Net Zero Carbon Foundations

With no pre-requisites, this course introduces climate change and its local and global implications. It provides key definitions, whilst introducing the global policy landscape on climate change and climate transition pathways to net zero carbon.

Online and self-paced, this course provides foundational knowledge of net zero carbon. Learners will gain a solid understanding of the scope targeted by net zero carbon efforts and will be able differentiate between types of carbon emissions, namely operational and embodied. They’ll also grasp the various driving forces behind climate action and the co-benefits it can deliver.

The course answers the following questions:

• What is climate change? How does it relate to extreme weather and what consequences are expected?
• What are the commitments being made around reducing its impact?
• What exactly is ‘net zero carbon’? What is its scope and how does it apply to the building sector?
• What can be done to address climate change? And how can net zero be achieved?

After completing the course learners will be able to:

• Define key terms relating to climate change and net zero carbon.
• Understand the global impacts of climate change and some of the commitments being made to combat this.
• Understand the impact of the built environment on global emissions, and the importance this sector can play towards a net zero carbon future.
• Realise where carbon emissions can be minimised in the built environment through design, retrofit, and optimisation of assets.
• Discover tools and frameworks which work towards a net zero carbon future.