Back to selection
34505-01 - Lecture: The Rise of International Environmental Risks: Corporate & Government Management Strategies (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Every fall sem. |
| Lecturers | John Wargo (john.wargo@unibas.ch) |
| Content | This graduate course examines globally significant environmental risks that transcend national boundaries. Problems considered include carbon emissions, air pollution, drinking water, food safety, agricultural chemicals, climate change resilience, land restoration and tropical forest loss. In each case we will explore environmental and health damages, and the potential effectiveness of diverse forms of regulation. These include ingredient labels, producer responsibility, hazard warnings, trade secrecy, intellectual property rights, burden to prove safety, prohibitions, contamination ceilings, labeling, transparency, monitoring & enforcement, tariffs, taxation, subsidies, pollution offsets and risk trading rights. We will explore innovative corporate management programs including ESG investments in carbon capture, carbon sequestration, and emissions reduction technologies. Corporate transparency initiatives such as SEC filing requirements will be considered. Private sector certification programs are also a form of private self-regulation designed to discourage government regulations, yet metrics and data used to achieve certification are often not available for public criticism. Food, textile, building materials, and forestry certification programs provide examples. You will learn to judge the effectiveness of diverse environmental laws to reduce or eliminate risks to the environment and health. You will also learn about corporate risk management strategies, as well as how traditional forms of command-and-control regulation are vulnerable to agency neglect, private control of evidence or its absence, budget cuts, and litigation. The fragility of international environmental agreements will be apparent in several of the topics such as palm oil development, agricultural chemicals, and plastics management. |
| Learning objectives | You will learn to judge the effectiveness of diverse environmental laws to reduce or eliminate risks to the environment and health. You will also learn the potential of private sector and public-private partnerships to voluntarily reduce environmental and health threats. You will learn the vulnerabilities of national environmental laws, and the fragility of international environmental agreements given their often-limited adoption by major economic powers, and their restricted ability to enforce treaty requirements. |
| Bibliography | All readings will be posted on a Google Drive: ● Only the first 3 readings for each day are required, others are optional. ● Occasionally I will assign different readings to different groups. ● Please complete the readings before the course begins! |
| Weblink | Weblink |
| Admission requirements | Recommended prerequisites: Solid understanding of business and economics on the bachelor level. The following courses are helpful. Environmental and Resource Economics (10160) or 10160 Introduction to Environmental Economics and 71004 Resource Economics Public Choice and Public Economics (10148) Globalization and European Integration (Globalisierung und europäische Integration, 34504) |
| Course application | Please register by sending an email to summerschool-wwz@unibas.ch no later than by June 30, 2025. All further information can be found on the website of the Summer School. The enrollment for the course is at the same time the final registration for the exam!. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| täglich | See individual dates | ||
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 04.08.2025 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Tuesday 05.08.2025 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Wednesday 06.08.2025 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Thursday 07.08.2025 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Monday 11.08.2025 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Tuesday 12.08.2025 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Wednesday 13.08.2025 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Thursday 14.08.2025 | 09.30-12.00 | Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Seminarraum S15 HG.31 |
| Modules |
Module: Core Competences in Economics (Master's Studies: Sustainable Development) Module: Field Electives in Economics and Public Policy (Master's Studies: Economics and Public Policy) Module: Specific Electives in Business and Economics (Master's Studies: Business and Economics) Module: Specific Electives in International Business, Trade and the Environment (Master's Studies: Business and Economics) Specialization Module Global Europe: Environment and Sustainability (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Specialization Module Global Europe: Global Ageing and Health (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Specialization Module Global Europe: Globalized Trade and Business (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Specialization Module Global Europe: Statehood, Development and Globalization (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Course attendance is compulsary. Exceptions only by prior permission from the Summer School administration. Final grades will be determined as follows: tbp. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Registration/deregistration: faculty |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | 1-6 0,1 |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Business and Economics , studiendekanat-wwz@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Faculty of Business and Economics |