6 Vocabulary

Part A: Fill in the gaps with the words below to create definitions for each vocabulary item.

change Damage disagree frequently

1. activist (n) - a person who works to achieve political or social

2. stabilise (v) - become consistent and to change suddenly

3. decisive (adj.) - very important for the final of a particular situation

4. contentious (adj). - likely to cause people to

5. fluctuate (v) - to change , from one extreme to another

6. compensation (n) - money paid due to for injuring someone or damaging something

7. unprecedented (adj.) - that has never , been done or been known before

8. vulnerable (adj.) - easy to attack or

Part B: From the context, decide if the word in brackets is correct, and if not, replace it with a word
from the same word family.

1. Factors such as natural disasters, interest rates and production costs lead to in oil
prices. (fluctuate)

2. After years of feeling annoyed about issues affecting her local area, Jennifer became an
, meeting local politicians and organising protests. (activist)

3. No amount of money could for the broken vase. It had been in the family for
hundreds of years. (compensation)

4. The of certain island countries to problems caused by rising sea levels has been
known about for some time. (vulnerable)

5. Climate change is causing numbers of certain animal species to be seen in places

6. The issue was ; everybody had the same opinion, and they reached a decision in
five minutes. (contentious)

7. Some believe the public can play a role in determining the future of the planet,
while others feel they are powerless. (decisive)

8. Countries with a economy and political situation may be better placed to take
action on climate change. (stabilise)
7 Reading for general idea

Skim through the article on page 7 and answer the questions.

1. What causes of climate change are mentioned?

2. What targets are mentioned?

3. What controversial issues are mentioned?

8 Reading comprehension

Read the text and decide if the sentences are true (T), false (F) or not given (NG). Give reasons for
your answers.

Politicians have prioritised finding solutions to the problems caused by climate change for a long time.

Our planet’s climate hasn’t changed very much in the last 10,000 years.

There is a link between a stable climate and human achievement.

David Attenborough believes that it is possible to halve global carbon emissions in the next ten years.

The Paris Agreement acknowledged that limiting temperature increase to 1.5 degrees was unrealistic.

Some countries are suffering effects of climate change but did not contribute much to the causes.

Only two thirds of the $100 billion dollars promised to the worst affected countries has been provided.

A method for calculating "loss and damage" has been agreed on by world leaders.
 ·

The climate emergency

2. Speaking ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, naturalist Sir David Attenborough delivered a
passionate speech to the world’s leaders. In it, he explained that global temperatures used to fluctuate
dramatically, but around 10,000 years ago they stabilised and since then have varied by no more than plus or
minus one degree. Climate security has allowed humanity to enjoy great success, but this security is now under
serious threat. Describing how burning fossil fuels and destroying nature has caused carbon to be released "at an
unprecedented pace and scale", Attenborough emphasised that the world must take urgent action.

3. His appeal reflects the latest scientific assessment that to avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures, global
carbon emissions must be halved no later than 2030; for this reason, many describe the 2020s as "the decisive
decade". Many countries have committed to working together to bring greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero
within the second half of the 21st century.

4. The 2015 Paris Agreement outlined the goal of limiting global average temperature increase this century to "well
below 2ºC"(above preindustrial levels) but pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5ºC. This target
is key to current negotiations on climate change, but Attenborough states that reaching the ambitious 1.5-degree
target would require "a new industrial revolution, powered by millions of sustainable innovations." Transportation,
agriculture and industry will require large scale changes.

5. Unfortunately, the commitments made at COP26 do not ensure the world is on track to meet these targets.
However, the promise to reduce the use of coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, is widely recognised as a
breakthrough. The decision to begin an annual process of revising targets was announced at COP26 and keeps
hope alive of more ambitious action being promised in future summits.

6. International co-operation is essential, but the issue of responsibility for tackling climate change is highly
contentious. Although the richest countries were the first to start seriously polluting the atmosphere, some of the
worst effects are being felt in the world’s least developed countries, which have been responsible for comparably
few emissions. Vulnerable low-lying countries are being affected more frequently and more seriously than had
been predicted.

7. According to many, the richest countries should be making the biggest efforts to reduce their carbon emissions
while also providing financial assistance to those worst affected. Promises to provide $100 billion dollars a year to
help develop low carbon technology and build defences against extreme weather have not been met. The concept
of "loss and damage" has emerged to refer to the destruction caused by extreme weather, but richer nations have
so far been unwilling to create a formula to calculate funding for loss and damage, partially because they are
unhappy with reference to "compensation" in the negotiations.

8. Whether individual countries are to blame or not, David Attenborough believes that there is a moral responsibility
to help those who have already suffered due to climate change and those who will be affected in the future.

Sources: forbes.com; bbc.com; theguardian.com