers abstracts.

Friday to be confirmed
Site visit to the Venice Lagoon by boat

Week 8

Tuesday, April 23
Focus on SDGs 12: Drivers for Greening the industry
Dr Ilda Mannino (TEN Program on Sustainability, Venice International University)

Required Readings: Lifset R. (1993). Take it back: Extended Producer Responsibility as a Form of Incentive-based Environmental Policy, Journal of Recource Management and Technology, Vol. 21 n.4; Jackson T. (2005). Live Better by Consuming Less? Is There a “Double Dividend” in Sustainable Consumption?”, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 9, n. 1–2.

Thursday, April 25
National holiday

Rescheduled class
Focus on SDGs 12: Sustainable Consumption

Required Readings: Lifset R. (2005). Moving from Products to Services, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 4, n. 1; Geissdoerfer M., Savaget P., Bocken N. M.P., Hultink
E. J. (2017). The Circular Economy: A new sustainability paradigm?, Journal of Cleaner Production 143 (2017), pp. 757-768.

Lamberton C. (2016). Collaborative consumption: a goal-based framework, Current Opinion in Psychology 2016, 10:55–59.

Suggested readings: Guldmann E. (2016). Best Practice Examples of Circular Business Model.

THEME IV – SUSTAINABILITY IN PRACTICE: VENICE CASE STUDY

Week 9

Tuesday, April 30
Introduction to the Group Project and the Research Tools

Thursday, May 2
Definition of Sustainability Issues in Venice: Work in class on definition

Week 10

Tuesday, May 4
Sustainability issues in Venice: presentations by students

Thursday, May 6
Idea generation for solutions

Week 11

Tuesday, May 14
Idea generation for solutions: Work in class

Thursday, May 16
Presentations of solutions by the students

Week 12

Tuesday, May 21
Developing and testing the solutions

Thursday, May 23
Developing and testing the solutions: Work in class

Submission of group project report due by Sunday, May 26

Week 13 (exams) – May 27-31

Tuesday, May 28
Presentation of Students’ group project

Thursday, May 30
Presentation of Students’ group project

Last update: January 22, 2024