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Learner Reviews & Feedback for From Climate Science to Action by The World Bank Group

4.7
stars
406 ratings

About the Course

Each part of the world faces specific vulnerabilities to climate change and has different opportunities to mitigate the effects and build resilience in the 21st century. With the ratification of the Paris Agreement, many countries have acceded to act in combatting climate change. Indeed, without climate action, decades of sustainable development is at risk, thus making this a ‘make or break’ point in time. Showcasing the most recent scientific evidence, explaining the different regional impacts and divulging climate action strategies, along with interactive tools such as a Carbon Footprint Tracker and (I) NDC Platform, this MOOC provides some opportunities, where you can take action on climate change. About the Course This action-oriented MOOC gives you the opportunity to learn about regional climate change impacts and sector-specific strategies to increase resilience and move towards a low-carbon future. You will have the opportunity to explore these issues in depth and tailor your learning experience for one or more of the following regions: • Latin America and Caribbean • Sub-Saharan Africa • Middle East and North Africa • Eastern Europe and Central Asia • East Asia and Pacific • South Asia In this endeavor, the MOOC brings together renowned scientists and policymakers to provide a synthesis of the most recent scientific evidence on climate change, regional low emissions and climate resilient development strategies across sectors. A team of expert Instructors will lead discussions around the Paris Agreement, reflections from COP22 and the progress on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Course Syllabus Overview ‘From Climate Science to Action’ is divided into four weeks. The first two weeks will provide a comprehensive overview of the scientific evidence for climate change, followed by region-specific insights on the impacts of a warmer world in the 21st century. The last two weeks will focus on action strategies that are being undertaken in different regions and countries to meet the climate challenge, and how you as an individual can take action to avoid a warmer world! Week 1: Climate Change in the 21st Century • Historical and projected observed changes in the climate system, leading up to the end of the 21st century • The potential of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) submitted at COP 21 from 187 countries to induce climate action • Trends in climate change impacts, including loss of Arctic sea ice, melting glaciers, increased heat waves and extreme temperatures, and drought and aridity • Possible responses from natural systems, explaining how warming could result in sea-level rise, heat waves and extreme temperatures, and ocean acidification Week 2: Sectoral and Regional Impacts • Impacts on key development sectors—from warming above pre-industrial temperatures and projected climate trends—across each of the world’s regions • Sectoral impacts focusing on agricultural production, water resources, ecosystem services, and coastal vulnerability for affected populations • Importance of risks with the potential to reverse hard-won development gains and potentially trap millions in poverty, illustrating the need for urgent action now Week 3: From Science to Action on Climate Change • Region-specific discussions on mitigation actions needed to reduce emissions while decreasing vulnerability to climate change impacts through adaptation and by building climate resilience • Perspectives from regional experts on their experiences in strategies and actions proposed in each region to help transition towards a low-emissions, climate-resilient development path • Discussions on the progress of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), outcomes of the Paris Agreement and reflections from the Conference of Parties (COP)22 Week 4: What You Can Do • Transformative impact of day-to-day changes when brought to a global scale • The rationale for acting now, acting together and acting differently • Examples and expected benefits of mitigation and adaptation policies, considering both contributions to global emission reductions and local development opportunities In addition to the core resources and assignments, you may choose to go further, engaging in fun optional exercises, networking, discussion, and diving deeper into our rich selection of supplemental resources. You will have the opportunity to explore these issues in depth and tailor your learning experience for one or more of the following regions: • Latin America and Caribbean • Sub-Saharan Africa • Middle East and North Africa • Eastern Europe and Central Asia • East Asia and Pacific • South Asia Course Format This MOOC has a week-by-week structure, with resources, activities and exercises for you to engage in during each of the four weeks of the course. Each week, you will find a variety of course material, including: • Interactive video talks by renowned climate scientists and practitioners • Interactive tools: the Carbon Footprint Tracker, (I) NDC platform • Resources: Core, optional (deep dive) and fun interactives on the week’s theme • Quizzes that check your knowledge, reinforce the lesson’s material and provide immediate feedback • Assignments that will sharpen your skills of analysis, reflection and communication • Discussion forums and social media that enable collaboration with others from around the world, enriching interaction among participants • As a final project, you will create a digital artifact You can also go much further than this, engaging in optional exercises, networking, or discussion forums and dive deeper into our rich selection of additional resources. We also will use e-discussions, and other tools to facilitate dialogue between the learners and experts. Recommended Background: No background knowledge is necessary. The content of this course is designed to be accessible to students from any discipline. Connect: Communicate and share resources via Twitter using hashtag #learnclimate. Sign up for a free account at http://twitter.com...

Top reviews

MF

Dec 5, 2022

Excellent learning experience, great resources, such mind-blowing facts and quite provocative to action. Thank you all who made this a reality. I am more empowered to fight mitigate climate change.

TS

Jun 4, 2017

It was very informative, the discussions were lively and brought together thinking around the world and broadened my perspective on Climate Change and its possible effects if we do nothing now.

