Sustainability, climate and energy

Summary

The course provides students with a comprehensive scientific understanding of the links between climate and energy systems in the context of sustainability. It will cover topics related to natural and anthropogenic climate change, the fundamentals of energy systems and their efficiency.

Content

Keywords

Climate change, Earth system, greenhouse gases, energy system, energy conversion, fossil and renewable sources, feedbacks

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

None

Recommended courses

ENV-320: Physics and chemistry of the atmosphere

Important concepts to start the course

Thermodynamics

Conservation principles

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Discuss the concepts of climate variability at different time scales and climate sensitivity
• Draw the energy balances of an energy conversion system
• Describe the climate limitations to energy conversion scenarios
• Interpret climate data and model outputs

Transversal skills

• Plan and carry out activities in a way which makes optimal use of available time and other resources.
• Communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines.
• Summarize an article or a technical report.
• Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.

Teaching methods

Course ex-cathedra and exercises.

Project work with teams.

Field visit.

Expected student activities

Lecture attendance, exercise assignments, project work, presentations

Assessment methods

20% exercises

30% project

50% exam

Supervision

Resources

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/ENV-421