Key Idea: Topic 6.2 asks what environmental price the world pays for being globally connected — and whether that price is being brought under control. It pulls together two micros: 6.2.1 — the risks: transboundary pollution (pollution that crosses borders), the carbon footprint of global trade and transport (shipping, air freight, food miles), and the uneven dumping of environmental costs (e-waste, polluting industry) onto lower-income places. 6.2.2 — managing them: clean technology and efficiency, the circular economy, international agreements and corporate ESG/net-zero — and the hard question of whether impacts are actually lessening or just being offset by ever-rising consumption (the rebound effect). This is HL core, examined on Paper 3 — a synoptic two-part essay: a [12] structured part (Analyse/Examine) + a [16] markband part (Evaluate / To what extent).
🌍 6.2.1 — The environmental risks of a connected world
Global flows move pollution and emissions as well as goods. The skill is to link a flow (trade, transport, waste) to a specific environmental risk, and to note who bears the cost — rarely the place that consumes the goods.
How globalisation drives environmental risk
| Risk | How global interactions cause it | Who bears the cost |
|---|---|---|
| Transboundary pollution | Acid rain, river and air pollution drift across borders from industrial hubs | Downwind / downstream neighbours, not the polluter |
| Carbon footprint of trade | Container shipping + air freight + 'food miles' burn fossil fuel | The global climate — a shared, uneven cost |
| E-waste & waste exports | Old electronics and scrap shipped to low-income countries to 'recycle' | Workers and ecosystems in the receiving country |
| Agro-industrial impacts | Export farming drives deforestation, soil loss, biodiversity loss | Source-country environments (e.g. for cash crops) |
Key terms
- Transboundary pollution — pollution that crosses national borders from its source.
- Carbon footprint — the total greenhouse gases produced by an activity or product.
- Embodied / embedded carbon — emissions 'built into' a traded good's production and transport.
- Food miles — the distance food travels from producer to consumer.
- E-waste — discarded electronics, often exported for informal recycling.
♻️ 6.2.2 — Managing the impacts (and are they lessening?)
Management works through technology, the circular economy, agreements and corporate responsibility — but the central debate is whether these are outrunning the growth in consumption. Efficiency gains are often cancelled out by rising absolute demand (the rebound effect) and by offshoring dirty production rather than cleaning it up.
| Management strategy | How it lessens impact | Its limit |
|---|---|---|
| Clean tech & efficiency | Less energy/emissions per unit produced | Rebound: cheaper, so we consume more |
| Circular economy | Reuse, repair, recycle — less raw material + waste | Hard to scale; some materials degrade |
| International agreements | Shared targets (climate, shipping, ozone) | Weak enforcement; nations free-ride |
| Corporate ESG / net-zero | Firms audit + cut supply-chain emissions | Greenwashing; offsets ≠ real cuts |
More key terms
- Decoupling — growing the economy while emissions fall (rare and usually only relative).
- Circular economy — designing out waste so materials are kept in use.
- Rebound effect — efficiency gains lost because cheaper goods are consumed more.
- ESG — environmental, social and governance standards firms report against.
- Greenwashing — overstating environmental action to look responsible.
Top-band Paper 3 answers connect units: the TNCs and trade flows of Unit 4 create these risks, the development gap of Unit 5 decides who absorbs the pollution, and the governance and resilience of Topic 6.3 is how the world responds. Reach across the units.
✍️ IB-style questions
Analyse the ways in which global flows of trade and transport create environmental risks for places far from where goods are consumed.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
To what extent are the environmental impacts of globalisation now being successfully managed?
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
✅ Quick self-check
Tap each card to reveal the answer.
What is transboundary pollution? Pollution that crosses national borders from its source — so the polluter and the place harmed are often different countries.
Why is the carbon footprint of trade hard to pin on one country? Emissions are embodied in goods made in one country, shipped through others, and consumed in a third — the cost is shared and global.
What is the rebound effect? Efficiency makes goods cheaper, so we consume more — wiping out the per-unit saving. It's why absolute emissions keep rising.
Why do e-waste exports raise environmental justice issues? Rich consumers' waste is processed by poor workers and ecosystems elsewhere — those who benefit least bear the harm.
One reason management is only partly successful? Gains are relative (less per unit) while consumption keeps rising, and firms can offshore or greenwash rather than truly cut impact.
🎯 Highest-yield exam reminders
Exam Tips
- Always trace a FLOW (trade/transport/waste) to a specific environmental RISK and to WHO BEARS the cost — spatial unevenness is the marks.
- Distinguish food miles / embodied carbon (transport + production) from the simple carbon footprint — examiners reward precise terms.
- On 'are impacts lessening?', separate RELATIVE gains (less per unit) from ABSOLUTE rise (more total) — the rebound effect is the key idea.
- Name real management examples: a climate/shipping/ozone agreement, a circular-economy scheme, a corporate net-zero pledge — and note their limits.
- Paper 3 is synoptic: link the risks to Unit 4 (TNCs/trade) and Unit 5 (who absorbs the cost), and to Topic 6.3 (resilience/governance).
- On the [16], finish with an explicit judgement on the exact wording ('successfully' / 'outweigh') — don't just describe both sides.