Carbon & Energy Management (ENVM7524)

Course overview

This course provides an advanced level of instruction and analysis on carbon and energy management principles and practices. Carbon and energy management is concerned with how society can best respond to climate change. A competent response to climate change requires a sound understanding of climate science and what the impacts of climate change are likely to be. A competent response to climate change also requires an understanding of how to manage different sources of carbon emissions, including the advantages and disadvantages of different power supply technologies and the management of carbon stocks in forests, soils and agriculture. We also need to know how to evaluate and compare the merits of different climate change response strategies and how Governments can promote effective responses through sound climate and energy policy. The course also includes instruction on a number of important carbon and energy management practices, such as carbon foot-printing, abatement and offset project design and appraisal, energy use auditing, alternative energy pathway design and appraisal, and emissions trading.

The course is structured around twelve important understandings of carbon and energy management. Those are;

(1) understanding how climate systems work;

(2) understanding the drivers and evidence of human-induced climate change;

(3) understanding the expected impacts of climate changeﾠand principles ofﾠclimate risk assessment and climate justice;

(4) understanding how the public and private sectors respondﾠto climate change;

(5) understanding carbon inventory including emissions by country and source, currently and historically, plus foot printing methods for countries, organisations, products and services;

(6) understanding the links between carbon, energy and sustainable electricityﾠsupply systems including key principles and terms,ﾠand issues of scale in sustainable electricity supply system design;

(7) understanding the advantages and disadvantages of power supply technologies including coal, oil and gas (conventional and unconventional), nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, wave, tidal, geothermal and bioenergy and topics of special interest such as carbon capture and storage (including negative emissions technologies, direct air carbon capture and storage and bioenergy carbon capture and storage), hydrogen fuel, batteries and electric vehicles;

(8) understanding carbon stored in natural resources including methods to estimate carbon stocks and sequestration rates in soils and vegetation (particular planted and natural forests) and the opportunities and limitations for the use of nature-based responses to climate change including climate-smart agriculture;

(9) understanding carbon offsetting principles, processes and practise including major offsetting schemes, concepts of co-benefits, blue carbonﾠand REDD+;

(10) understanding methods to assess emissions reduction options including marginal abatement cost curves, basic project financial appraisal methods, total systems cost analysis for electricity supply systems, the social cost of carbon and the works of William Nordhaus;

(11) understanding climate and energy policy, including key international frameworks such as the UNFCCCﾠand related initiatives, insights from the history of climate and energy policy in Australia, and lessons from noteworthy initiatives such as the Australian Renewable Energy Targetﾠandﾠthe Green Climate Fund; and

(12) understanding the role ofﾠinsurance and finance in responses to climate change, including the influenceﾠof the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and insights from government-led climate financeﾠinitiatives such as the Australian Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

Course requirements

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ENVM2522, ENVM1522 (co-taught).

Jointly taught details

This course is jointly-taught with:

• ENVM1522

The lectures are co-taught with ENVM1522.

ENVM7524 Internal and External practicals are co-taught using Zoom (live streaming, as well as being recorded).

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Aims and outcomes

The aim of this course is to improve students' understanding of carbon and energy management to enable them to competently engage in responses to climate change.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Practical Assessments

• Team or group-based
• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Tutorial/ Problem Set

Weight

30%

Due date

1) Assessment 15/08/2025 8:00 am

2) Assessment 22/08/2025 8:00 am

3) Assessment 29/08/2025 8:00 am

4) Assessment 5/09/2025 8:00 am

5) Assessment 12/09/2025 8:00 am

6) Assessment 19/09/2025 8:00 am

7) Assessment 26/09/2025 8:00 am

8) Assessment 10/10/2025 8:00 am

9) Assessment 17/10/2025 8:00 am

10) Assessment 24/10/2025 8:00 am

Other conditions

Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

Submission guidelines

Online submission by Turnitin only by the due date and time. No hard copy or assignment cover sheets are required. Submission via email is not accepted.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (the assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date.

For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 

Quiz 1

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

10%

Due date

12/09/2025 2:00 pm

Task description

Submission guidelines

Quiz 1 is to be taken online through Blackboard. The quiz window will be open for 5 days (Monday to Friday) in Week 7 and students must take the quiz within this period by the due date. The quiz has a time limit of 20 minutes once a student accesses the quiz.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (the assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date.

For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 

Quiz 2

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

20%

Due date

31/10/2025 2:00 pm

Task description

Submission guidelines

Quiz 2 is to be taken online through Blackboard. The quiz window will be open for 5 days (Monday to Friday) in Week 13 and students must take the quiz within this period by the due date. The quiz has a time limit of 30 minutes once a student accesses the quiz.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (the assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date.

For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 

Case Study on Carbon Management

• Hurdle
• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

40%

Due date

24/10/2025 2:00 pm

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Online submission by Turnitin only by the due date and time. No hard copy or assignment cover sheets are required. Submission via email is not accepted.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (the assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date.

For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

In order to pass this course, you must meet the following requirements (if you do not meet these requirements, the maximum grade you will receive will be a 3):

• Students must obtain 50% or more on the Case Study on Carbon Management.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to the UQ website for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply.

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes.

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.

Additional assessment information

Applications for Extensions to Assessment Due Dates

Read the information contained in the following links carefully before submitting an application for extension to assessment due date.

For guidance on applying for an extension, information is available here: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/applying-assessment-extension

For the policy relating to extensions, information is available here (Part D): https://policies.uq.edu.au/document/view-current.php?id=184

Please note the University's requirements for medical certificates here: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/uq-policies-and-rules/requirements-medical-certificates

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.