Students
LAWS5043 – Climate Change Law
2020 – Session 2, Special circumstance
Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
General Information
Download as PDF
| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Paul Govind
Contact via iLearn
Room, 620, 6 First Walk (Law Building)
By appointment
Lecturer
Kirsten Davies
Contact via iLearn
Room 505, 06 First Walk (Law Building)
By appointment
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|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
(80cp in LAW or LAWS units) or (130cp including LAWS1010 or LEX101 or ENVS2467 or ENV267)
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
Climate change is the outstanding environmental issue of our time. This is a specialised unit that analyses law and policy relevant to managing the problems presented by climate change. Both the causes and impacts of climate change are pervasive and present significant challenges to conventional legal approaches. The unit investigates the role of law in driving society’s response from the international law level through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement, to federal and state responses in terms of both legislation and judicial decisions to local scale actions. At each jurisdictional level, focus is given to law that relates to the major pillars of climate policy – mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. |
Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- ULO1: Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental bio-physical concepts of climate change, including its causes and impacts in the Anthropocene epoch, as a basis for understanding of the climate law framework
- ULO2: Identify and understand the challenges of managing environmental change in a context of uncertainty and how scientific information is translated into law
- ULO3: Critically analyse the history, current operation and future growth of the international climate law regime, recognizing the different perspectives of relevant groups of nation states
- ULO4: Analyse climate change law/policy and climate litigation law in Australia and overseas, to assist with critical evaluation of the effectiveness of law as a tool to assist improved climate governance across mitigation, adaptation and loss or damage
- ULO5: Develop engagement with justice/ethical considerations particular to the field of climate change and climate change law to help understand why problems may be resolved through using multiple disciplinary perspectives
General Assessment Information
General Assessment Information
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments.
Detailed marking rubrics will be made available on iLearn.
All assessments that receive a FAIL grade are double marked.
All assessments in the Unit are to be submitted electronically (via Turnitin). Plagiarism detection software is used in this Unit.
Where there is a word limit no work over the limit will be read by the marker.
Law students - All written work must (where relevant) be referenced in accordance with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition). Please use this link: https://law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analytical Research Essay | 40% | No | Internal - 14/09/20, 23:59; External - 24/09/20, 23:59 |
| Reflective paper of learning experience | 10% | No | 23/10/20, 23:59 |
| Report on status of climate law | 50% | No | 3/11/20, 23:59 |
Analytical Research Essay
Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Internal - 14/09/20, 23:59; External - 24/09/20, 23:59
Weighting: 40%
Students will prepare a research essay that analyses a topic relating to climate law.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental bio-physical concepts of climate change, including its causes and impacts in the Anthropocene epoch, as a basis for understanding of the climate law framework
- Critically analyse the history, current operation and future growth of the international climate law regime, recognizing the different perspectives of relevant groups of nation states
- Develop engagement with justice/ethical considerations particular to the field of climate change and climate change law to help understand why problems may be resolved through using multiple disciplinary perspectives
Reflective paper of learning experience
Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 23/10/20, 23:59
Weighting: 10%
Students will write and submit a reflective paper on what they have learnt through the unit
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental bio-physical concepts of climate change, including its causes and impacts in the Anthropocene epoch, as a basis for understanding of the climate law framework
- Develop engagement with justice/ethical considerations particular to the field of climate change and climate change law to help understand why problems may be resolved through using multiple disciplinary perspectives
Report on status of climate law
Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 3/11/20, 23:59
Weighting: 50%
Students will submit a report on recent developments in the area of climate law legalisation/policy or judicial decisions
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Identify and understand the challenges of managing environmental change in a context of uncertainty and how scientific information is translated into law
- Critically analyse the history, current operation and future growth of the international climate law regime, recognizing the different perspectives of relevant groups of nation states
- Analyse climate change law/policy and climate litigation law in Australia and overseas, to assist with critical evaluation of the effectiveness of law as a tool to assist improved climate governance across mitigation, adaptation and loss or damage
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
- the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
- the Writing Centre for academic skills support.
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Delivery and Resources
The unit will be taught as both an External unit and as an Internal unit. Participation in tutorials whether face to face or online and On Campus Session (OCS) or alternative arrangements for external students is is highly recommended as it links to the effective completion of assessment tasks.
Delivery
This unit heavily utilizes iLearn for all communication purposes. Announcements, lecture recordings, assessments etc. all operate upon the iLearn platform.
It is critical that students have consistent access to a reliable internet connection.
It is therefore vital that students familiarize themselves with the iLearn platform and its operations if they haven’t done so previously.
Students should regularly check the unit web page on iLearn to keep up with information for students entered by the Unit Convenor. There may be information placed on the web page at short notice concerning attendance, cancelled or postponed classes and relevant assessment items and dates. Attending on the right dates is your responsibility and mistakes with attendance may result in your failing of the unit.
Further, iLearn is utilised for the purposes of discussion forums, both teacher led and those that are exclusively for the use of students. It is highly recommended that students keep up to date with forum discussion as it features topical news items relevant to the course etc.
All communication with academic staff in this unit is to be conducted via iLearn.
Resources
There is no prescribed textbook for this course in 2020. The materials will consist of articles (peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed), book chapters, cases, legal instruments and other publications.
This will be detailed in a List of Readings published on iLearn in the week prior to the commencement of Session 2, 2020.
Some key chapters of the textbook used in previous years will be listed. Copies will be placed on reserve in the Library.
NB: A weekly lecture guide and tutorial questions will be supplied in a separate document posted on the iLearn website.
Unit Schedule
LAWS 5043/8051 2020 Schedule Overview
Week 1 – Introduction to and overview of the unit - Climate change and the Anthropocene epoch; Climate justice
Week 2 - Overview of climate science
Week 3 – International Climate Law - Mitigation, Adaptation, Loss and Damage
Week 4 – International Climate Law - Climate Change, Peace and Security
Week 5 – International Climate Law - Children of the Climate Revolution - (community uprising of young people, grass roots legal action and Human Rights
Week 6 – International Climate Law - Climate finance
Week 7 – Domestic Climate Law (Australia and NSW) – What is the current state of play? Where are we on climate law in Australia?
Week 8 - Domestic Climate Law (Australia and NSW) – Land use planning law – Mitigation
Week 9 - Domestic Climate Law (Australia and NSW) – Land use planning law – Adaptation
Week 10 – Domestic Climate Law (Australia and NSW) – Renewable Energy
Week 11 – Domestic Climate Law (Australia and NSW) – The continuing rise of ‘climate risk’ - Consumer Law; Corporations Law
Week 12 – The Future of Climate Law
Week 13 – Revision of course
Policies and Procedures
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Grade Appeal Policy
- Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy (Note: The Special Consideration Policy is effective from 4 December 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.)
Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Student Code of Conduct
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
Student Support
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Student Services and Support
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
Student Enquiries
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
IT Help
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Changes from Previous Offering
The unit has been completely overhauled for 2020. Please disregard all information regarding the unit from 2019 or earlier.