Topic 9: 9.2 Access to energy resources is not evenly distributed which has implications for people — Edexcel GCSE Geography B
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Topic 9: 9.2 Access to energy resources is not evenly distributed which has implications for people explained
Topic 9: 9.2 Access to energy resources is not evenly distributed which has implications for people covers 2 specification points, including A.
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How access to energy resources is affected… and B. The global pattern of energy use per capita…. Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
a. How access to energy resources is affected by access to technology and physical resources (geology, accessibility, climate and landscape influences on renewable potential).
This statement asks you to explain how access to energy resources depends on access to technology and on physical resources. Technology decides whether a place can build and connect turbines, solar arrays or grid lines, so a region lacking capital or skills may be unable to use resources it has. Physical resources depend on geology (where fossil fuels or geothermal heat occur), accessibility (terrain and distance raising costs) and, for renewable potential, climate and landscape. Climate sets solar irradiance and wind speeds; landscape controls river gradient for hydro and sites for wind farms. Strong answers link factors: a steep, wet upland may suit hydro, whereas a cloudy lowland may suit wind over solar.
b. The global pattern of energy use per capita and the causes of variations (levels of economic development, reliance of traditional fuel sources, demand from different economic sectors).
This statement asks you to describe the global pattern of energy use per capita and explain the causes of variation. Per capita use is total energy consumption divided by population, which allows fair comparison between countries of very different size. Use is generally highest in high-income countries and lowest in many low-income ones. Causes include development level (industrialisation, car ownership and air conditioning raise demand), reliance on traditional fuels such as wood, charcoal and dung (often under-recorded in statistics) and demand from economic sectors such as manufacturing, transport, domestic use and services. Good answers link a sector to a country type rather than listing sectors alone.
Your focus
- Explain how access to technology affects whether a physical energy resource can be used.
- Identify how geology, accessibility, climate and landscape each influence energy access or renewable potential.
- Evaluate how combined factors determine renewable energy potential in a named location.
Show all 6 objectives
- Describe the global pattern of energy use per capita and calculate its meaning from total use and population.
- Explain how economic development, traditional fuel reliance and sectoral demand cause variations in energy use.
- Evaluate which cause best explains the variation between two contrasting country types.
Topic 9: 9.2 Access to energy resources is not evenly distributed which has implications for people exam tips
Marking Points
- Explains how technological capacity determines whether a physical resource can actually be developed, using a named example such as offshore wind or geothermal plants.
- Links geology to the location of fossil fuel or geothermal resources and to the feasibility of extracting them.
- Describes how accessibility, such as remote terrain or distance from networks, raises the cost of extraction or connection.
- Distinguishes climate influences, such as solar irradiance and wind speed, from landscape influences, such as river gradient and suitable sites.
- Evaluates how these factors interact to set renewable potential in a specific place rather than listing them separately.
- Describes the global pattern of energy use per capita, contrasting high-income and low-income countries.
- Defines per capita use as total energy consumption divided by population and explains why this allows fair comparison.
- Explains how levels of economic development raise demand through industrialisation, car ownership and air conditioning.
- Explains how reliance on traditional fuels such as wood, charcoal and dung is linked to low recorded energy use and to under-recording in statistics.
- Links demand from economic sectors such as manufacturing, transport and domestic use to specific country types.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Plan one paragraph per factor, then add a final sentence showing how two factors combine for a named place.
- 💡Use the bracketed factors in the statement as a checklist and confirm each one appears with a mechanism.
- 💡Name a specific renewable type, such as hydro or solar, and link it to the climate or landscape condition that controls it.
- 💡Open with the pattern in one or two sentences, then give separate paragraphs for each of the three listed causes.
- 💡Support each cause with a clear mechanism, such as how industrialisation increases demand for energy from manufacturing.
- 💡Link at least one economic sector to a named type of country so the answer shows a clear geographical pattern.
Common Mistakes
- Treats wealth alone as the explanation for energy access; add technology and physical resources as separate, linked factors.
- Lists geology, climate and landscape without explaining how each one affects energy access; state the mechanism for each factor.
- Equates renewable potential with actual energy production; state that potential is the resource available, while output depends on what is built and connected.
- Treats per capita figures as total national energy use; divide total consumption by population before comparing countries.
- Describes the global pattern without giving a cause; add a causal mechanism for each variation identified.
- Assigns reliance on traditional fuels mainly to high-income countries; correct this by linking it to low-income households where it is most common.