


Environmental Emergencies
University of Vienna
Thilo Hofmann
About
General Course Information
Across the globe, we are experiencing profound environmental changes impacting ecosystems, our daily lives and future generations. To address these challenges, we need a deep understanding of both their causes and consequences. This interdisciplinary course will offer you essential knowledge to navigate the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. To this aim, we have brought together leading experts from various departments of the University of Vienna, all specialising in climate and environmental research. Engaging with the current environmental emergencies from multiple perspectives will help you make informed decisions as we work towards a sustainable future for our planet.
Content
Course Content
Human actions are transforming our planet at an unprecedented rate, causing global warming, species extinction, environmental degradation and numerous related problems and conflicts. Consequently, the world is grappling with a triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. In this course, we explore the interconnected nature of these emergencies through multiple angles and across disciplines. You will thus be able to acquire the interdisciplinary knowledge necessary to address the planetary crisis and seek future-oriented solutions.
Course Goals
This MOOC will introduce you to multidisciplinary perspectives on environmental emergencies, covering a variety of interrelated issues centred around the major topics of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. You will gain an understanding of the complexities of these problems and acquire knowledge beyond your own field of study. We encourage you to think critically about what you learn and engage productively with the global challenges we are facing.
Previous Knowledge
To take this course, no prior knowledge of the topics covered is needed. If you are here because you are curious about a planetary perspective on the environmental emergencies in our globalised world and you wish to understand the drivers of these changes, then this is the best prerequisite for taking this course.
Our course is designed for students of all disciplines. It is also intended for a broader general audience of interested learners. The units cover a wide range of topics across academic disciplines and allow you to gain basic insights into all of them, without specific knowledge of the respective field.
Course Procedure
The course consists of an introductory unit and 4 thematic units:
- Unit 1: Climate Change
- Unit 2: Biodiversity Loss
- Unit 3: Environmental Pollution
- Unit 4: Integrating Perspectives
These units are divided into lessons (each comprising 1 video and additional learning material). Each lesson can be taken individually, and the units are not sequential in terms of content. You can dive into one or several units based on your interests. We recommend exploring content across disciplines and to pair the videos you selected with Unit 4 “Integrating Perspectives”, which covers overarching themes and includes a short “Summary and Outlook” video to wrap up your learning experience.
Certificate
For actively participating in the course you will receive an automatic certificate which includes your username, the course name as well as the completed lessons. We want to point out that this certificate merely confirms that the user answered at least 75% of the self-assessment questions correctly.Licence
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0Course Overview
- Unit 1: Climate Change
- Course Introduction
- The Anthropocene: Climate, Nature and Human Responsibilities
- A Shared History: Environmental Activism and the Sciences
- Understanding Climate Change: The Role of Atmospheric Trace Gases and Aerosols
- The Carbon Cycle and the Global Climate System
- Earth System Science: Tipping Points and Feedback Loops
- Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change
- Climate as a Social Phenomenon: Perceiving and Addressing Environmental Change
- Climate Anxiety and Coping
- Unit 2: Biodiversity Loss
- Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Challenges in the Anthropocene
- Terrestrial Biodiversity Loss: Drivers and Implications
- Plant Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Impact
- Ocean Warming and Threats to Marine Biodiversity
- Planetary Boundaries Being Crossed: Interlinks and Differences Between Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycles
- Environmental Politics and Agreement-Making in Ocean Protection
- Agriculture as Major Pressure on Planet Earth: Feeding 10 Billion People
- Unit 3: Environmental Pollution
- The Social Life of Waste
- Plastic Planet: How Pollution Impacts Our Lives and Environments
- Forever Chemicals: From Silent Spring to Global PFAS Pollution
- Curse and Necessity: Metals in the Environment
- The Antimicrobial Resistance Crisis
- The Exposome and Its Impact on Human Health
- The Potential of Private Law in the Context of Environmental and Climate Emergencies
- The Dust We Breathe: Culture, Health and the Planet in Crisis
- Unit 4: Integrating Perspectives
- Cities in the Light of Crises: Opportunities to Adapt and Transform
- Governing the Socio-Ecological Transformation
- Behaviour Change: From the Individual to the System
- Environmental Justice: Imperial and Solidary Modes of Living
- Environmental Action: Evidence and Participation
- The Politics of Net-Zero in Sustainability Transformation
- Course Summary & Outlook
Copyright
Note: The references must be retained if the licensed material is reproduced and/or distributed in whole or in part, or if modified material is created, reproduced, and/or distributed.Course Instructor

Thilo Hofmann
Thilo
Hofmann is professor for Environmental Geosciences and director of the interdisciplinary Environment and
Climate Research Hub at the University of Vienna.
Advisory Board
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ulrich Brand
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ulrike Felt
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Eva Horn
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andreas Richter
Contributors:
- Dott. ric. Silvia Bucci
- Mag. Dr. Alina Brad
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Lea Ann Dailey
- Dr. Lucia Fuchslueger
- Ass.-Prof. Dr. Nils Robert Güttler
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gerhard Herndl
- Dr. Thorsten Hüffer
- Assoc.-Prof. Dr. Christina Kaiser
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Yuri Albert Kyrill Kazepov
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stephan Krämer
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krellenberg
- Dr. Bernd Lenzner
- Ass.-Prof. Dr. Stephanie Nitsch
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Sabine Pahl
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jillian Petersen
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Monika Pietrzak-Franger
- Dr. Petra Pjevac
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Patrick Sakdapolrak
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Peter Schweitzer
- Dr. Anya Sherman
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Alice Vadrot
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Michael Wagner
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Benedikt Warth
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfram Weckwerth
- Univ.-Prof. Dr. Bernadett Weinzierl
- Dr. Johannes Wessely
Editorial Staff:
- Eva Spiegelhofer, BA MA
- Joscha Strauss, BA
Login & Enrol The course starts on 1 October 2025. Currently: 28 Participants
Free for all € 0.00
Partners

University of Vienna
Wien