Advanced Training: Applications Open for the Course on the Ethical, Legal, Political and Financial Dimensions of Climate Change
The Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa is now accepting applications for the new edition of its Advanced Training Course "ECLIPSE – The Ethics of Climate Change: Duties, Responsibilities and Challenges", an interdisciplinary programme designed to provide participants with the conceptual tools needed to understand and interpret climate change-related issues and their social impact.
Under the scientific coordination of Alberto Pirni, Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy at the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Sustainability and Climate of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, the course examines climate change as an ethical, social, legal, political and economic issue. At the heart of the programme is the concept of intergenerational justice, understood as responsibility towards present and future generations in the management of natural resources and in the public and private decisions that affect the climate.
The 2026 edition will take place in person at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies from 14 to 18 September 2026. The application deadline is 15 July 2026.
Further information, including the call for applications and enrolment procedures, is available here: https://www.santannapisa.it/it/alta-formazione/eclipse-ethics-climate-change-duties-responsibilities-and-challenges
"This new edition of ECLIPSE has a twofold objective," explains Alberto Pirni. "First, it aims to make the results of the most advanced research on the philosophical, ethical, physical, legal and social dimensions of climate change available to three main groups of participants: early-career researchers, public sector officials and managers, and professionals working in companies and associations. To achieve this goal, we will adopt innovative and highly interactive research-action methodologies, with the aim of training—or further strengthening the expertise of—professionals who are called upon to address some of the most significant challenges of our time.
Secondly, this edition will place particular emphasis on two specific topics: water and energy. Through an interdisciplinary approach and highly interactive teaching methods, we will devote special attention to these two strategic areas, which are crucial for understanding today's climate, environmental and sustainability challenges."
Target Audience and Programme
The course is designed to train professionals capable of understanding the interactions between science, ethics and governance, thereby contributing to the development of more informed and sustainable climate policies. It is intended for students, academics and educators, environmental professionals and consultants, public administration officials and managers, as well as technical and specialist staff working in companies and organisations engaged in sustainability and ecological transition.
The programme is structured around four main academic areas. The first provides a general introduction to climate change, covering meteorology and the physical composition of the atmosphere. The second explores climate ethics in its various dimensions, from individual responsibility to the responsibilities of states, as well as the role of international diplomacy and the major scientific organisations involved in the global climate debate. The third focuses on legal aspects, examining the Italian, European and international regulatory framework, including constitutional amendments, the Paris Agreement, the European Green Deal, and the latest developments in climate litigation. The fourth addresses climate finance, with particular attention to financing instruments for the ecological transition and to the mechanisms relating to loss and damage, which are playing an increasingly important role in the international policy agenda.
In addition to these core topics, the course includes two dedicated thematic modules on water and energy, recognised as strategic resources of growing importance in the context of global climate change.
The course has received the patronage of the Italian Society of Moral Philosophy (SIFM) and Utilitalia.
For further information, please visit:
https://www.santannapisa.it/it/alta-formazione/eclipse-ethics-climate-change-duties-responsibilities-and-challenges
