Among climate scientists there is an emerging consensus that climate change prevention, mitigation, and adaptation actions are needed to avert serious human and ecological consequences and enable a prosperous future for all. This consensus has led to growing support for solutions that not only address climate change but also deliver on other development priorities (i.e. health, jobs, investment, socioeconomic/gender equity, education, etc.). The multiple benefits that come from solutions that cut across the climate and sustainable development agendas can be called the co-benefits of climate mitigation and adaptation measures. Co-benefits—or all the benefits that result from actions that mitigate climate change and achieve other development gains—have drawn attention as climate planners have sought to enhance collaboration between government agencies and stakeholder groups with varying interests. Policy makers have identified co-benefits that can reduce cost concerns that could stand in way of ambitious climate action. As many of the strongest linkages between climate and sustainable development are local, the interest in co-benefits would presumably be strong in cities.If cities may be inclined to seek co-benefits, they may lack the capacities and tools for assessing how climate responses contribute to wider sustainable development objectives. They may similarly struggle to implement the policies and measures they identify with significant co-benefits.
This course is a joint class between The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies of Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan (IGES/Japan), with graduate students, faculty and staff from UT-Austin, IGES/Japan, and research institutions in the USA, Japan, France, and the UK. The reason for the Friday 8-11 am time slot is enable colleagues in Japan to be able to connect with UT-Austin students and faculty. The UT-Austin course will have a graduate section (PA682PGA, unique #:xxxxx) and an undergraduate section (PA325, unique #: xxxxxx) that will meet at the same time and in the same location, but have different requirements and student expectations. The LBJ School of Public Affairs (LBJ School) of UT-Austin is cooperating with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) (based in Hayama, Japan) to investigate whether Austin, Texas can improve its municipal infrastructure and municipal services and improve the health of its citizens by implementing its Climate Equity Plan. The course contributes to an internationally funded project (i.e. Great Britain’s Wellcome Trust) that will enable the sharing of experience sharing and peer learning on the co-benefits of climate action among the five target cities: Austin, Texas, Paris, France, and the three cities in Japan (Kawasaki, Niigata, and Hachinohe).
The purpose of this Policy Research Project (PRP) class is to help students:
(1) establish a working knowledge and facility with how co-benefits relate to international climate and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) processes;
(2) learn how co-benefits can be quantified and assessed in Austin, Texas, Paris, France, Kawasaki, Japan, Hachinoche, Japan, Niigata, Japan, and other cities; and
(3) determine how the cities under study can overcome barriers to implementing policies with significant co-benefits potential.
The course is scheduled for regular class meetings on Fridays 8 am to 11 am to allow colleagues around the world to join the class via Zoom: 8 am in Austin is either 10 or 11 pm in Japan, depending on the season. When the class will subdivide into smaller research sub-groups, time slots that work better for the participants will be identified and utilized.
Students enrolled in the class are eligible to travel to Japan for Summer 2025 for being embedded in and a Japanese agency or non-governmental organization active in climate response, through an internship affiliated with the Global Career Launch-Japan (GCL-Japan 2025) program of Texas Global. Supplemental funding sources include research contracts at UT, International Student Fee Scholarships, Curtis W. Meadows, Jr. Social Enterprise Fellows, Crook Fellowships, LBJ School-based support for internships, or from other sources, including scholarships and fellowships. SEE MORE IN SYLLABUS