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Database Provider

Authors

Oxfam, Institute for European Environmental Policy

Grades

9th, 10th, 11th, 12th

Subjects

Science, Social Studies, Earth and Space Sciences, English Language Arts

Resource Types

  • Scientific Papers or Reports, 12 pages
  • Charts, Graphs, and Tables

Regional Focus

Global, North America, United States, Asia, Europe

Format

PDF

Carbon Inequality in 2030

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Synopsis
  • This report details a deepening divide in carbon emissions between the richest global individuals and everyone else, a shift in where the richest 1% live, a comparison of per capita emissions in certain locations, and an evaluation of those emissions with regard to the Paris Agreement.
  • The paper uses graphs and charts to illustrate how the richest individuals' carbon emissions are not expected to decline quickly enough, while the global "middle class" is set for the biggest reduction in emissions, and the planet as a whole is expected to emit far more carbon than the 1.5 degree limit by 2030. 
Teaching Tips

Positives

  • It is a good conversation starter regarding the changing geography of carbon emissions. 
  • This resource uses climate projection data to forecast carbon emission inequality in the year 2030 and utilizes many visual graphs to highlight the findings of the report. 

Additional Prerequisites

  • Students should be familiar with reading bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, and graphs that contain many data sets. 
  • Students should be familiar with the terms Paris Agreement, per-capita consumption emissions, and  NDCs. 

Differentiation

  • This resource would work well in a science, math, or English class because it allows students to work with data sets, practice their non-fiction comprehension skills, and it deals directly with climate science. 
  • Struggling readers may have trouble with this resource, but may find greater success with class discussions and analyzing the graphs. 
  • A great way to utilize this resource would be to break the class into four groups, one for each section of the report. After working with the text and graphs in their section, each group could present their findings to the others. 
  • Other resources that relate to this topic include Confronting Carbon Inequality and Rich vs. Poor: Who Should Pay to Fix Climate Change?
Scientist Notes
This resource is a 12-page report that outlines the expected greenhouse gas emissions from all nations by 2030, if they all stick with their COP26 pledges. In particular, this report focuses on the dramatic differences between the wealthiest nations and the poorest nations. This report makes it clear that the pledges from the wealthiest nations are nowhere near sufficient enough to meet the 1.5 degree warming goals. This report presents a lot of information, but does it in a clear manner via text and graphics. This resource makes a compelling case regarding international policy injustices, and can serve as a demonstration of how insufficient current international policy addresses climate change. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
  • Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
    • ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
      • HS-ESS3-1 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
      • HS-ESS3-5 Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
  • Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
    • Reading: Science & Technical Subjects (6-12)
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
      • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.
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