There is increasing demand for energy that is being met by renewable and non-renewable resources — Edexcel GCSE Geography A
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There is increasing demand for energy that is being met by renewable and non-renewable resources explained
There is increasing demand for energy that is being met by renewable and non-renewable resources covers 4 specification points, including World population growth, increased wealth and… and B.
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How non-renewable energy resources (coal,…. Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
a. How and why global demand and supply has changed over the past 100 years due to human intervention: world population growth, increased wealth and technological advances.
This criterion asks how and why global demand and supply for energy has changed over the past 100 years through human intervention. Three drivers must be explained. World population growth increases the number of people needing energy for heating, food production and transport. Increased wealth raises ownership of cars, appliances and air travel. Technological advances both increase energy use through new goods and allow people to reach resources such as deep-water oil and shale gas. Each driver should be linked as a cause to a change in supply, for example more coal-fired power or new drilling sites. Keep the answer within the past century and show change over time rather than only present-day figures.
b. How non-renewable energy resources (coal, oil, natural gas and uranium) are being developed and how this can have both positive and negative impacts on people and the environment.
This criterion asks how coal, oil, natural gas and uranium are developed and how this affects people and the environment. Method comes first: coal is mined at surface or underground sites, oil and gas are drilled on land or offshore, and uranium ore is mined and processed for nuclear power. Impacts must be balanced. Positive effects on people include jobs, income and energy security. Negative effects include health problems from dust and air pollution, and community displacement. Environmental costs include greenhouse gas emissions, habitat loss, water contamination and radioactive mine tailings. Link each impact to its method, so that an opencast coal mine's employment is weighed against its land damage.
c. How renewable energy resources (hydro-electric power (HEP), wind power and solar power) are being developed and how this can have both positive and negative impacts on people and the environment.
This criterion asks you to explain how hydro-electric power (HEP), wind power and solar power are being developed, and how each can have both positive and negative impacts on people and the environment. Development means the practical steps taken, such as damming a river for a HEP reservoir, erecting wind turbines, and installing solar panels or solar farms. For each source, pair a benefit with a cost. HEP gives reliable low-carbon electricity, but flooding a valley can displace communities and alter river ecosystems. Wind gives clean power, but turbines can be visually intrusive and may affect birds and bats. Solar cuts emissions, but large farms can take up farmland.
d. How technology (fracking) can resolve energy resource shortages.
This criterion asks how fracking, a technology used to extract shale gas, can resolve energy resource shortages. Fracking involves drilling into shale rock and injecting high-pressure fluid to fracture it, releasing trapped natural gas. Explain the mechanism: extracting gas domestically can increase supply, reduce reliance on imports and lessen the impact of supply interruptions, which eases shortage. Then consider the limits. Shale gas is non-renewable, so the gain is temporary, and concerns include groundwater contamination, small earthquakes and public opposition. Keep the shortage and the technology's limits in view together.
Your focus
- Identify three drivers of changing energy demand over the past 100 years: population growth, increased wealth and technological advances.
- Explain how each driver increases demand and affects global energy supply.
- Select the option that links a named driver to a specific change in supply.
Show all 12 objectives
- Describe the development methods used for coal, oil, natural gas and uranium.
- Explain one positive and one negative impact on people from developing a named non-renewable resource.
- Identify environmental impacts linked to a named development method.
- Describe how hydro-electric power, wind power and solar power are being developed.
- Explain one positive and one negative impact of each source on people and on the environment.
- Evaluate the balance of impacts for a chosen renewable energy source.
- Explain how fracking releases shale gas from rock.
- Explain how fracking can help reduce energy resource shortages.
- Evaluate the temporary nature of this solution and its environmental and social risks.
There is increasing demand for energy that is being met by renewable and non-renewable resources exam tips
Marking Points
- Explains population growth as increasing the number of people who need energy for heating, food production and transport.
- Explains increased wealth as raising ownership of cars, appliances and air travel, with a clear link to rising demand.
- Explains technological advances as both increasing energy use through new goods and enabling supply from previously hard-to-reach resources.
