Economics & Business · Year 12

Active learning ideas

Global Economic Challenges: Climate Change

Active learning works here because climate change economics involves complex systems and contested values. Students need to test assumptions against real data, role-play trade-offs, and debate policy choices to move beyond abstract concepts into measurable impacts.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9EC12K10
• AC9EC12S05

• 40–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• World Café
• 50 min · Small Groups

Policy Debate: Carbon Pricing Tools

Divide class into teams to research and argue for or against carbon taxes versus subsidies, using Australian case studies like the Safeguard Mechanism. Each team presents evidence for 5 minutes, followed by rebuttals and a class vote. Conclude with a reflection on trade-offs.

Analyze the economic costs of climate change for Australia and the global economy.

Facilitation Tip

In the Global Trade Impact Role-Play, give students cards with pre-2030 carbon tariff scenarios and have them negotiate trade agreements, tracking how their decisions affect national GDP and emissions.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If Australia were to implement a national carbon tax at $50 per tonne of CO2, what are two specific industries that would be most affected, and why?' Allow students to discuss in small groups, then share their reasoning with the class, focusing on the economic mechanisms at play.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• World Café
• 40 min · Pairs

Cost-Benefit Simulation: Renewables Shift

Provide datasets on solar farm costs and benefits in Australia. In pairs, students calculate net present values over 20 years, factoring in subsidies and avoided climate damages. Groups share findings and discuss scalability.

Evaluate the effectiveness of different policy instruments (e.g., carbon taxes, subsidies) in addressing climate change.

What to look for

Provide students with a short case study about a hypothetical Australian town reliant on coal mining facing closure due to global decarbonization efforts. Ask them to identify one economic challenge and one potential solution related to a 'just transition' in 2-3 sentences.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Jigsaw
• 45 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Bushfire Economics

Assign expert groups to analyze 2019-2020 bushfires' costs to GDP, tourism, and insurance. Regroup to teach peers and synthesize policy recommendations. Use graphs to visualize long-term fiscal impacts.

Predict the economic implications of a global shift towards renewable energy.

What to look for

On a slip of paper, ask students to write down one policy instrument (e.g., carbon tax, renewable energy subsidy) and explain in one sentence how it aims to address the economic challenge of climate change. Collect these to gauge understanding of policy effectiveness.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 04

• World Café
• 60 min · Whole Class

Global Trade Impact Role-Play

Students represent Australia, China, and EU in a negotiation on renewable supply chains. Simulate tariffs and subsidies, tracking economic gains or losses on worksheets. Debrief on multilateral challenges.

Analyze the economic costs of climate change for Australia and the global economy.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If Australia were to implement a national carbon tax at $50 per tonne of CO2, what are two specific industries that would be most affected, and why?' Allow students to discuss in small groups, then share their reasoning with the class, focusing on the economic mechanisms at play.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should anchor lessons in Australia-specific data and policy timelines to avoid abstraction. Use comparative case studies to show how similar challenges were addressed elsewhere, and insist on clear metrics for costs and benefits. Avoid framing this as an environmental issue alone; keep the focus on budget impacts, sectoral shifts, and intergenerational equity.

Successful learning looks like students using quantitative evidence to argue policy positions, identifying unintended consequences in simulations, and synthesizing economic trade-offs across industries and regions. They should connect local costs to global systems.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Policy Debate: Carbon Pricing Tools, some students assume climate costs are mostly environmental, not economic.

  During Policy Debate, provide groups with Treasury reports on GDP losses from extreme weather and require them to incorporate these figures into their arguments, shifting the discussion to fiscal impacts like reconstruction spending and welfare costs.

• During Policy Debate: Carbon Pricing Tools, students claim carbon taxes always harm economic growth.

  During Policy Debate, share British Columbia’s revenue-neutral tax case study and assign groups to model how rebates or green technology investments could offset price hikes, testing assumptions with provided data.

• During Cost-Benefit Simulation: Renewables Shift, students argue renewable energy transition is too expensive for Australia.

  During Cost-Benefit Simulation, give students lifecycle costing data from CSIRO showing falling solar costs and export revenue potential, then ask them to adjust variables like installation costs and energy prices to see long-term savings.

---

Methods used in this brief

• World Café
• Jigsaw