Resource choices at Higher Level: The same statement as SL, with different real cases: Germany's energy mix, the clearing of Lutzerath and Norway's oil. At HL, connect the factors to law, economics and ethics: who decides, who pays, and who is heard.
Practise this as you read
- Explain a local choice with specific factors.
- Discuss how a net zero goal fits a country that lives off natural capital.
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Why this resource, not that one?: A society's choice of how to use its natural resources is never just about what is there. Many factors, and many perspectives, pull the choice different ways.
Seven kinds of factor
- Economic: cost, jobs, income, what the society can afford.
- Sociocultural: values, traditions, public opinion, campaigns.
- Political: laws, targets, taxes, treaties, energy security.
- Environmental: pollution, climate change, harm to habitats.
- Geographical: which resources the land, climate and location provide.
- Technological and historical: what can be done now; what was built or chosen in the past.
Remember it as: Money, people, power, planet, place, tools and the past.
| Factor | Germany's choice of energy sources |
|---|---|
| Economic | Jobs in lignite mines; cheap coal power |
| Sociocultural | A strong anti-nuclear movement since the 1970s |
| Political | Nuclear exit after Fukushima; Russian gas cut in 2022 |
| Environmental | Climate targets; air pollution from lignite |
| Geographical | Lignite in the Rhineland; windy north coast |
| Technological | Cheaper solar panels and wind turbines |
| Historical | Coal mining shaped the Ruhr for 150 years |
Real example: Germany closed its last nuclear plants in April 2023, still burns lignite, its own soft brown coal, and got over half its electricity from renewables in 2024: every factor pulled in a different direction.
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A choice about one local resource shows how different groups weigh the same factors differently.
Plan
- The energy company RWE planned to extend the Garzweiler lignite mine through the village of Lutzerath
For
- The company and state government said the coal was needed for energy security after Russian gas was cut
Against
- Climate campaigners, including Greta Thunberg, said burning it broke Germany's climate goals
Outcome
- Lutzerath was cleared in January 2023, but lignite power in the region must end by 2030, eight years earlier than planned
Who wants it
- Companies and investors
- Workers and local councils
- Governments wanting growth or security
Who opposes it
- Environmental groups
- Indigenous and local people losing land
- Tourism businesses
Name the perspective: Say whose view it is and which factor drives it: 'workers support the mine for jobs, an economic factor'.
Net zero reorders the list: International agreements to cut greenhouse gases change which factor matters most. Cheap and familiar is no longer enough: a choice must also be low carbon.
How net zero targets change choices
- Under the Paris Agreement countries set targets; many now aim for net zero emissions.
- Net zero: greenhouse gases released are balanced by those removed.
- This moves low carbon up the list of priorities, above cheapness alone.
- Laws, carbon prices and closure dates follow, so coal, oil and gas lose out.
- Countries that export fossil fuels face the hardest choices: income now v targets later.
Real example: Norway earns more from oil and gas than from any other export, yet it aims to be a low-emission society by 2050. Almost all its electricity is hydropower, and about 89% of new cars sold in 2024 were electric, but the oil it exports is burned, and counted, elsewhere.
Be specific: 'Geography' or 'cost' alone is not enough. Write 'strong winds along the coast make wind power possible', or 'gas is cheaper than coal', and never just copy a line from the resource.
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How this comes up: Paper 1, the final question: a 6-mark discuss. Up to 4 points for, up to 4 against, and one mark kept for a balanced conclusion.
Norway earns more from oil and gas than from any other export. It plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared with 1990, and to become a low-emission society by 2050.
In view of Norway's economic dependence on natural capital, discuss its potential to meet its climate goals.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.