Activity Worksheet 20.

2 The Paris Agreement — International collaboration

in fighting global warming

Name:___________________________( ) Class: _____________ Date: _____________

Activity 20.2 National Security Issue PowerPoint Design

The Paris Agreement —

International collaboration in
fighting global warming
(Refer to Book 2B, Chapter 20, Section 20.9)

Mission
Search the Internet (or other sources) for information about the energy structure, the
associated environmental issues, as well as the policies adopted to fight against these
issues for China and other countries. And answer the rest of questions in the
worksheet. After the search, present your findings and answers in a set of PowerPoint
slides.
After completing this exercise, you should be able to
 show concern for the environmental protection and develop a sense of shared
responsibility for sustainable development of our society.
 develop creativity, collaboration skills, communication skills, information
technology skills, presentation skills and study skills.

Background Information
The world is facing the problem of global warming. Scientists believe that the
situation will worsen if we continue emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,
and sustainable development of our world cannot be achieved. With a view to
reducing the risks and impacts of climate change due to global warming, 196 state
parties, including China, of the United Nations signed in 2016 the legally binding
Paris Agreement.

 International collaboration is required in fighting global warming.

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Activity Worksheet 20.2 The Paris Agreement — International collaboration
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The long-term goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep the rise in average global
temperature to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, above pre-industrial levels. To
achieve this goal, countries should reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as
possible and achieve climate neutrality by mid-21st century. Implementation of the
Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformations, based on the best
available science. International collaboration is of great importance for this goal to be
achieved.

Tasks
1. Follow the teacher’s instructions and form a group of four to six. Write down the
list of members of your group in the boxes below. Then answer the questions that
follow.

2. State TWO common greenhouse gases.

3. For each of the greenhouse gases that you have suggested in question 2, suggest
(a) why its concentration in the atmosphere kept increasing in the past century.
(b) one way that can reduce its emission into the atmosphere.

4. Search, the Internet or other sources, the energy structure, and the associated
environmental issues as well as policies adopted to fight against these issues for
China and other countries such as the United States, Australia, Japan, etc.

5. China has targeted to reach peaking of greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 and
carbon neutrality in 2060. Suggest how China can achieve this target based on
available science.

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Useful Websites
 Energy structure for China, the United States, Australia and Japan
China: https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/CHN
United States: https://css.umich.edu/factsheets/us-energy-system-factsheet
Australia: https://www.energy.gov.au/data/energy-consumption
Japan: https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/JPN

 Policies on reducing greenhouse gas emissions for China, the United States,
Australia and Japan
China: https://english.mee.gov.cn/Resources/Reports/reports/201912/P02019
1204495763994956.pdf
United States: https://www.rff.org/publications/explainers/federal-climate-policy-
101/
Australia: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departmen
ts/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook45p/EmissionsReduction
Japan: https://www.eu-japan.eu/news/japans-new-basic-energy-plan-until-
2030-approved

 Policies on controlling and preventing air pollution for China, the United States,
Australia and Japan
China: https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2018-08-16/china-
2020-air-pollution-action-plan-released/
United States: https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/plain-english-guide-
clean-air-act
Australia: https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/air-quality/national-
clean-air-agreement
Japan: http://www.env.go.jp/en/coop/pollution.html

 How China can achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02927-9
(Note: you may use other websites to explore more about the topics.)

6. Read the relevant information that you obtained from various sources, such as
books, magazines, scientific publications, newspapers and the Internet.

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7. Write down the information in the box provided below.

8. Select useful information with your group members and categorize them.

9. Each group should prepare a set of PowerPoint slides using the information found.

(Note: you should use simple sentences, summary tables, flow charts, drawings, photographs or
diagrams instead of complicated sentences to present the contents.)

10. Give a 5–10 minutes’ presentation to your class according to your teacher’s
instruction.

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Activity 20.2 (Teacher’s reference)

The Paris Agreement —
International collaboration in
fighting global warming
(Refer to Book 2B, Chapter 20, Section 20.9)

Lesson Plan
► Briefing Session (Lesson time required: 20 minutes)

1. Divide the class into groups of 4–6 students.

2. Make sure that all students read the background information and all task
instructions carefully.

3. The suggested time for information search and PowerPoint design is one week.
Remind students of the following information about the PowerPoint design:

■ Number the slides and give them a title.