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1 - 25 of 155 Reviews for From Climate Science to Action

By Nisha P

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May 28, 2022

I really appreciate The World Bank making this course so affordable. I think it's very timely and relevant today. The content is enriching and informative. You learn a lot about how various countries are tackling climate change, the challenges they face and the opportunities they can explore from a policy perspective. But the reason I've marked the course with a lower rating is - the course did not contain any information about how individuals can contribute to climate change reversal, through their actions. This is not a course for a beginner. Most of the content is based on scientific papers and uses jargon that many of us non-scientists would be unfamiliar with. The speakers read from a script and deliver the videos, instead of having conversations - which makes the video more difficult to follow, since they're reading from reports and research papers. That's another problem - the research used is too dated and stems from the 2009-2015 period. There are slides with photos of graphs which haven't been explained and are difficult to understand. In a nutshell, this course is for someone already familiar with the scientific terminology, theories and background of environmentalism, climate change and sustainability. If you're looking for a beginner-friendly course, I would suggest looking elsewhere first and then following that up with this course. It would add more value then. However, this course is ideal if you are in the Government sectot, are a policy maker, an environmental lawyer or a company who is trying to meet their sustainability goals. Overall, you do learn a lot from this - but its not particularly helpful to acquaint non-scientists with what we can do on our part, to use climate science for action in our day to day lives. The peer review assignments are easy to do and don't take much time. But the quizzes are difficult given the scientific jargon they contain. But you do learn by searching for the meaning of these complicated terms as you do the quiz.

By Nicola C

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Jun 5, 2017

the course had an impressive wealth of information and resources. I was impressed by the careful organization not only of the topics, but also of the exercises, especially the optional ones, which really helped to dive into specific details of the material, and were key to see things in practice. I have one suggestion for improvement. Although the videos were all of high quality, I think having 5-10 min videos with a single person speaking in front of a camera is not effective in conveying messages, especially because it is clear they are reading from a script. People behave and communicate more effectively when they are not reading directly form a curated text. the results is that reading the transcript of the video was better than watching the video itself. My suggestion would be to have conversations and/or debates on video, and leave detailed information for the written material. Finally the entire course was impressive for the knowledge and expertise of all the people involved, and despite my limited time I have also learned some important from the discussion forums. Thank you very much for making this available to us .

By Tuvshinzaya A

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Jun 5, 2017

It was very well-designed and thought-out course. The video lectures were great, but I think the "deep dive" websites and readings were the best feature of this class. There is an array of information of climate change, overwhelmingly so, and they did a great job of laying out the best sources in a well-organized fashion. The peer-graded assignment really made sure that we actively understood and worked with the material personally, not just passively take in information, and that is a crucial component of any good class. Overall, this was a great introduction to MOOC classes, and I wish I could make everyone take part in this course! Thank you, World Bank group!

By Kerry B

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Jun 5, 2017

I really appreciated and like the course. From climate science to actions. We need all to act in order to reduce the climate effects on our planet. To keep the warm temperature under 2°C is the target focused by many countries under the Coop 21 Paris agreement. But we can still taking individual actions to reduce carbon. If you need to learn more I recommend you to through this online course and take your part of responsibility today.

By Deepinti W

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Jun 1, 2020

This is an excellent course which gives an overview of climate change - like a handbook on climate change. All the basics are explained well with plenty of resource materials. The interactive resource materials are especially helpful in understanding the concepts. I would recommend the course to anyone who needs a general idea on climate change or have a deep understanding on certain topics.

By Anindita N A

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Jun 10, 2017

I thought I know what climate change is, until I enroll in this course. I realized that I only know about climate change partially. But now, I understand about every impact that climate change can make, the affected parties, and how they are affected. I now can see the big picture, and know what to do. Thank you so much World Bank for conducting this course!!

By Vivek R

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May 23, 2020

This course give quite comprehensive learning about climate science and makes you think how can you use this knowledge in your personal and professional domain as concrete action.

By James W

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Nov 15, 2020

This is an excellent course on the status of our global climate crisis.

It's an huge and complex subject. It covers far more than can be readily covered in a four-week course, even if students could devote their full time to it.

Acknowledging that fact, it would be better if this course were less ambitious about the amount of material it covers. For example, many of the readings are listed as 10-minute tasks. In fact, the reading assignment may entail one or more scientific papers with some depth. To read these adequately would take several hours.

As of this date (November 2020), much of the material in this course is several years old. It's still pertinent and is not necessarily out of date, but when updates in climate science come so quickly, reading conference papers from 2013 makes you wonder how current it is.

The final assignment was to have students to prepare a video on climate change, how it affects them, and to think about what actions they could take to reduce the impact of climate change. This was a good exercise because it forced students to review and reflect on the situation and what can be done.

I certainly appreciate the immense effort that went into assembling the huge amount of material for this course. And I realize that updating the course would also be an immense task. That would be another reason for building a "lite" version of this course - it could be updated more often.

Overall, this is a great course, and I wish that more people would take it so they could learn what's happening to our climate and what we must do to avoid catastrophe.

By Ahmed W Q

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Jun 30, 2017

A great course. I really appreciate the efforts of all individuals, teachers, experts and institutions (Coursera team, the World Bank Group and others) who are involved in designing as well as as running of this course successfully. To me, learning with a highest level of interest right from the start to end is the key to success of this course and the innovative efforts of designers of this course are highly appreciable in this regard.

