Activity card 4
Energy Nation
The Government: Three points of view
The energy we use mostly comes from nuclear
power stations and those burning coal, oil and
gas. These three fossil fuels were formed around
300 million years ago.
However, burning these fuels releases greenhouse
gases, which contribute to climate change.
People’s lives and lifestyles could be dramatically
changed by global warming.
Food producing areas – the American Midwest
for example – could turn into deserts. This might
all take place against a background of
increasingly violent weather – storms, hurricanes
and heat waves.
In 1997, 119 countries signed the Kyoto Protocol,
an agreement that set targets to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. It could be done
in two ways. Countries would:
• switch to renewable energies and/or
• invest in new technology to reduce emissions
by developing electric cars or building ‘cleaner’
coal and gas power stations for example.
Your task
Meet three world leaders. They will give you their views on what the global warming
problem – and solutions – mean for their countries.
Read each statement carefully.
• Are these points of view backed up by facts? Give reasons for your answer.
• Do you agree with these views? Choose one and explain why you agree or disagree.
• Write a short summary of one of the three points. Make a list of the main points
and then put them in order, with the most important points first.
More Economically Developed Country 1
‘Our country has developed its economy over 200 years. Our people have a high standard of living.
We can afford cars, designer clothes, holidays and comfortable homes.
Climate change is a big challenge for all of us – we need to make changes now to make sure
our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy the same high standard of living.
In 1997, there was a meeting at Kyoto in Japan. Developed countries like ours agreed to reduce
their overall emissions of greenhouses gases to around 5% below 1990 levels over the
period 2008–2012.
Reducing emissions means using greener energy sources and new technology in our power
stations, reducing the number of trips we make in our cars, using public transport more and
heating our homes more efficiently. All the countries in the world need to work together on this,
it's not something that anybody can do alone.’
Activity card 4
Energy Nation
More Economically Developed Country 2
‘The world is becoming warmer, there's no doubt about that. Global temperatures have
increased by between 1 and 1.5°C in the last 100 years. That may seem very little, but tiny changes
in temperature mean a lot on a world scale. The years 2002, 2003 and 2004 were amongst
the hottest ever recorded.
Some of this is probably due to the greenhouse effect, the warming effect that greenhouse gases
have on our atmosphere.
But we do not know exactly how much effect they have. The world has had warm and cold periods
in the past – ice ages and tropical conditions. Changes in the Sun can also have a big effect.
Before we hastily make a lot of changes to the way we live, we need to think about the effects.
Millions of people work in our industries, they need their cars to get to work. And some of those
people have jobs making those cars. If we change too quickly, a lot of people could be out of work.
The medicine for this problem could be worse than the disease.’
Less Economically Developed Country
‘In my country, the benefits of a modern lifestyle have only just started to arrive. People are
buying cars instead of bikes. They can put food in fridges to keep it fresh and wash their clothes in
a modern washing machine instead of doing the job by hand. We’re cooking food on electric stoves
rather than using open fires.
All these new things need power, but just as we are beginning to see their benefits, we are told to
cut back on our energy use because of climate change.
This is a very difficult message to give to people who have waited so long for prosperity. In many
ways we are still poor. We cannot afford expensive electric cars. We often have to make do with
second-hand goods that would not pass the strict tests that the richer countries want us to use.
If this is truly a world problem, we need the richer countries to take the lead. They should be
doing much more to invest in new technologies; we will do what we can, but not at the expense
of our people.’