Global Online Certificate Course: Demystifying Climate Change and Sustainability Data for Communication in the 21st Century

Data is not just numbers. It is critical for research communication, advocacy and decision-making. Data on air pollution, climate change, water, agriculture, urbanisation and economy, when put together, paint a larger picture of the situation in terms of sustainability and development.

With less than eight years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change poses an existential threat to achieving these and to humanity. So, it is the biggest social, political, economic and environmental challenge facing the world today.

The evidence of this existential threat to humanity is clearly seen in the data that is emerging every year. If understood and visualised well, data can become an effective basis for actions to arrest climate change or adapt to it.

So, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), one of South Asia’s leading think tanks on the politics of development, environment and climate change, invites you to join its Global Online Certificate Training which focuses specifically on one critical aspect of meeting this challenge: understanding climate and SDGs data, analysing it, and using it to tell climate change and development stories to different stakeholders for action. 

It will unravel what the numbers really say, the stories that can be told using them, and help you visualize them using state-of-the-art visualisation and communication tools and methods. 

The programme will also offer insights into the global framework and politics on climate change, extreme weather events and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

By the end of the course, participants will be able to analyse the data on these concepts and prepare impactful stories, dashboards and communication collaterals for different stakeholders to trigger action

What will you learn?

• Climate impacts, science and the politics: Understand essential concepts of climate change and the global climate negotiations
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Understand essential concepts and how climate will impact 17 goals on the SDGs
• Data collection: Learn how and where to research for relevant data on climate change and the SDGs
• Data analysis: Develop skills to analyse and interpret trends on climate science and impacts on the SDGs in your region (continent, country, state) 
• Data visualisation: Learn to visualise data for effective communication
• Data dashboard: Learn to create data dashboards
• Report writing: Develop skills to process, visualise and transform climate and SDGs data into simple, compelling and informative ‘stories’ for print and web 

Who can attend?

• Professionals, government officials and policymakers working on climate change, disasters and SDGs
• Academia: Faculty and researchers, and students associated with climate and sustainable development
• Researchers and writers on climate and development
• National and international civil society groups, NGOs, climate activists and advocates
• Industries: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)/CSR officers, Public relations/Communication officers
• Data managers and statisticians interested in improving communication skills
• Anyone else interested in the subject    

Course structure
The self-paced online programme will have video lectures, presentations, tutorials, quizzes and assignments. Participants will also get an opportunity to work on an in-depth project of their choice.

The programme will also have three live interactive sessions for meeting the trainers and fellow participants. 

The programme has been designed in such a way that it can be completed along with a regular job or study. 

The course is broken down into five modules: 

• Module 1: Introduction to climate change: science, politics and impacts 
• Module 2: Introduction to sustainable development goals (SDGs): 17 SDGs (SDGs) and link with climate change 
• Module 3: Data for effective communication and informed decision making on climate change for sustainable development
• Module 4: Finding the right data on climate and 17 SDGs
• Module 5: Data processing and analysis to make data meaningful 
• Module 6: Data visualisation  

COURSE DIRECTOR

Kiran Pandey
Programme director, Information Management, CSE
Email: kiran@cseindia.org
Phone: +91-9871215338 

COURSE COORDINATOR

Susan Chacko
Manager,
Information Management, CSE
Email: susan@cseindia.org
Phone: +91-9958387577