1. Burning of Fossil Fuels

• Coal, oil, and natural gas

• Used in energy production, transportation, and industrial activities

• Carbon stored in fossil fuels is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide

E.g.: Power plants, vehicles

2. Deforestation

• Trees take in CO2 for photosynthesis

• When forests are cleared for agriculture, urban development, or logging, carbon is released back into the atmosphere

E.g.: Clearing of tropical rainforests and savannas like the Amazon and the Cerrado respectively

3. Industrial Processes

• Cement production (limestone heated to produce lime), manufacture of steel release CO2 as part of the chemical reactions

MH4:

1. Agriculture

• Released during the digestive processes of ruminant animals (like cows, sheep, and goats) through enteric fermentation

• Produced in manure management and rice paddies.

E.g.: Decomposition of manure stored in lagoons

2. Landfills

• Decomposition of organic waste such as food, paper, and yard clippings

• Breaks down anaerobically to produce methane

3. Fossil Fuel Extraction and Transport

• Extraction, processing, and transportation of natural gas and oil.

• Leaks in infrastructure or the flaring of gas during extraction processes.

E.g.: Fracking, and pipeline leakages

*Methane is less abundant than CO2, it is approximately 25 times more effective at trapping heat long-term

(Revision Dojo, 2025a)

(2) eco-design

(3) increasing the demand for recycled plastics

(4) reducing the use of plastics

(5) use of renewable energy for recycling

(6) extended producer responsibility over waste

(7) improvements in waste collection systems

(8) prioritisation of recycling

(9) use of bio-based and biodegradable plastics

(10) improvement in recyclability of e-waste

(Prata et al., 2019)

Net Carbon Sink: An ecosystem that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases, helping to reduce greenhouse gases.

(Revision Dojo, 2025b)

Examples: Boreal forests (taiga ecosystems), oceans, rainforests

Tipping points of climate change can shift these from net carbon sinks to net carbon sources

(World Health Organization, 2023)

Relevance to IB Biology Spec Points

1. Ecology:

   • Food Webs: Ingested by organisms, causing biomagnification in higher trophic levels.

   • Energy Flow: Reduces energy transfer as organisms consume less food.

   • Biodiversity: Harms species (e.g., marine life) and disrupts ecosystems.

2. Human Impact:

   • Pollution: Persist in environments, adsorb toxins, and harm aquatic life.

   • Bioaccumulation: Accumulate in organisms, posing risks to predators, including humans.

3. Conservation:

   • Threaten biodiversity (e.g., coral reefs) and require strategies like reducing plastic use and improving waste management.

4. Human Health:

   • Found in food, water, and air; potential risks include toxicity and endocrine disruption.

5. Biotechnology:

   • Research into microorganisms/enzymes to degrade microplastics using genetic engineering.

Most think they know the issues relatively well.

Most people are concerned about deforestation of the Amazon, knowing its importance to the world. However people were mostly shocked when they were told that around 20% of the Amazon has been lost and over 70% of it needs to remain for the forest to remain intact and stable, which means we are on the edge of destroying the Amazon.

Most people believe that toxin accumulation in food and environment is an issue.

All participants think that some sort of prevention and law on hunting, and farming should be installed to ensure no over hunting. Most people think harm to Marine life is the major issue with plastic followed by accumulation in food and water.

The results does show that people are not completely well educated on climate change being unable to answer a lot of questions correctly, this suggests that awareness is there but more information on climate change is needed to be spread amongst people. Most people noticed some issues with climate change but not many felt the impact, this is likely due to all participants living in a less effected area of the globe and are amongst the more privileged groups of people.

SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy this goal (picture above) was shown to be the single most important goal in the opinions of over 80% of participants with SDG 12 climate change coming in second.

Finally most people are willing to learn more about climate change believing that governments along with individuals should start taking actions in solving and stopping further worsening of the situation.

How have you tried to reduce your carbon emissions?

Are you eager to learn more?

The answers in general were as such:

With the first question all participants believed that they contributed negatively through transportation especially flying back to their home countries during the holiday or for travelling. Furthermore some participants stated the fact that they owned cars and would regularly use it for transportation. Some participants stated that they believe them eating meat is a major contributor to climate change, furthermore all participants believed that delivery, "Waimai" and takeaway were great contributors to plastic and garbage that are not recyclable. Finally all participants stated that energy usage while basically living is another major issue, such as electricity, water and heating/cooling.

Moving onto the second question all participants stated that they either avoid unnecessary flights or look for lower carbon footprint planes. Particularly in one case they stated that offsetting their carbon emission by paying more to the airline/company was one way in which they reduced the emission/ effect of the emissions of flying. In the case of transportation daily and car usage, participants stated that they result to low carbon emitting or public transport whenever possible. and often choosing to walk/bike when not needing a car. In a few cases participants have resulted to eating less meat or minimising meat consumption to reduce the carbon emission through a more "eco-friendly" diet. Finally all participants have resulted to minimising the usage of AC and lights when unnecessary or leaving a room to mninimise the consumption of energy unnecessarily.

The last questions show that all participants are willing to learn more about the problems of climate change and its solutions, with many believing that hey already have a good understanding of the problem. However the severity and rate of climate change was pointed out as one of the questions that participants wanted to know, to better understand how significant the problem actually is.

Overall the survey demonstrates how individuals are keen to learn more about the topic while being aware of their potential emissions and contributions to the issue.