7.6 Superpowers and the environment

Question 1

What are the different resources a superpower needs to maintain power

Answer 1

food
fossil fuels- energy
land
water
minerals

Question 2

What is coal production like in China

Answer 2

China accounts for 50% of the world’s coal consumption but only has 19% of the world population

Question 3

When did most commodity prices peak?

Answer 3

At the peak of China’s growth during 2008-10

Question 4

How has Chinese consumption of foodstuff increased?

Answer 4

cereal consumption up by 364%
meat up by 99%
coffee and tea up by 71%

Question 5

How has Chinese consumption of consumer goods increased?

Answer 5

perfume consumption up by 133%
pharmaceuticals up by 87%

Question 6

How much did the middle class grow between 2000 and 2014

Answer 6

500 million people

Question 7

By how much has the middle class grown in China

Answer 7

China had 150m middle class residents in 2016, which was predicted to be 500m by 2020 and 1bn by 2030

Question 8

How are water resources becoming threatened in China?

Answer 8

Economic growth is pushing China towards a water crisis. China has an average of 2000 tonnes per capita of fresh water which is double that of the UN’s definition of water scarcity. However, its resources are not evenly distributed as the 70% and 20% needed for farming and the coal industry are based in the north, which is an area of water scarcity; the average availability is only 200 tonnes per capita. Meanwhile in Beijing, total consumption exceeded supply by 70% in 2012, as more residents installed showers and flushing toilets

Question 9

What are the implications on resources of 1 billion Chinese people now owning phones?

Answer 9

-crude oil is used to make plastic
-Metals used in mobiles include copper, gold, nickel and zinc. Nickel is already in short supply
-Phone batteries include a few toxic and rare compounds. Many are toxic if buried in landfill
-Displays on smart phones are made using plastic, glass, liquid crystalline and mercury- almost all of which are non-renewable

Question 10

By how much did CO2 emissions rise between 1990 and 2013 globally?

Answer 10

53%

Question 11

Between 1990 and 2013, by how much did China’s CO2 emissions rise?

Answer 11

by 286%

Question 12

What are the benefits of a growing middle class?

Answer 12

-encourages further development
-boosts economy
-creates job opportunities

Question 13

What are the costs of a growing middle class?

Answer 13

-Increase in CO2 emissions
-more waste produced
-increases inequality
-puts pressure on resources such as water, food minerals and energy

Question 14

What are the consequences of an increased consumption of food?

Answer 14

-land once used to grow staple food grains will now be converted to produce meat and dairy
-Without new land, food prices could rise and affect the poorest population
-pressure on food supply in emerging powers will result from the nutrition transition and demands for new food types

Question 15

What are the consequences of an increased consumption of water?

Answer 15

-By 2030, 60% of India will face water scarcity
-Water supply in China, Indonesia and Nigeria could be problematic in urban areas by 2030

Question 16

What are the consequences of an increased consumption of energy?

Answer 16

-global oil demand was about 95 million barrels a day in 2015
-demand for oil and gas is likely to have risen by 30% by 2030
-Meeting demands may lead to price rises or supply shortages
-Countries with their own domestic energy supply are likely to be in a stronger position that those relying on others

Question 17

What are the consequences of an increased consumption of minerals?

Answer 17

-Price increases as demand grows
- some of the most basic metals like copper, tin and platinum are at risk of becoming in shortage
-the demand for lithium based batteries is high and could be hard to meet in future

Question 18

What climate agreement took place in 2005?

Answer 18

The Kyoto protocol- the first international treaty- became law. Over 170 countries agreed to reduce carbon emission by an average of 5.2% below their 1990 level by 2012. Of major emitters, only the US and Australia refused to sign the treaty

Question 19

What climate agreement took place in 2009?

Answer 19

World leaders met in Copenhagen to consider measures after 2012. The outcome was the Copenhagen Accord. It pledged to reduced emissions with financial support for developing countries to help them cope with the impacts. However, it was not legally binding

Question 20

What climate agreement took place in 2015?

