Hello everyone and welcome to this course, Designing a climate neutral world: An introduction. We hope you are all excited to begin and are looking forward to the material we have prepared for you.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing humanity, climate change mitigation is therefore one of the most important challenges of our time. To avoid the dangerous impacts of climate change we must cut global greenhouse gas emissions to near-zero levels in the coming decades. To achieve this, a drastic transformation is needed. We know that such a transformation is possible, but it will require virtually every organization, whether it is a steel company or a hospital, a municipality, or a business, to tackle climate change challenges. The question that often arises is – where to start?

In this course, we will learn about climate mitigation strategies and the basic tools needed for evaluating greenhouse gas emission alternatives. In the first part of the course, you will obtain basic knowledge including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the various types of GHG (CO2 and non-CO2), their concentration and about The Paris Agreement. You will also learn about current energy systems, electricity generation and the energy demand of various sectors. Next, we will focus on courses of action and methods that will assist in selecting the best mitigation options in any type of project or organization. As alternatives are usually judged on their efficiency and cost, we will present methodologies for measurement of emissions and calculation of costs. Here we will introduce you to the concepts of “potentials and costs” which will help you analyse alternatives by comparing emission reduction potential with the costs involved. Finally, various options such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and electrification will be used to further elaborate on emission reduction strategies.

We invite you to join this journey and to bring your own experiences and challenges to your organization.

Thanks again for choosing to follow this course, and best of luck with the material.

Kind regards,
The course team: Kornelis Blok – Professor and Rory Hooper – Moderator

In the video below, Prof. Kornelis introduces himself and the content of the course. Watch the video to get a grasp of what you can expect in the course.