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Course Form for WHU Summer School International 2023

 

Course Title

(英 文)Environment and Social  Development

(中 文)环境与社会发展

Teacher

Chaoji Chen

Hairong Cheng

Jie Chen

Lei Xing

Yohanes Kristianto Nugroho, Liandong Zhu

First day of classes

2023.7.5

Last day of classes

2023.7.14

Course Credit

1

Course Description

Course Introduction

1. Climate Change

With the development of industry and population increase, the consumption of fossil fuels increases rapidly, making the emission of combustion products. On the other hand, the massive destruction   of forests reduces the amount of CO₂ absorbed by forests. All these factors lead to the "greenhouse effect", which is a pivotal role in the global warming. If the average temperature of the earth exceeds 2 degrees   Celsius above pre-industrial times, climate change will exceed the limits of   human control, such as sea level rise, droughts, wildfires, and the extinction of large numbers of plants and animals. Facing this severe environmental situation, almost all countries around the world have developed energy conservation and emission reduction strategies to achieve the goals of   carbon neutrality and carbon peak as soon as possible.

2. Complex Air Pollution

We are experiencing the most drastic change in air quality in China. Complex air pollution occurs when atmospheric   pollutants couple under specific meteorological conditions, forming a complex   air pollution system. The characteristics of the system include pollution from high concentrations of ozone and high concentrations of particulate matter, leading to substantial adverse impacts on the environment and human health. The course will introduce the sources, chemical processes and health effects of complex air pollution in China.

3. Water Pollution

This seminar will introduce the following three aspects: ① Water resources and human society development; ② Water pollution; ③ Wastewater treatment.

4. CO2 cycle, capture and utilization

The lecture session will introduce the causes and   consequences of global climate change, including greenhouse gas emissions,   the carbon cycle, CO2 capture and utilization technologies,   circular economy concept for sustainable development goals, and future   challenges and opportunities to address this environmental problem. The   lecture session will also introduce digitalization of the CO2   capture and utilization processes, as well as the economic and environmental   impacts associated with the capture and conversion processes.

5. Digitization of Waste Supply Chain

There is an emerging trend of digitizing waste management and treatment, which is mostly still in an infant stage. New digital technologies such as waste e-trading platforms, and waste-specific software and business analytics are emerging as new business models. The technologies can be found in all steps of the waste management process, with some already in widespread use. However, the scale of application of these technologies is unevenly distributed across the globe. There is a need of speeding up the digital transformation of the waste   management sector. The digital transformation may improve recycling, facilitating the use of recyclates by producers, enabling better purchasing and sorting decisions by consumers, and improving waste sourcing options for recyclers.

Objective

1.The lecture session introduces the causes and consequences of global climate change, including greenhouse gas emissions, lethal 2 degrees Celsius, Evolution of the sustainability concept and sustainable development goals, and future challenges and opportunities to address this environmental problem, which can therefore be seen as one of the guidelines for developing future sustainable strategies to meet the requirements of worldwide sustainable development.

2.The rapid development of cities generates economic development, but it is also   accompanied by the aggravation of urban pollution. Complex air pollution has become increasingly severe since the twentieth century in China. The   objective of the course is to understand the sources, chemical processes and   health effects of complex air pollution, and how to control it.

3. It introduces the concept of water resources development, utilization and protection.

4.Understand the causes and consequences of global climate change, and how to develop CO2 capture and utilization technologies, which is circular for sustainable development goals.

5.The lecture session introduces some digitization of the waste industry including   robotics, the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence   and data analytics, that may impact future waste management logistics, and as a means to improve economic value of waste conversion into valuable products.

Assignments (essay or other forms)

Discussion during the lecture.

Text Books and Reading Materials

Not provided.