The Great Sustainability Transition: Global Challenges, Local Actions

Learn from experts in environmental science at Leiden University

We are living in an era of unprecedented environmental change. As a result, we are experiencing biodiversity loss, climate change, and overuse of freshwater resources, to name just a few. All of these affect fundamental ecosystem processes, causing change on a local and global scale.

On this four-week course from Leiden University, you’ll learn how these huge environmental crises are interconnected and how they impact our planet.

By the end, you’ll be empowered to take action in your local environment by engaging in real-world activities within your community.

Understand the risk of biodiversity loss

You’ll start by examining the planetary boundaries and how we could exceed key boundaries, risking an increasingly uninhabitable planet.

Next, you’ll explore biodiversity to understand its value and threats. With this knowledge, you’ll learn more about the biodiversity in your community and how to promote it.

Explore climate breakdown and environmental change

As you delve into the environmental changes happening to our planet, you’ll unpack the consequences of climate breakdown.

You’ll look at the big picture and learn how to debunk climate misinformation before exploring what you can do to take local action.

Learn how to take collective action to tackle big issues such as pollution

You’ll gain insights into how pollution affects the planet as you develop the skills to assess the different risks associated with this threat. This knowledge will help you understand how to take collective action against issues such as plastic pollution.

Finally, you’ll explore the global and local transitions needed for a better future. This knowledge will ensure you finish the course with the skills to tackle local issues in your community which will help have a global impact.

This course is designed for anyone interested in the global environmental crises and how to translate this to a local setting.

You’ll learn, skill up, and become engaged with important environmental issues.

While it is not necessary for completion, during the course we will use the apps iNaturalist and Litterati, which can be downloaded in your Apple or Android app store.

This course is designed for anyone interested in the global environmental crises and how to translate this to a local setting.

You’ll learn, skill up, and become engaged with important environmental issues.

• Explain Planetary Boundaries and their link to affluence and population
• Reflect on the intrinsic value of biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Describe the basic mechanics of climate change and the extreme effects of climate change on human systems
• Explore the known and unknown solutions to climate change with the concepts of mitigation, adaptation and suffering
• Describe the different kinds of pollution and provide details on effect and impact
• Apply what was learned to local issues, through analysis of local, community, national and global levels
• Explain possible reasons for why we have not acted faster to climate change
• Explore solutions to common action problems