Topic 9: 9.6 Attitudes to energy and environmental issues are changing — Edexcel GCSE Geography B
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Topic 9: 9.6 Attitudes to energy and environmental issues are changing explained
Topic 9: 9.6 Attitudes to energy and environmental issues are changing covers 2 specification points, including A.
Read the full explanation
How different groups (consumers, TNCs,… and B. How, in some developed countries, rising…. Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
a. How different groups (consumers, TNCs, governments, climate scientists and environmental groups) have contrasting views about energy futures (business as usual versus sustainable).
This criterion asks you to recognise that stakeholder groups hold contrasting views on future energy. Consumers often prioritise affordable, reliable supplies. TNCs focus on profit and asset returns, so many favour business as usual (continued fossil fuel use), though some invest in renewables. Governments weigh energy security and growth against climate targets. Climate scientists stress that rising emissions drive warming and support a sustainable shift. Environmental groups campaign for renewables and lower consumption. In an MCQ, match each group to its likely stance and identify whether an option describes business as usual or a sustainable future.
b. How, in some developed countries, rising affluence, environmental concerns and education are changing attitudes to unsustainable energy consumption and reducing carbon footprints.
This criterion asks you to explain how three drivers are changing attitudes to unsustainable energy use in some developed countries. Higher incomes let households fund insulation, solar panels and low-carbon transport, though affluence can also raise consumption. Environmental concerns, such as awareness of climate change and pollution, make people more willing to cut energy use. Education builds understanding of how energy use creates emissions, helping people weigh their choices. In an MCQ, pick the option linking a named driver to a specific behaviour that lowers carbon footprints; reject options claiming universal change.
Your focus
- Match each stakeholder group to a contrasting view on future energy.
- Distinguish business as usual from sustainable energy futures using examples.
- Justify an MCQ answer by naming the interest that explains a stakeholder's stance.
Show all 6 objectives
- Identify three drivers of changing attitudes in some developed countries.
- Explain how a named driver links to reducing carbon footprints.
- Reject options that overgeneralise the change to all developed countries.
Topic 9: 9.6 Attitudes to energy and environmental issues are changing exam tips
Marking Points
- Identifies that consumers often prioritise affordable and reliable energy supplies when judging future energy options.
- Links TNCs to profit-driven priorities, such as protecting returns on existing fossil fuel assets, while noting that some firms invest in renewables.
- Recognises that governments weigh energy security and economic growth against climate commitments, so their views vary.
- Explains that climate scientists link continued emissions to global warming and support a shift to low-carbon energy.
- Distinguishes business as usual, which continues current fossil fuel patterns, from sustainable futures that reduce emissions and resource use.
- Explains that rising affluence allows households to invest in energy-efficient homes and low-carbon transport.
- Recognises that environmental concerns make people more willing to reduce unsustainable energy consumption.
- Links education to greater understanding of how energy use creates emissions and how everyday choices affect carbon footprints.
- Recognises that the change applies in some developed countries rather than all of them.
- Explains that changing attitudes lead to reduced carbon footprints through lower personal energy use.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Read each option and identify the stakeholder named before judging the stance it is linked to.
- 💡Eliminate options that attribute to a stakeholder a view that its interests do not explain.
- 💡Check each option for business as usual indicators, such as continued fossil fuel dependence, against sustainable indicators, such as efficiency and renewables.
- 💡Check whether each option names a driver (affluence, environmental concern or education) and a behavioural outcome that lowers carbon footprints.
- 💡Eliminate options that claim universal change across all developed countries.
- 💡Watch for options that present affluence only as increasing consumption, because this criterion concerns changing attitudes towards reducing footprints.
Common Mistakes
- Assumes all TNCs oppose renewable energy; correct by recognising that some firms invest in renewables while others protect existing fossil fuel assets.
- Treats environmental groups and governments as holding identical views; correct by noting that governments balance competing priorities such as growth and security.
- Labels any renewable investment as sustainable regardless of context; correct by checking whether the option describes reduced emissions and resource use overall.
- Confuses business as usual with sustainable energy; correct by defining business as usual as continuing current energy patterns.
- Assumes affluence always reduces energy use; correct by recognising that affluence can enable both efficiency gains and higher consumption.
- Treats education as formal schooling alone; correct by including public information and awareness that shape attitudes to carbon footprints.
- Describes the change as happening in all developed countries; correct by keeping the qualifier that the change applies in some of them.
- Mentions attitude change without connecting it to unsustainable energy consumption or carbon footprints; correct by linking each driver to a specific behaviour change.