Year 9 Science · Unit 3 · Lesson 22

Global Energy Consumption and CO₂ Emissions

Challenge Worksheet

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Date

Class

Learning Goals

Interpret a data table comparing CO₂ emissions per capita and HDI across eight countries.
Identify outliers in data and explain them using scientific knowledge.
Construct a balanced argument about historical emissions responsibility.

Warm Up

Interpret the scatter plot data

The table below shows CO₂ emissions per capita and Human Development Index (HDI) for eight countries. HDI is a measure of wealth, health and education (0 = lowest, 1 = highest). Use this data to answer the questions below.

Country	CO₂ per capita (t/year)	HDI score
USA	14.9	0.926
Australia	15.1	0.946
Norway	7.5	0.966
Germany	8.1	0.942
France	4.5	0.910
China	8.0	0.788
India	1.9	0.644
Bangladesh	0.6	0.661

(a) Is there a general relationship between CO₂ per capita and HDI score? Describe the pattern you see, or explain if there is no clear pattern.

Challenge 2 marks

(b) France has a very high HDI but relatively low CO₂ per capita. Identify France as an outlier and explain what feature of its energy system accounts for its position in this data.

Challenge 2 marks

(c) Norway has a very high HDI (0.966) but lower CO₂ per capita (7.5 t) than the USA and Australia. What does Norway's data position suggest about whether high development always requires high emissions?

Challenge 2 marks

Go Deeper

Evaluate the claim, who should bear the burden?

The debate

At international climate negotiations, representatives from developing nations including India, Bangladesh, and many African nations have argued: "Wealthy countries like Australia, the USA, and Germany caused the majority of historical CO₂ emissions that produced today's climate problem. They grew rich by burning fossil fuels. They should therefore carry a much greater share of the cost and burden of transitioning to clean energy, through their own emissions cuts and by funding clean development in poorer countries."

(a) Using specific data from this lesson, construct an argument FOR this position. (What evidence supports the idea that wealthy nations bear more responsibility?)

Challenge 3 marks

(b) Construct an argument AGAINST this position. (What complicates the argument? Think about current total emissions, growing economies, and the data table on page 1.)

Challenge 3 marks

(c) State your own reasoned conclusion. Which position do you find more persuasive, and why? Refer to at least one piece of evidence.

Challenge 3 marks

Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?