Paper 3 Players

Question 1

Tectonics: Decision-making which impacts join policy: Japan after earthquake and tsunami:What happened after?

Answer 1

Before the earthquake and tsunami, 27% of Japan’s electricity came from nuclear energy. Immediately after the earthquake nuclear power stations closets to the epicentre were shut down. Eventually all of Japan’s nuclear reactors were closed. By 2013- generated nuclear power in Japan dropped to just 1% .

Question 2

Tectonics: Decision-making which impacts upon policy: Japan after earthquake and tsunami:What happened when Japan had to start importing more fossil fuels?

Answer 2

• The price of electricity went up by about 20%
• The government’s debt level rose, because it had to buy in more fossil fuels
• Greenhouse gas emissions increases as a result of the increased use of fossil fuels.

Question 3

Tectonics: Hazard management: Hazard-mitigation strategies?

Answer 3

Land-use zoning
Diverting lava flows
GIS mapping
Hazard -resistant design and engineering defences

Question 4

Tectonics: Hazard management: Hazard-adaptation strategies?

Answer 4

High-tech monitoring
Crisis mapping
Modelling hazard impact
Public education

Question 5

Globalisation: The world bank?

Answer 5

Was formed to finance economic development. Provides , loans for developing countries that agree to certain conditions concerning repayment and economic growth.

Question 6

Carbon cycle: Role of Energy TNCs?

Answer 6

• TNCs explore, exploit and distribute energy resources
• They own supply lines and invest in distrubtion and the processing of raw materials, as well as electricty production and transmission
• They respond to market conditions to secure profits for their shareholders

Question 7

Carbon cycle: Examples of energy TNCs?

Answer 7

• Old players: BP (UK) and Shell (UK- Netherlands); Exxon/ Mobil (USA).
• ‘New’ players: Petrobras (Brazil);PetroChina Corp (China); Reliance (India); Rosneft, Luckoil and Gazprom (Russia).

Question 8

Carbon cycle: What is OPEC?

Answer 8

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is a permanent inter-governmental (IGO). OPEC producers control 81% of world oil reserves.

Question 9

Carbon cycle: Role of OPEC?

Answer 9

To co-ordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its members, to ensure the stabilisation of oil markets in order to secure:
- an efficent, economic and regular supply to consumers
- Steady income fro producers
- Fair return for those investing in the industry

Question 10

Carbon cycle: Role of national governments?

Answer 10

• To meet international obligations, whilst securing energy supplies for the nation’s present and future, as well as supporting the country’s economic growth.
• Regulating the role of private companies and setting enviornmental priorites.

Question 11

Carbon cycle: Examples of national governments?

Answer 11

• EU governments aim to fufil CO2 emission targets and reduce fossil fuel dependency

Question 12

Carbon cycle: Role of consumers?

Answer 12

Create demand. Purchasing choices are often based on price/ cost issue, e.g. petrol prices can be keenly competitive between supermarkets.

Question 13

Water cycle: Key players in the Murray-Darling Basin: Who is the key player?

Answer 13

Agriculture- as it takes the most water and increases the demand for more

Question 14

Water cycle: Key players in the Murray-Darling Basin: Other players?

Answer 14

• Urban residents in the major cities of southeast Australia
• Industrial users, e.g. Queensland’s mining industry
• Aquaculture, freshwater fishing
• Leisure interests and those offering recreational activities
• Local and state governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland
• Environmental groups e.g. Enviornmental Victoria
• International heritage and conservation agencies
• Indigenous people’s groups, where traditional water rights for aboriginal groups are threatened.

Question 15

Water cycle: Players in reducing water conflicts: Role of the United Nations?

Answer 15

Its Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Water Convention aims to protect and ensure quality, quantity and sustainable use of trans-boundary water resources by helping with co-operation and resolving issues.

Question 16

Water cycle: Players in reducing water conflicts: Role of the EU?

Answer 16

Its Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Hydropower, agreed in Berlin in 2000, set targets to restore rivers, lakes, canals and coastal waters to ‘good condition’. The framework was policy requiring basin-wide assessments of all risks to natural enviornments posed by new developments.

Question 17

Water cycle: Players in reducing water conflicts: Role of the National Governments agencies?

Answer 17

e.g. the UK’s Enviornmnetal Agency, which checks compliances with The Environmental Act (which became a law in 2021 after Brexit).

Question 18

Superpowers: The role of TNCs in maintaining power and wealth: Global trade?

Answer 18

TNCs have huge impacts on global trade as the global shift of manufactoring has led to rapid increases in exports from developing countries.
- This has shifted economic power towards emerging countries and made TNCs extremely powerful
- Much of the increase in global trade is intra-company (between different branches or activites of the same company).

Question 19

Superpowers: The role of TNCs in maintaining power and wealth: Technology?

Answer 19

The introduction of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in 1995 requires all WTO members to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights.
- Any new tech or processes must be processed under patent law (laws to grant exclusive right of ownership of intellectual property). Anyone who wishes to use such property must pay a royalty.
- TRIPS favours TNCs as it protects the investment into research and innovation. For example, patent developments by pharmaceutical companies make many medication (e.g. new treatments for HIVs) unaffordable to developing countries.

Question 20

Superpowers: The role of powerful countries as ‘global police’: Military alliances?

Answer 20

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was formed in 1949 at the start of the Cold War.
- It remains one of the most dominant international military alliances.
- Its guiding principles is that an attack one member is an attack on all
- NATO’s infleunce diminished at the end of the cold war but Russian military activity has brought it to the fore again

Question 21

Superpowers: The role of powerful countries as ‘global police’: Economic alliances?

Answer 21

The European Union (EU) forms a free-trade area, with 28 states in 2016.
- Its remit is increasing political union (e.g. free movement of people, a common currency)
- Its guiding principle is that economic strength insures agaisnt poverty and policies should work towards reducing inequality.
- Its infleunce extends into enviornmental issues and human rights
- Its future is less stable following the UK vote in 2016 to leave the EU.

Question 22

Superpowers: The role of powerful countries as ‘global police’: Enviornmental alliances?

Answer 22

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by the UN.
- Its members represent over 120 countries
- It produces reports on climate change, aiming to assemble evidence from peer-reviewed publications to ensure the stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations.

Question 23

Superpowers: The role of emerging powers: What are emerging economies doing?

Answer 23

Playing an expanding role on the world stage. Globalisation has altered the geopolitical power and infleunce of the Asia region.

Question 24

Superpowers: The role of emerging powers: By 2050…

Answer 24

… the economic centre of gravity is likely to shift between India and China, having shifted from the mid-Atlantic in 1980