■ Use clear, simple visuals. More photographs or clip arts should be used.
■ Font size must be large enough to be easily read. Size 28 to 34 with a bold
font is recommended. The title default size is 44.
■ Do not use too much text in the slides.

4. A schedule can be given to the students to remind them of the progress of their
work.
5. Teachers can ask each group to hand out a ‘division of labour’ list for the
assessment purpose.

► PowerPoint Presentation (Lesson time required: 1 lesson)

1. In the school laboratory, ask each group of students to give a 510 minutes’
presentation in front of the class.
2. At the end of the activity, teachers may summarize the policies adopted to fight
global warming, air pollution (and acid rain) for different countries.

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Rubric for Assessment

Quality of Work
Assessment Criteria
Excellent Good Fair Poor

PowerPoint Design and Layout

 Clear concepts, relevant use of data and
information
 Appropriate and logical organization of
contents
 The text is clearly written with correct
grammar, capitalization, punctuation and
spelling 4 3 2 1
 Any references used are properly
acknowledged
 The layout is visually pleasing and easy to
read
 Adequate use of diagrams, tables or graphs
to represent information
 The PowerPoint is original and creative

Presentation Style
 Proper use of scientific terms and
references
4 3 2 1
 The students communicate effectively
(voice, clarity, pace, eye contact, posture,
interaction with audience)

Collaboration with Peers

 All group members equally contribute to
4 3 2 1
the project
 The group demonstrates good teamwork

Overall Quality of Work 4 3 2 1

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Useful Information
1. Carbon dioxide and methane are two common greenhouse gases in the Earth’s
atmosphere. Methane is more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat on
the Earth’s surface, but it takes a shorter time to break down (i.e. 10 years)
compared with carbon dioxide (i.e. over 100 years).
2. (a) Some reasons for the increase in concentration of carbon dioxide and that of
methane in the past century are listed below.

 Carbon dioxide
 The number of motor vehicles increased rapidly. Large amounts of
petrol and diesel oil were burnt to supply them with energy to move.
The burning of fossil fuels produced carbon dioxide.
 The rapid growth in population led to deforestation, which could
provide more land for housing. Thus, less carbon dioxide was taken by
living trees for photosynthesis.
 Increased demands for electricity for industrial, commercial and
residential activities resulted in burning of more fossil fuels like coal,
fuel oil and natural gas for generating electricity.

 Methane
 There was an increase in the number of cows and cattle. Methane was
produced when food was digested in these animals.
 There was more rice agriculture. Soil bacteria in rice paddy fields
produced significant amounts of methane.
 Leak of methane or natural gas during oil exploitation.
 More organic wastes were produced and sent to landfills. Anaerobic
decomposition of organic wastes by micro-organisms gave a gaseous
mixture called biogas, which was rich in methane.
 More wastewater, food waste, animal manure and sewage needed to be
treated in sewage treatment plants and biogas plants. Methane was
emitted in the anaerobic decomposition of the organic matter in these
wastes.

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(b) Some ways to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and that of methane
into the atmosphere are listed below.

 Carbon dioxide
 Stop deforestation and plant more trees.
 Use alternative energy sources such as nuclear energy, solar energy and
wind power to generate electricity.
 Use hydrogen as fuel or solar energy to power motor vehicles.

 Methane
 Collect methane from biomass (e.g. rice straw and cow manure) and
use it as fuel.
 Collect methane from landfill sites for gas or methanol production.
 Reduce waste that ends up in landfill sites by reusing and recycling
products.
 Prevent the burning of fields after harvest.
 Adjust feed for livestock so that they release less methane.
 Reduce unnecessary consumption of cow and sheep products (e.g. milk,
meat, wool).
 Drain rice paddy fields regularly.
 Improve the detection and repair of methane leaks at oil and gas
facilities.
3. (a) Energy structure for China and other countries are shown below.

