| Unit name | Climate Law |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0162 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Alice Venn |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Not applicable. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
Not applicable. |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
The climate emergency represents the greatest and most wide-ranging environmental challenge of our modern world. It is set to impact all areas of law and policy as we make the collective shift towards carbon neutrality and build more climate-resilient societies. In this unit, we will examine the opportunities and challenges encountered by using a variety of theoretical and regulatory approaches to address the climate emergency, ranging from liability for climate loss and damage, to market-based solutions such as emissions trading. We will explore the relationship with the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development as well as the potential of human rights and the rights of nature to address the impacts of climate change upon vulnerable groups and ecosystems. As students, you will be introduced to climate law and policy frameworks at the international, regional, and domestic levels, learning to utilise core environmental principles and theories of climate justice to critically analyse them.
Why does this unit fit into your programme of study?
The Climate Law unit sits centrally as a core unit within the LLM in Law -Environment, Sustainability and Business, forming a key part of the guiding framework under the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 13 on climate action and Goal 16 on peace, justice, and strong institutions. It links to units such as Legal Perspectives on Sustainability, Environmental Law, and Health Law in the consideration of theoretical and regulatory approaches to addressing the impacts of climate change upon ecosystems, economies, human health, and wellbeing. It may also be of particular interest to students on the LLM Human Rights Law and LLM Law and Globalisation students programmes, and is also an optional unit for all our LLM programmes.
An overview of content
The unit introduces students to the key law and policy responses to the climate crisis at the international, regional, and national scales along with a variety of regulatory approaches ranging from soft law, to state responsibility, and market-based mechanisms. Students will develop the skills to critically analyse these approaches, assessing their potential to respond effectively to the climate crisis from a law-in-context perspective which takes into account the political and socio-economic factors feeding into climate law and policy decision-making.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Students will develop their ability to critically analyse the effectiveness and potential of a wide range of different theoretical and practical law and policy approaches ranging from hard law to market-based mechanisms and soft law. They will be able to hone their legal research and writing skills through the formative and summative assessments and have opportunities in seminars to develop their oral arguments and advocacy skills, for example through mock climate negotiations and advice exercises.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through synchronous seminars and lectures, along with asynchronous materials and activities such as the preparation of discussion questions, guided readings, and videos.
The seminars will encompass feedback opportunities for the students and skills-based activities such as advocacy exercises alongside the more traditional Q&A activities and group discussions.
A formative feedback lecture and revision lecture will also be provided.
This structure offers benefits to a variety of different learners and can be oriented towards practical skills including advocacy which is well-suited to our LLM students, many of whom are likely to be specialising with a view to practicing in the areas of sustainable business and environmental law.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
There will be opportunities for formative feedback throughout the course via group seminar discussions and feedback from the tutors, along with office hour appointments for individual points of clarification.
The formative assessment will take the form of an introduction and essay plan of maximum 1,000 words which will be released early in the term. Students will be provided with a question based upon one of the early topics. Group feedback will be provided in a lecture along with individual written feedback based upon the marking criteria.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The 4,000 word summative assessment will take the form of an essay drawing upon themes from across the unit. Students will have a choice of two assessment questions and will be expected to undertake their own independent research and to draw upon a range of legal sources and scholarship to support their argument. This assessment will cover all Intended Learning Outcomes for the unit.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, the unit will be reassessed on a like-for-like basis with new assessment questions.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0162).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