Answer 20

In the Paris Agreement, 195 countries adopted the first ever universal and legally binding climate deal:
-to peak emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance of sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century
-Keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees and limited to 1.5 above pre industrial levels.
US$100 billion a year to support climate change initiatives in developing countries
There have been criticisms that these are promises and not commitments

Question 21

What have the UK done to try and tackle climate change?

Answer 21

We signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, which has the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2ºC and ideally to 1.5ºC.

We were the first country in the world to make a legally binding national commitment, known as the Climate Change Act of 2008. This pledged to cut our emissions as a country by 80% by 2050, from 1990 levels.

The 80% target was updated in 2019 with the target of achieving an effective 100% reduction by 2050. This is known as the “net zero” target.

Question 22

How successful has the UK been at reaching their climate target?

Answer 22

By 2020, the UK was barely using any coal at all, from getting 40% of our electricity from coal a decade earlier. 

And the UK is generally doing well on renewables, with each year more and more of our electricity being created by wind power.

However, the move away from coal and gas and towards renewable energy needs to be scaled up dramatically, and fast. 

Support must be provided to insulate homes to reduce emissions.

The UK government is not doing enough to enable a shift to green and active transport.

Question 23

What still needs to be done in the UK to tackle climate change?

Answer 23

Because we are an advanced country diplomatically and technologically, we need to start setting an example to the rest of the world.

The UK government has committed to reduce state funding of fossil fuel projects abroad, which is definitely progress. But private financing of fossil fuels from the UK continues to worsen climate change across the world. By funding polluting projects all over the world, the UK’s finance industry creates 1.8 times more emissions than the whole of the UK. This needs to be addressed urgently.

Question 24

What have China done to respond to climate change?

Answer 24

China pledged to peak its emissions by 2030

Announced a carbon neutrality target by 2060

China will stop building coal-fired power plants (this is a huge commitment as in 2021, China accounted for half the globe’s coal consumption as well as being the world’s largest foreign financier of fossil fuel infrastructure)

In China’s 5 year plan for 2021-25, it committed to reducing carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 65% and raised the share of renewable fuels in primary energy consumption from 20% to 25%

Question 25

How successful has China been in their reduction of emissions?

Answer 25

There has been no new coal stations in China since September 21

By June 22, China had nearly 10 million new-energy vehicles

Huge building project for offshore renewable energy sources

However, renewables are advancing faster than electricity grids, markets and transmission technology can keep up

For Sichuan, which has been so successful in building hydropower that it now draws 80% of it from the Yangtze River is struggling because the river keeps drying up due to droughts

The pandemic also slowed efforts down with their emissions raising by 3.4% in 2021

Question 26

What still needs to be done in China to reduce CO2 emissions

Answer 26

Its international commitments fall short of where they need to be. The net zero targets are seen by many as too late and emissions must peak by 2025 to be in line with Paris goals

Question 27

How has the US responded to calls for climate change action?

Answer 27

-shown global leadership
-from 2005-15, US wind power tripled in output, and solar energy by 10 times

Question 28

How have each of the US presidents responded differently to tackling climate change?

Answer 28

-President Obama introduced new initiatives such as greater energy efficiency, promoting renewable energy and carbon pollution standards for electricity generation. However, trump showed a considerable step back. Biden has now introduced 10 aims to reduce CO2 levels, such as half carbon emissions by 2030 and, scale up CO2 removal and require all new passenger vehicles sold after 2035 to produce zero emissions

Question 29

How has the EU responded to Climate Change?

Answer 29

Climate change is at the forefront of their policies.
EU countries must cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 in order to be carbon neutral by 2050

Question 30

How has Russia responded to the climate crisis?

Answer 30

Supported the Paris 2015 Agreement
It’s agreement to reduce CO2 levels by 30% below 1990 levels could actually allow it to increase emissions. In 2015, these were 35% below 1990 levels because of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 91