Teacher(s)
Language
English
Content
Context
Human activities are impacting the environment. Among others, energy related pressures on the environment include the emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants, land use, waste generation and water and soil pollution, contributing to climate change, damaging natural ecosystems and causing adverse effects to human health. Thus, it is not surprising that the European Union (EU) has tried to develop a proper policy agenda on environmental concerns. At the same time, the Earth being one, environmental policies need to be placed in a wider geopolitical context. In addition, environmental efforts have to be combined with economic development, energy supply security, and social justice. As this course will show, ensuring the coherence of all these objectives is not always that simple.
Objectives
In this context, this course aims at providing knowledge on the policies and politics of the European Union regarding environmental issues.
More precisely, the course aims at making students:
Human activities are impacting the environment. Among others, energy related pressures on the environment include the emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants, land use, waste generation and water and soil pollution, contributing to climate change, damaging natural ecosystems and causing adverse effects to human health. Thus, it is not surprising that the European Union (EU) has tried to develop a proper policy agenda on environmental concerns. At the same time, the Earth being one, environmental policies need to be placed in a wider geopolitical context. In addition, environmental efforts have to be combined with economic development, energy supply security, and social justice. As this course will show, ensuring the coherence of all these objectives is not always that simple.
Objectives
In this context, this course aims at providing knowledge on the policies and politics of the European Union regarding environmental issues.
More precisely, the course aims at making students:
- Gain knowledge of the main characteristics of European environmental policies
- Understand the main concepts used to describe them
- Develop analytical skills and a critical mind with regards to the impact of EU environmental policy
Teaching methods
Teaching methods
Each class starts with a collective discussion of the short readings/documents associated to each class and/or of students’ assessments. It then exposes particular concepts linked to environmental policymaking in the EU and gives concrete illustrations. Each class can be understood individually. Put together, all classes follow the evolution of conceptual thinking and political practices about European environmental policies.
The course rests on four teaching methods: active learning during the collective discussions; lectures given by the professor; readings associated to the classes; appropriation of concepts by academic writing practice.
Each class starts with a collective discussion of the short readings/documents associated to each class and/or of students’ assessments. It then exposes particular concepts linked to environmental policymaking in the EU and gives concrete illustrations. Each class can be understood individually. Put together, all classes follow the evolution of conceptual thinking and political practices about European environmental policies.
The course rests on four teaching methods: active learning during the collective discussions; lectures given by the professor; readings associated to the classes; appropriation of concepts by academic writing practice.
Evaluation methods
Evaluation
The course is evaluated in two steps.
First, the course is evaluated by three short written assessments to be made individually by the students. Written assessments consist in an individual research on topics related to the classes. They have to be uploaded on the course platform Moodle at a required date. They count for 50% of the total grade.
Second, the course is evaluated by a written exam at the end of the course session. The exam counts for 50% of the total grade. Guidelines regarding the exam will be communicated in due course.
In order to succeed, students have to submit both steps, in English, and obtain an average grade of at least 10/20. The written assessments are delivered during the course; the exam can be presented during different exam sessions within the corresponding academic year (2025/2026) but students have to register for the chosen exam sessions for their grade to be taken into account in the final calculation. The obtained grades for each step will be kept until both steps have been submitted (in the meantime, for administrative reasons, students receive a temporary grade of 0/20).
Plagiarism and fraud will be sanctioned according to the university regulations. To avoid plagiarism, students are invited to read the faculty page dedicated to this precise issue. The use of Artificial Intelligence tools is not allowed for the written assessments.
The course is evaluated in two steps.
First, the course is evaluated by three short written assessments to be made individually by the students. Written assessments consist in an individual research on topics related to the classes. They have to be uploaded on the course platform Moodle at a required date. They count for 50% of the total grade.
Second, the course is evaluated by a written exam at the end of the course session. The exam counts for 50% of the total grade. Guidelines regarding the exam will be communicated in due course.
In order to succeed, students have to submit both steps, in English, and obtain an average grade of at least 10/20. The written assessments are delivered during the course; the exam can be presented during different exam sessions within the corresponding academic year (2025/2026) but students have to register for the chosen exam sessions for their grade to be taken into account in the final calculation. The obtained grades for each step will be kept until both steps have been submitted (in the meantime, for administrative reasons, students receive a temporary grade of 0/20).
Plagiarism and fraud will be sanctioned according to the university regulations. To avoid plagiarism, students are invited to read the faculty page dedicated to this precise issue. The use of Artificial Intelligence tools is not allowed for the written assessments.
Other information
Place in the program
In the Advanced Master program, this course insists on reasoning. Political scientists have been inspired by, among others, the development of European environmental policies and have developed new analytical tools to understand and explain them. The effort they have done, to constantly link practice to theory and analysis is at the core of this course, which presents the events and concepts that have shaped the Environmental Politics sub-discipline. While you will learn about analytical tools during the course, you will use them to write research assessments related to the course.
In the Advanced Master program, this course insists on reasoning. Political scientists have been inspired by, among others, the development of European environmental policies and have developed new analytical tools to understand and explain them. The effort they have done, to constantly link practice to theory and analysis is at the core of this course, which presents the events and concepts that have shaped the Environmental Politics sub-discipline. While you will learn about analytical tools during the course, you will use them to write research assessments related to the course.
Online resources
Bibliography
Useful references for the course
Academic journals
Earth System Governance (open access): https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/earth-system-governance
Environmental Politics: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/fenp20
Global Environmental Change: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/global-environmental-change
Global Environmental Politics: https://direct.mit.edu/glep
Books
Henrik Selin and Stacy D. Van Deveer, European Union and Environmental Governance, Routledge Global Institutions Series (Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2015.
Morin, Jean-Frédéric and Amandine Orsini (eds.). 2020. Essential Concepts of Global Environmental Governance, Abingdon: Routledge. Second edition.
Morin, Jean-Frédéric, Orsini, Amandine and Sikina Jinnah. 2020. Global Environmental Politics: Understanding the Governance of the Earth. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Orsini, Amandine and Eleni Kavvatha (eds.). 2025. EU environmental governance: current and future challenges. London: Routledge, 2nd edition.
Torney, Diarmuid. 2019. Environmental Policy and European Union Politics. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. 23p.
Academic journals
Earth System Governance (open access): https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/earth-system-governance
Environmental Politics: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/fenp20
Global Environmental Change: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/global-environmental-change
Global Environmental Politics: https://direct.mit.edu/glep
Books
Henrik Selin and Stacy D. Van Deveer, European Union and Environmental Governance, Routledge Global Institutions Series (Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2015.
Morin, Jean-Frédéric and Amandine Orsini (eds.). 2020. Essential Concepts of Global Environmental Governance, Abingdon: Routledge. Second edition.
Morin, Jean-Frédéric, Orsini, Amandine and Sikina Jinnah. 2020. Global Environmental Politics: Understanding the Governance of the Earth. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Orsini, Amandine and Eleni Kavvatha (eds.). 2025. EU environmental governance: current and future challenges. London: Routledge, 2nd edition.
Torney, Diarmuid. 2019. Environmental Policy and European Union Politics. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. 23p.
Faculty or entity
Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)
Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Learning outcomes
Advanced Master in EU Environmental Governance (POLLEN)