By Asekhame Y

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Jun 7, 2017

This course helped me to understand the science of climate change and the various ways it is affecting different parts of the world. I also learnt what mitigation and adaptation are about.

Partaking in this course will make one reflect and realize the importance of acting now, acting differently, and acting together. Thanks to this course, I am now an advocate for climate action.

By Gianfranco A

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Jun 1, 2020

I learned a lot about climate science and its necessity on the climate action. As an environmental engineer, I improved my knowledge and I feel ready to start a change. First in my city and then in my country. Thank you for everything!

By Shruti D

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Jun 4, 2017

This course has provided me with a strong foundation for understanding climate related impacts and the different avenues that are available and can be pursued in this field.

By Danilo S

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Feb 13, 2021

Very interesting course to understand future international challenges and discover impacts of climate change across the world.

By Sandeep D

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Jul 13, 2021

This in-depth well researched course from World bank tells how climate change is happening each moment and that the consequences are serious and global, so it is a call to everyone , not only the policy makers, governments, institutions but every individual to own responsibility, act urgently , act together and act differently towards saving and conserving this beautiful living planet of ours. I recommend this course for all and especially who believe in sustainability .

By Curtis W

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Jun 4, 2017

I did this course whilst working in regional Papua New Guinea. Unfortunately the electricity and internet connections are not that reliable which made the final assignment challenging. Please make it clear the format of all parts of the assignments. I was not expecting to have to submit a video and I am sure if I had known from the outset I would have looked into how to produce a video using basic editing software. Also, there are no prompts to get the discussions going which I feel is a wasted opportunity.

By Margaret C

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Jun 1, 2017

Very informative. However, there is too much focus on technology and policy, and lacked soci-cultural perspective. WB knows that what leaders / country representatives say are glazed and realities are far different. WB should address this, compel leaders to straighten up, and not just be figures and statistics in Transparency International's index.

By muhammad o

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Feb 27, 2022

It is essential for all to identify persons knowledge on climate change and how critical it is. Weare also behind time in prevention of climate change and this course is a spot on the issue because we need immediate actio yesterday. We have Sustainable Development Goals which is the platform to guide us but climate change has already happened and now we need to stop it meaning firstly people should understand what is climate change and how disasterous it will get then it will be easier to apply the SDG's where it matters. I dare say that 80% of the global communities including the rural folks , meaning nobody left behind, does not know what is the SDG's and how to apply the methods or preventive methods for climate change. It is only due to the natural disasters which had and is taking place as I type this feedbak statements, that is slowly creating the awareness on climate change. That is a bit too late I am sure.

Overall I think The World Bank Group has been playing a major role in trying to save the planet. I also thank you all for this opportunity and my involvement in these course is to gain better perspective on what is needed to be done. Basically it so that there is future for the children of today to live life in safe but even better well maintained world later.

By Buddhika U S

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Mar 22, 2023

This is a very practical course for anyone who wants to get understanding of climate change and how to apply theories and technologies. As Nelson Mandela said, education is the best weapon to change the world, education or awareness made here is really useful to convince rest of the world to our next generation. It is our responsibility and liability as well.

Let's work together, save our planet.

Thank you World Bank Group Open Learning Campus and Coursera for great work

By Peter V

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Nov 30, 2023

The course is mainly based on materials from 2014-2015 and some links to additional (optional) learning material are outdated. The CONTENT and the LESSONS LEARNED however are still as HOT as ever! I recommend this course if you want to get a deeper understanding of the institutional approach to climate action and if you want to get ideas to start/increase your own activity in this matter.

By Weill S

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Jun 7, 2017

Very interesting course, full of detailed sources and paved with interactive activities / forums. I learned a lot on climate change and its different aspects. The various weekly assignments are just demanding as necessary, but also challenging and pedagogical. In a nutshell : congratulations I really enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend it !

By amie w

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Jun 25, 2022

I found the class very informational - it was a good balance of reading and watching video. I was intimidated by the video at the end but realized, it is for a good cause so I did the best I could. One of my fellow classmates did a great job on their video, I will be practicing to get better! Thank you!

By ALVIN B

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Dec 1, 2021

This course is very significant and useful. it helps the public/audience to know how can urban and rural areas adapt and respond to climate change thanks to the most recent scientific evidence on climate change and strategies for low emission and climate resilient development got from the course.

By Hamidu M

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Jun 5, 2017

This course was excellent, the experience terrific and the enlightenment was really eye popping.

I have been able to see how Climate Change impacts everyone including both rich and poor, this course has taught me how to reduce my carbon foot print and make our world a sustainable place for us all

By Farhat

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Jun 6, 2017

This was wonderful experience for to learn this course with complete information not only my region from the world. This is great platform for learning and discussing climate change and its impact on human life globally. I am looking forward to learn more about this type of course.

Regards.

By Avik N

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May 30, 2017

This was an extremely good learning experience towards climate change and the procedure for mitigation and adaptation. I would definitely try to implement the learnings from this course at every level. Also, I would definitely recommend others to take this course whenever available.