 China

Petroleum and
other liquids 20% Hydroelectric power
8%

Coal Natural gas

58% 8%

Nuclear energy
2%

Other renewable
resources 5%

(Source of information: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020)

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 United States

Renewable resources
Nuclear energy 11.5%
8.5%
Coal
11.3%

Petroleum
36.7%
Natural gas
32.1%

(Source of information: U.S. Energy Information Administration (2020) Monthly Energy

Review April 2020)
 Australia

Coal
29.1%

Petroleum
38.8% Natural gas
25.7%

Renewable resources 6.4%

(Source of information: Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (2020),

Australian Energy Statistics, Table C)
 Japan

Natural gas
21%

Petroleum and Coal

other liquids 26%
40%

Hydroelectric power 4%
Other renewable resources 6% Nuclear energy 3%

(Source of information: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2020)

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(b) Burning of fossil fuels could lead to global warming. To reduce greenhouse
gas emissions or to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, different
policies or measures are set by the governments of China and other
countries. Some of them are listed below.
 China
 Shut down outdated coal-fired power generation units and apply
ultra-low emission technology in coal-fired power.
 Reduce national coal consumption by switching major fuel from
coal to natural gas. Gradually replace fossil energy with non-fossil
energy. Continue to expand the national electricity generation from
renewable resources.
 Subsidize local officials to install electric or gas heaters in three
million homes in Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Shanxi provinces to
reduce household reliance on coal.
 Actively promote energy saving and improve energy efficiency by
implementing green building standards comprehensively in new
buildings in urban areas nationwide, and by accelerating the
development of national electric vehicle charging infrastructure
network.
 Encourage the agricultural sector in different places to use
livestock and poultry excrement and straw as fertilizers instead of
chemical fertilizers in order to reduce organic wastes produced by
the sector.
 Increase the capacities of national domestic solid waste
incineration and sewage treatment in order to control methane
emissions from wastes.
 Require major emitters to install automated monitoring equipment
and publish their emission figures.
 Construct a national carbon credit trading system. It provides
incentives for businesses to cut emissions by putting a ‘price’ on
carbon dioxide. The national carbon credit trading market has been
launched since July 2021. In 2021, a report by an investor group
revealed that China should be able to reduce carbon emissions by
30% to 60% of its current levels by 2060.
 In July 2018, the State Council issued the Three-Year Action Plan
on Winning the Battle for the Blue Sky, setting out the
requirements for coordinated control of greenhouse gases.

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 In 2019, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE)

issued the Comprehensive Control Plan for Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs) in Key Industries to strengthen the guidance
to the work at various places, so that the emissions of VOCs can be
controlled more scientifically and effectively.
 China’s 14th Five-Year Plan shows that the government aims at
reducing carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP (also referred
to as ‘carbon dioxide emissions intensity’) by a total of 18%
cumulatively after five years from 2021.
 United States
 Federal Climate Policy is set by federal government of the United
States. It includes various actions to be taken by the United States
to alleviate the effects of climate change. Its policy approaches to
major greenhouse gas reduction can be classified into three
categories, namely carbon pricing, performance standards, and
technology and innovation subsidies.
i. Carbon pricing policies require businesses to pay for each
tonne of carbon emissions they release. This provides them
with direct financial incentives to reduce emissions.
ii. Performance standards require specific products or
processes to meet certain minimum or average levels of
technical performance (e.g. tonne of carbon dioxide per
kilowatt-hour of electricity generated).
iii. Technology and innovation subsidies are implemented
through tax credits, direct payments, loan guarantees, feed-
in-tariffs, etc. This provides businesses with incentives for
the development of low-emission technology and
technological innovation.
 Australia
 Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is implemented to provide
financial incentives for its communities to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions.

