Overview
Climate change is now widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing the world. Its effects are already severe in Australia as well as in many other parts of the world. This unit will present you with in-depth knowledge of the issues related to climate change, with a focus on assessing risks of climate change and approaches to deal with the impacts. You will be introduced to the nature of climate change as well as to interdisciplinary approaches and integrative perspectives to problems of anthropogenic climate change. These include response strategies and programs to avert, mitigate, and adapt to climate change.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Completion of 18 credit points
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2024
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
- Interpret the scientific concepts underpinning climate change and identify anthropogenic climate change
- Critically analyse the short-term and long-term effects of climate change on societies and ecosystems
- Apply interdisciplinary approaches to assess climate change risk and formulate strategies for climate change mitigation and adaption.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Report - 50% | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||
| 2 - Communication | |||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||
| 4 - Research | |||
| 5 - Self-management | |||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||
| 7 - Leadership | |||
| 8 - First Nations Knowledges | |||
| 9 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.wu@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 08 Jul 2024Module/Topic
Global atmospheric systems and climates
Chapter
No textbook is required for this unit. Weekly learning materials will be provided on the unit's Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 15 Jul 2024Module/Topic
Climate change: What and how?
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 22 Jul 2024Module/Topic
Climate change: Unveiling the drivers
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 29 Jul 2024Module/Topic
Australia's climate: Past, present, and future
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 05 Aug 2024Module/Topic
Navigating the consequences of climate change
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 12 Aug 2024Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 19 Aug 2024Module/Topic
Systems thinking for climate change: Modeling impact, mitigation and adaptation
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 26 Aug 2024Module/Topic
Evaluating climate change vulnerability: Risk management frameworks
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 02 Sep 2024Module/Topic
Managing change: Adaptive capability
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 09 Sep 2024Module/Topic
Systems modelling strategies and impacts
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 16 Sep 2024Module/Topic
Climate change impacts on Australian biodiversity: Case studies
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 23 Sep 2024Module/Topic
Climate change impacts on public health in Australia: Case studies
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 30 Sep 2024Module/Topic
Innovation in the face of climate change
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 07 Oct 2024Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 14 Oct 2024Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Report
This assessment tasks you to investigate potential climate changes and their implications for a selected topic in Australia. Students must choose a specific subject, such as a community, region, organization, industry, species, or ecosystem, and compose a report assessing the potential impacts of climate change on the chosen topic. This involves collecting climate change data and employing system modelling techniques and risk assessment frameworks to analyse the impacts. The report should be a minimum of 2,500 words.
Detailed instructions and guidelines are provided on the unit's Moodle site.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI):
Within this assessment, the use of Microsoft Copilot, Chat GPT or other Gen AI agents is as follows: Gen AI content is used to generate ideas and general structures.
Week 9 Monday (9 Sept 2024) 9:00 am AEST
The reports will be marked and returned within two weeks, or as soon as practicable after the due date.
Your report will be evaluated based on the overall quality of your research and the effectiveness of your written communication. The assessment criteria include:
- Understanding of Climate Change Impacts: the understanding of climate change and its specific impacts on the selected study topic.
- Synthesis of Knowledge: the ability to synthesize knowledge acquired from unit learning activities, including the application of the systems model of impacts and the risk assessment framework to analyze the chosen topic.
- Research Quality: the quality of research conducted, including the relevance and reliability of climate change data and sources utilized to support your analysis.
- Written Communications: the expression and presentation, including clarity, coherence, organization, and the effective incorporation of research evidence to support your arguments.
A marking rubric is available on the unit's Moodle site.
- Interpret the scientific concepts underpinning climate change and identify anthropogenic climate change
- Critically analyse the short-term and long-term effects of climate change on societies and ecosystems
2 Written Assessment
This assessment builds upon the findings of Assignment 1 and tasks students with writing a research paper. The focus of the paper is to outline and discuss a plan or strategy for mitigating and managing the impacts of climate change on the chosen topic. This involves discussing strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as evaluating the capability and capacity of the topic or responsible agencies to address these impacts.
The paper should be at least 3,000 words in length. Detailed instructions and guidelines are provided on the unit's Moodle site.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI):
Within this assessment, the use of Microsoft Copilot, Chat GPT or other Gen AI agents is as follows: Gen AI content is used to generate ideas and general structures.
Review/Exam Week Monday (7 Oct 2024) 9:00 am AEST
The paper will be marked and returned at the end of the term.
Your paper will be evaluated based on the overall quality of your research and the effectiveness of your written communication. The assessment criteria include:
- Demonstrated understanding of the feasibility of managing climate change impacts.
- Quality of discussion on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and management.
- Appropriate application of knowledge and analysis tools learned in the unit.
- Quality of written expression and presentation, including clarity, coherence, organization, and the effective incorporation of research evidence to support your arguments.
A marking rubric is available on the unit's Moodle site.
- Interpret the scientific concepts underpinning climate change and identify anthropogenic climate change
- Apply interdisciplinary approaches to assess climate change risk and formulate strategies for climate change mitigation and adaption.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
