Synoptic!Think BIG PICTURE

You’ve got everything you need in the booklet

• You’ll get a clean copy of the booklet in the exam

• You must use it!

Big picture synoptic theme 1

• Climate change – Global warming is the reason behind these difficult

choices. – If it wasn’t for the scientific knowledge about

climate change and the influence of greenhouse gas emissions we’d be burning coal (lots of it and cheap)

– We’ve ratified the Kyoto Protocol so we are legally bound to reduce emissions

– It’s different for the Americans, who haven’t ratified Kyoto, they don’t worry about CO2 emissions!

Big picture synoptic theme 2

• Economic crisis– European countries are concerned about their

economic future – energy is vital to growth– They need to keep costs down

Big picture synoptic theme 3

• Sustainable development– Don’t forget to get a definition of sustainable

development in if relevant! “meets the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

– Whatever solutions are used they have to be sustainable economically, socially and environmentally.

A solution which isn’t mentioned (you should)

• Cutting demand:– Insulation (Green Deal in UK is supporting

householders improve insulation)– Improving efficiency - modern engines and boilers

are continually improving efficiency (Government has encouraged efficiency through road tax reductions for lower emissions cars)

– Switch to renewables (Green Deal supporting householders to install solar, Government subsidising offshore wind)

Don’t forget - There is no magic bullet!

• No one solution is likely to resolve the problems – They’re not all equally useful/available in different

parts of Europe– Being reliant on any one form makes countries

vulnerable to market changes/competition for resources

– All the “solutions” have pros and cons