Broadening Horizons: Teaching planning students about climate change at the Griffith School of Environment

Abstract

Climate change is a problem that requires action on many fronts. Society needs to both reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to impacts that cannot be avoided. Meeting such challenges requires a concerted effort by all sectors of society (government, business and the community) and this in turn places new demands on many professions. Planners will have a particularly important role to play and the challenge for educators is how to best provide graduates with the appropriate skills and knowledge. One of the key problems is how to integrate climate change into an already crowded professional curriculum. Should it be inserted as a topic in existing courses, should separate courses be created, or should a combination of these two approaches be adopted within a degree? What new skills and background knowledge will planners need? What is the best mode of delivery? This paper addresses these questions using examples from the Griffith School of Environment that has built up considerable experience in this area of professional education over several decades. The school offers a variety of degrees (in urban and environmental planning, architecture, environmental management and environmental science) and provides a useful perspective on the challenges faced by a broad range of professions across all sectors.