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Climate change narratives

Send a link to an article eslbrains.com/crc068 to your students so that they can read it before the
T
class.
1. Complete the statements and briefly expand on them.
• There is too much/just enough/not enough talk of climate change in the media and among my
family and friends.
• I think the article provided some/didn’t provide much food for thought.

2. Find the verbs in the statements that match the meanings below.
A. Human ingenuity will allow us to sustain the climate through new technologies.
B. Climate change is not true, not caused by humans or its impact is overestimated.
C. Unless dramatic and urgent action is taken, humanity will not avert the impending crisis, leading
to a situation where the planet is uninhabitable.
D. Humanity’s focus should be on understanding climate change and developing evidence-based ways
to mitigate its effects.
E. The inequalities that exist within and across countries will be exacerbated by climate change.

1. make something worse exacerbate 4. predict that something will be more

important than it really is overestimate
2. keep something in operation, maintain sustain
5. prevent something bad from happening avert
3. make something less severe/serious
mitigate

There is an extra task available on the last page of the worksheet that you can cut up. Students read
T cards with situations and questions and their partner answers the questions briefly. You can use the
task after ex. 2 or as revision in the next lesson.
3. Match the five narratives from the article with the statements in ex. 2 that summarize each of them.

the Doomsday Narrative the Moral Narrative

the Opportunity Narrative the Scientific Narrative the Skeptical Narrative

A. the Opportunity Narrative; B. the Skeptical Narrative; C. the Doomsday Narrative; D. the Scientific
Narrative; E. the Moral Narrative

Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.

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Climate change narratives

4. Discuss the questions.

• Which of the narratives from the article do you subscribe to? Why?
• Have you always subscribed to the same narratives? If not, why do you think your attitude
changed?
• Which of the narratives do you observe in the media and among your family and friends? Why do
you think some are more common than others?
• Can you think of at least one pro and one con of each narrative?
• Have you observed any other climate change narratives?
• Why is it sometimes difficult to have a dialogue with people who subscribe to different narratives
regarding major global issues? Could understanding other narratives foster more effective
dialogue?

5. Read the texts and complete the statements about the concept and the phenomena with your ideas.
Provide some details.
Climate justice is a concept whereby the burden of mitigating the effects
of climate change should be distributed equitably, taking into account
historical contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as socio-
economic factors.
• I find the concept… because…
• I think that the concept of climate justice will…
Climate anxiety is the emotional distress induced by concerns about not
being able to sustain the climate and about the consequences of climate
change on the environment, including humans.
• The phenomenon could be harmful because…
• The phenomenon might bring about positive outcomes, like…
Climate fatigue is mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged exposure
to discussion about averting climate change, often leading to reduced
motivation for environmental action.
• My personal experience with the phenomenon is…
• The phenomenon could exacerbate the problem because…

Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.

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Climate change narratives

Situation 1 Situation 2 Situation 3

A city is experiencing A person has inherited a Two colleagues had a
severe pollution levels. substantial amount of money disagreement. One of them is
• What could be done and is considering investing it. considering quitting their job.
to mitigate the • What might happen if they • What actions might
problem? overestimate their ability mitigate tensions between
• What actions would to read the market? them?
exacerbate the • What should the person do • What actions might
issue? to sustain long-term exacerbate tensions
• How can the city financial growth? between them?
sustain cleaner air • What actions could avert • What should the company
quality in the long potential financial losses? do to avert such conflicts in
term? the future?

Situation 1 Situation 2 Situation 3

A city is experiencing A person has inherited a Two colleagues had a
severe pollution levels. substantial amount of money disagreement. One of them is
• What could be done and is considering investing it. considering quitting their job.
to mitigate the • What might happen if they • What actions might
problem? overestimate their ability mitigate tensions between
• What actions would to read the market? them?
exacerbate the • What should the person do • What actions might
issue? to sustain long-term exacerbate tensions
• How can the city financial growth? between them?
sustain cleaner air • What actions could avert • What should the company
quality in the long potential financial losses? do to avert such conflicts in
term? the future?

Copyrights by ESL Brains. For use only with license.