Despite producing just 0.02% of global emissions, the Pacific is disproportionately impacted by climate change. In this course, you will learn about Indigenous and Sāmoan perspectives and responses to climate change with a particular focus on art and activism. Being immersed in Sāmoa itself, you will see first-hand impacts of climate change and on the ground adaptations. In addition, you will learn about the Sāmoan way (faʻa Sāmoa) and gain an understanding of how indigeneity figures in the global context. This course is completed alongside ES 488/588 Climate Science and Policy in Sāmoa. Through coursework with UO and National University of Sāmoa instructors, home stays, excursions, and working with Sāmoan community groups will help integrate Indigenous culture and art with climate science and policy.

Climate change is the largest environmental threat facing humans and other species that inhabit planet Earth. We are increasingly aware of the causes, impacts, and likelihood of climate change. Yet, recent international meetings on climate change suggest that the nations, and people, of the world are unwilling to take actions on the scale and timeline that most scientists say is needed to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. In short, the demand for climate action implied by most scientific evidence has not yet been matched by the supply of action from political leaders, policy-makers, and the public. This course will help you understand the climate science, factors that influence progress on this global crisis, and international, national, and local policies that are helping address it.

• Understanding the science: What do we know and what don’t we know about climate change? To what extent is it human-caused and how do we know? How does one assess the arguments of those who argue that human-caused climate change is occurring compared to those who argue the opposite?
• Setting the agenda: What has gotten climate change on the international policy agenda? What role has scientific evidence played? What role have nongovernmental organizations and activists (e.g., Greta Thunberg) played? What factors have kept climate change off the policy agenda?
• International responses to climate change: negotiating an agreement: Why have countries taken action on climate change at some times but not others? Why are some states "leaders" on climate change and others "laggards"? How are states, businesses, NGOs, and individuals responding?
• Non-international responses to climate change: What actions are countries taking on their own, without international cooperation? What are multinational corporations, local communities, and individuals doing about the problem?