737333 Social metabolism and climate change

Type
Lecture and exercise
Semester hours
4
Lecturer (assistant)
Wiedenhofer, Dominik , Haberl, Helmut
Organisation
Offered in
Sommersemester 2025
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

Use of biophysical resources (land, materials, energy) is often associated with GHG emissions and other climate-drivers. At the same time, resource flows and accumulation of societal material stocks are required for provision of services that are of key importance for societal well-being. They are also intimately related with social practices of dwelling, being mobile, working or feeding oneself.
This course will elucidate various nexus concepts dealing with systemic interrelations between different resources, material stocks, and the outflows of wastes and emissions (materials-energy-land-GHG), between economic growth and resource use (‘decoupling, ecological modernization and green growth, degrowth’) as well as between resource use and provision of key services (the ‘stock-flow-service’ nexus). Moreover, it will be concerned with the role of dominant practices of everyday life (e.g., practices related with being mobile, with food/nutrition, work or housing) for social metabolism. Several methods that can be used to empirically analyze social metabolism and its relationships with services and practices, as well as emissions and their societal drivers will be dealt with.
Previous knowledge expected

The course is intended for advanced students who have completed the compulsory introductory modules
•Climate Change and Social Ecology
•Grand challenges in the Anthropocene
•Scenarios and models as tools to understand complex systems
•Transformation pathways
•Inter- and transdisciplinary approaches and processes
and within Specialization 2: Social Ecology of Climate Change
•Biophysical concepts and methods of social ecology
•Climate change mitigation: A socio-ecological perspective
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

After completion of the module, the students will have gained an understanding of the interrelations and feedbacks between socioeconomic use of resources (materials, energy, land) and drivers of climate change, such as GHG emissions. Participants will be familiar with nexus concepts dealing with systemic interrelations between different resources, material stocks, and the outflows of wastes and emissions (materials-energy-land-GHG), between economic growth and resource use (‘decoupling, ecological modernization and green growth, degrowth’) as well as between resource use and provision of key services (the ‘stock-flow-service’ nexus). Moreover, they are able to appreciate the role of dominant practices of everyday life (e.g., practices related with being mobile, with food/nutrition, work or housing) for social metabolism. The students will have developed an understanding of several methods that can be used to empirically analyze social metabolism and its relationships with services and practices, as well as emissions and their societal drivers.

Students will be able to apply relevant methods of material, energy and carbon accounting and approaches to model stock-flow dynamics, supply chains and footprints in a mini-research-project. In their empirical work, students develop skills in data extraction from international databases, data compilation according to standardized conventions, the application of a selected model (e.g., Environmentally Extended Input Output Models, Life Cycle Assessment or Dynamic Material Stock Analysis), and in the presentation and discussion of results.

After successful completion of the course, students will be able to use concepts of sociometabolic research to discuss and analyze the links between resource use, GHG emissions, production and consumption, as well as their wellbeing contributions and linkages with practices of everyday living. They will have become acquainted with selected methods from sociometabolic research to investigate resource use in sustainability science and climate change research, including hands-on work with the analysis and interpretation of data from international databases, statistical data, and model results. In the lecture-seminar part, students will have gained competencies in critically reading current academic literature, excerpting main scientific messages, analyzing their methodological and conceptual foundations, and discussing those in plenary discussions with peers and experts. In the practical part, students will have gained ability to apply selected socio-metabolic methods in practical research and will have trained their skills in presenting and discussing scientific results.

Due to the disciplinary mix of students and lecturers, participants develop skills in interdisciplinary communication in empirical work with colleagues from other scientific backgrounds.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.