KULeuvenX: Global Challenges for a Sustainable Society

By following this course, you will:

• Know the current state of the challenges and, using this knowledge, be able to test and interpret new information that reaches you regarding these challenges.
• Develop the reflex to critically approach and verify statements around the topics discussed and be able to take a position based on facts and rational considerations
• Know where to find and how to interpret crucial (numerical) material on these challenges.
• Become aware that the world is constantly evolving and have the reflex to update your knowledge.
• Gain insight into the relationship between different issues and, when dealing with one issue understand the implications for the other challenges.
• Understand why people often hold mistaken views (and which are the main ones) and know how to counter them.

• Climate change : on how climate has changed and is changing, why this is happening, what the consequences are and what possible solutions are, both on a personal and an institutional level.
• Biodiversity : on what biodiversity is and its current state is, why biodiversity matters, what the main threats are and how we can prevent and reverse biodiversity loss.
• Demography : on how population sizes have changed over time, why this has happened, what this means for the future and how we can influence these processes.
• Energy : on how to reduce the impact of energy production and how to minimize energy consumption.
• Raw materials and circular economy : on were materials come from, how and with what impact they are processed and discarded, and how circular economy presents a sustainable alternative.
• Food security : on meeting the food demands of a growing world population, with limited land available, while minimizing the environmental impact of agriculture.
• Buildings : on the impact of the construction of buildings, the energy use of buildings and the effects of urban planning.
• Mobility : on the impact of person and freight transport and sustainable transport solutions.
• Economics of sustainable development : on the connection between economy and environment and the shortcomings and opportunities of economics for sustainable development.
• Social and economic inequality : on trends in inequality, the drivers behind it and how inequality is linked to all aspects of sustainability.
• Human behavior : on the psychology of people’s behavior and how we can influence people towards the wanted behavior.
• Global Governance : on the role of law and lawyers in enabling or blocking sustainability and international negotiations and its challenges.
• Migration : on past and present international migration flows around the globe, what has been driving them and what to expect for the future; on the complex links between climate change and human mobility and migration; on migration policies and the impact of migration on societies.