- Links each driver to a change in global supply rather than listing causes alone.
- Uses the past 100 years as the timeframe and identifies change across that period.
- Supports the explanation with a specific example of human intervention in supply, such as shale gas extraction or new coal-fired power.
- Describes how each named resource is developed, such as opencast or deep coal mining, drilling for oil and gas, and mining uranium ore.
- Explains a positive impact on people, such as employment, income or energy security.
- Explains a negative impact on people, such as health problems from air pollution or displacement of communities.
- Explains an environmental impact, such as greenhouse gas emissions, habitat loss or water contamination.
- Shows both positive and negative impacts for at least one resource and links them to the same development method.
- Describes a named development step for each source, such as a dam and reservoir for HEP, turbine arrays for wind and panels or farms for solar.
- Explains at least one positive and one negative impact for people and for the environment.
- Links each impact to its mechanism, such as reliable low-carbon output or displacement caused by flooding.
- Evaluates the balance of benefits and costs for one chosen renewable source rather than listing impacts generically.
- Uses accurate terms such as low-carbon, reservoir and intermittency where they strengthen the explanation.
- Explains the mechanism of fracking, including drilling into shale and fracturing it with high-pressure fluid to release gas.
- Explains how domestic gas extraction can increase supply and reduce dependence on imports, linking this directly to shortage.
- Evaluates the extent to which fracking resolves shortage, noting that shale gas is non-renewable and the gain is temporary.
- Identifies environmental and social concerns such as groundwater contamination, small earthquakes and local opposition.
Examiner Tips
- 💡For each multiple-choice option, check that it names a driver and describes the link to a supply change, not just a keyword.
- 💡Build each answer as driver, then increase in demand, then supply response, so the causal chain is clear.
- 💡Reject options that describe only present-day conditions when the question asks about change over the past 100 years.
- 💡For each resource, know one extraction method, one positive impact and one negative impact.
- 💡In multiple-choice items, check which resource and which type of impact (people or environment) each option names before choosing.
- 💡Use one concrete example, such as an opencast coal mine, to show how a single development has both benefits and costs.
- 💡Give each source its own paragraph so its development, benefits and costs stay linked.
- 💡Use a specific example, such as a named dam or wind farm, to make the development concrete.
- 💡Before finishing, check that you have addressed both people and the environment for every source you discuss.
- 💡Explain the mechanism first, then link it explicitly to supply and shortage.
- 💡Reach a final judgement on whether the shortage is fully resolved or only partly and temporarily eased.
- 💡Do not confuse fracking with conventional drilling; fracking fractures rock using high-pressure fluid.
Common Mistakes
- Lists population, wealth and technology as separate facts without explaining how each raises demand; add a causal link for each driver.
- Treats the change as recent only, ignoring the wider 100-year timeframe; refer to change across the whole period.
- Writes that renewables have replaced most fossil fuel use in this period, which is inaccurate; state that non-renewables still supply most global energy.
- Describes technology only as making life easier, omitting its role in increasing energy use or opening up new resources.
- Treats uranium as a fossil fuel and groups it with coal, oil and gas; note that uranium is a non-renewable mineral used in nuclear power.
- Gives only positive impacts or only negative impacts, which fails to show the balance the criterion requires.
- Names impacts without linking them to a specific development method, so the answer stays generic.
- Describes environmental harm as certain at every site, ignoring that impacts vary with location and mitigation.
- Lists renewable sources without describing how they are being developed; add the practical development step for each source.
- Treats all impacts of a source as positive or all as negative; state both a benefit and a cost for each source.
- Describes environmental impacts only and ignores people; cover both groups in the answer.
- Describes wind power as having no impacts; name a real impact such as visual intrusion or effects on wildlife.
- Describes fracking without explaining how it addresses shortage; link the process to an increase in supply.
- Treats fracking as a permanent or renewable solution; state that shale gas is non-renewable and the gain is temporary.
- Presents fracking as wholly beneficial and ignores risks; include at least one environmental or social concern.