Course detail

Environmental Economy

FAST-TG08Acad. year: 2022/2023

The subject deals with the economic aspects of the creation and protection of the environment. Students are acquainted with the basic causes of market failure in the area of environmental goods and corresponding solution methods. Emphasis is laid on legal norms, institutional support and tools of positive and negative stimulation (mainly in the context of the Czech Republic). Attention is also paid to the corresponding strategies and the concept of permanently sustainable development and decisive tools and measures which stimulate its enforcement (EIA method, EMS, environmental auditing, ecolabelling etc.).

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

2

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. Ing. Vít Hromádka, Ph.D.

Department

Institute of Structural Economics and Management (EKR)

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Understanding of various interactions between the economy and the environment, familiarisation with the relevant strategies and specific tools which are aimed at the reduction of negative externalities generated by economic development.

Prerequisites

General knowledge within the scope of the bachelor’s level of architectural studies.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Not applicable.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

Not applicable.

Course curriculum

1. Basic terms, global environmental problems – atmosphere and climate, water resources, deforestation, extinction of species and other selected problems.
2. State of the environment of the Czech Republic and its developmental trends – air, water, soil, biota.
3. General relationship between the market economy and the environment – the term ‘externalities’, natural resources and their evaluation, macroeconomic and microeconomic optimums of environmental quality.
4. Legal regulations for the protection of the environment in the Czech Republic – basic and general legal norms, particular legal norms (protection of the countryside, air and water).
5. Legal regulations for the protection of the environment in the Czech Republic – specific legal norms (soil protection, handling of waste, other components of the environment), related legal norms, harmonization of the legal regulations of the Czech Republic and the EU.
6. Administrative and economic tools in the protection of the environment – tools of negative and positive stimulation.
7. Ecological management of companies – systems of ecological management, environmental norms, environmental accounting.
8. Strategic approaches towards the solution of environmental problems – reactive and proactive approaches, technology used in the cleaning of waste gases and water, handling of waste, recycling.
9. The concept of permanently sustainable development, and selected tools and measures which support its enforcement – environmental auditing and the EIA method, SEA, ecolabelling, ecological tax reform.
10. Natural science and land-use aspects of the protection of the living environment – land-use systems for the ecological stability of landscapes, linkage to land-use planning.
11. Ecological policy – international events and initiatives, the ecological policy of the Czech Republic.
12. Institutional support of care for the living environment in the Czech Republic – public administration, non-governmental organizations.
13. The ecological policy of the EU – environmental action plans, interaction of economic and ecological policy.

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The aim of the subject is to teach the students to understand various interactions between the economy and the environment and acquaint them with the relevant strategies and specific tools which are aimed at the reduction of negative externalities generated by economic development.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Extent and forms are specified by guarantor’s regulation updated for every academic year.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

ENDRES, Alfred: Environmental Economics, Theory and Policy. University of Hagen, Germany, 2011. ISBN 9780521173926. (EN)
VITURKA, Milan: Základy environmentální ekonomie. Brno: ESF MU, 1997. ISBN 80-210-1514-4. (CS)

Recommended reading

MOLDÁN, Bedřich a BRANIŠ, Martin: Globální problémy životního prostředí. Portál, Praha, 2003. ISBN: 80–7178–745–5. (CS)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme N-P-C-A Master's

    branch ARS , 2 year of study, winter semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. Ing. Vít Hromádka, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Basic terms, global environmental problems – atmosphere and climate, water resources, deforestation, extinction of species and other selected problems. 2. State of the environment of the Czech Republic and its developmental trends – air, water, soil, biota. 3. General relationship between the market economy and the environment – the term ‘externalities’, natural resources and their evaluation, macroeconomic and microeconomic optimums of environmental quality. 4. Legal regulations for the protection of the environment in the Czech Republic – basic and general legal norms, particular legal norms (protection of the countryside, air and water). 5. Legal regulations for the protection of the environment in the Czech Republic – specific legal norms (soil protection, handling of waste, other components of the environment), related legal norms, harmonization of the legal regulations of the Czech Republic and the EU. 6. Administrative and economic tools in the protection of the environment – tools of negative and positive stimulation. 7. Ecological management of companies – systems of ecological management, environmental norms, environmental accounting. 8. Strategic approaches towards the solution of environmental problems – reactive and proactive approaches, technology used in the cleaning of waste gases and water, handling of waste, recycling. 9. The concept of permanently sustainable development, and selected tools and measures which support its enforcement – environmental auditing and the EIA method, SEA, ecolabelling, ecological tax reform. 10. Natural science and land-use aspects of the protection of the living environment – land-use systems for the ecological stability of landscapes, linkage to land-use planning. 11. Ecological policy – international events and initiatives, the ecological policy of the Czech Republic. 12. Institutional support of care for the living environment in the Czech Republic – public administration, non-governmental organizations. 13. The ecological policy of the EU – environmental action plans, interaction of economic and ecological policy.