-Comprehension of the UN's 'Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs), their prevalent challenges, the main initiatives undertaken to attain the SDGs, and their varying results. -Understanding about the governance of sustainable development (SD) at the local, regional, national, global and supranational levels. Analysis of the challenges of sustainability and governance from a critical and interdisciplinary point of view. -Acquiring a historical perspective on the environmental sustainability of global economic development, linked to the SDGs. -Knowledge of the main concepts of environmental science, including 'the earth system', its main components; critical assessment regarding the importance of those components for global, national and local environmental governance and public policies. -Learning the indicators on climate change in the past and present, along with past and present energy transitions, analysis of long-term changes in the environmental footprint of food production and consumption. -Ability to analyze perspectives and ideas in light of empirical reality such as the intensified process of globalization and fierce competition between countries, regions and companies.

1. Socioeconomic and environmental sustainability: issues, actors, interests, and institutions. 2. Basic concepts of sustainability and global governance. Architecture of global governance. 3. Major challenges of economic sutainability. Global economic integration and the operation of the international trade regime: sustainability and governance-related issues. 4. Major challenges of environmental sustainability. Architecture of global environmental governance. 5. Climate change and economic development: a very long view. 6. Climate change since industrialization. 7. Land-use change, international food trade, and diets. 8. Resource extraction, energy sources, and economic development. 9. The Environmental Kuznets Curve and the planetary limits to economic growth. 10. Behavioural decision making and climate change. 11. Behavioural economics and environmental policy design. 12. The determinants of green policy acceptance.

This course uses various methodologies such as lectures and a number of different student-led classroom activities (discussions, small group work and presentations). The objective is to promote active participation of the students as well as their critical thinking and reflection on the topics covered in this course. Students are encouraged to do the readings before each session in order to facilitate more informed participation. -Lectures -Practical sessions -Tutorials -Team assignments: presentation, debates, data search and analysis -Individual assignments