Center for Global Affairs

Clean Technology: Developments, Trends, and Opportunities

The world is in a transition to cleaner and smarter energy consumption and production. This energy transition is being driven by a number of important factors. Most importantly, governments and businesses are working together to mitigate climate change and this requires new, cleaner energy sources. But clean energy is also finding increasingly favorable economics, driven by rapidly evolving technology improvements and more widespread pricing of CO2. The recent energy crisis stimulated by the war in Ukraine has brought renewed focus on food, energy and natural resource independence and security and that is also driving investment and adoption of clean energy. Clean tech is also pursued as a means to escape from the massive burden of water and air pollution many societies still experience. Sustainable development is no longer a dream. It¿s fast becoming a global reality. This course will look at recent developments in clean technology, including renewable energy, digital solutions to energy efficiency and demand management, new systems for electricity storage and efficient transmission and distribution, green buildings, transportation, waste management and sustainable agriculture. We will examine both high-tech businesses in the developed world as well as new tech solution opportunities for the developing world. We will study how governments promote clean tech innovation and adoption and the political and economic roadblocks that might stand in the way of rapid acceleration of deployment.
Course Number
GLOB1-GC2125
Associated Degrees