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 National Energy Productivity Plan (NEPP) is developed to enhance

energy productivity in transportation, agricultural, industrial and
electricity sectors. The government expects this plan to contribute
over a quarter of the emissions reductions required to meet 2030
target (i.e. by 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030 under the
Paris Agreement.)
 Measures for phasing down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are
commonly used in refrigerators and air-conditioners, are
introduced in order to reduce the emissions of HFCs by 85% by
2036.
 Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) is a federal
government policy designed to reduce the emissions of greenhouse
gases in the electricity sector. In its Large-scale Renewable Energy
Target (LRET), high-energy users are required to get a fixed
proportion of their electricity from renewable resources. In its
Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), a financial
incentive is provided for individuals and businesses to install
small-scale renewable energy systems such as rooftop solar, solar
collectors, etc.
 Japan
 Strategic Energy Plan and Basic Energy Plan are the two principal
energy plans developed by the Japanese government. Both of them
contain specific measures or actions to meet its greenhouse gas
reduction target of 26% by 2030.
 According to the draft of Strategic Energy Plan released in July
2021, the government expects that 60% of its electricity will be
generated from non-fossil fuels in 2030.
 According to the 5th edition of Japan’s Basic Energy Plan approved
in July 2021, the government is planning to:
i. Increase energy generated from renewable resources from
10% to a maximum of 24%.
ii. Decrease dependence on nuclear energy from 25% to a
minimum of 20% in 2030.
iii. Decrease energy generated from fossil fuels from 65% to
56% in 2030.

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(c) Burning of fossil fuels also leads to air pollution (and acid rain). To reduce
the emissions of air pollutants to the atmosphere, different policies or
measures are set by the governments of China and other countries. Some of
them are listed below.
 China
 In July 2018, the State Council released Three-Year Action Plan on
Winning the Battles for the Blue Sky for tackling air pollution. The
major targets of the Plan are listed below.
i. Reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by
at least 15% by 2020.
ii. Reduce the urban concentration of PM2.5 (fine particulate
matter) by at least 18% by 2020.
iii. Increase the annual number of days with good air quality by
80% by 2020.
iv. Decrease the annual number of days with highly polluted air
by 25% by 2020.
(Note: all of the above percentages are compared with those of 2015.)
 United States
 In 1970, the Congress passed the Clean Air Act. It aims to
protect the public health and welfare from different types of air
pollutants. In 1977 and 1997, the Congress revised and expanded
the Clean Air Act to address newly recognized environmental
problems such as acid rain and ozone depletion.
 The Clean Air Act is a federal law applied to the entire country.
It requires Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish
various programs to reduce air pollution across the country. For
example, it needs to set limits on how much common air
pollutants can be in the air anywhere in the United States. These
air pollutants include particulate matter, ozone, sulphur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead. The concentration
for air pollutants that cause smog, haze, acid rain or serious
health effects are also regulated according to the Act.
 Each state is required to find solutions for pollution problems. It
also needs to develop plans that outline how it controls and
prevents air pollution to meet the national ambient air quality
standards.

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 Australia
 In December 2015, Australia’s Environment Minister established
the National Clean Air Agreement to address the air quality
issues. Two of the actions in the 20182020 work plan are as
follows:
i. Review national ambient air quality standards for sulphur
dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, fuel quality
standards, etc.
ii. Evaluate the potential for managing non-road diesel
engine emissions across the country.
 Japan
 In November 1993, the National Diet passed The Basic
Environment Law. It provides details about the basic national
policies for environmental conservation.
 In December 1994, the Cabinet issued The Basic Environment
Plan as a long-term comprehensive national plan for
environmental conservation. The Plan is established based on the
principles stated in Article 15 of The Basic Environment Law.
4. China can achieve its target of reaching peaking of greenhouse gas emissions in
2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060 based on the following available science:

 Increase support for new technologies e.g. carbon capture, utilization and
storage (CCUS) technology that captures carbon dioxide that released from
burning fossil fuels and biomass and stores it underground.
 Generate most of its electricity from renewable resources.
 Build nuclear power plants to replace coal-fired power plants.
 Expand the use of clean energy by speeding up the development of clean
energy technologies, including solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars and
buses.
 Enhance carbon sinks by protecting natural forests, increasing forest
coverage (e.g. by planting more trees), strengthening grassland and wetland
protection, and returning grazing and cultivated fields to grassland and
wetland.

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