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International Baccalaureate IB Diploma Programme Environmental Systems and Societies

Syllabus DP Environmental Systems and Societies · First assessment 2026 · sourced from International Baccalaureate Organization, Diploma Programme Subject Brief – Environmental systems and societies, first assessment 2026, published 2023, verified 2026-09-08.

The IB's subject brief confirms the eight topic names, Foundation subtopics 1.1-1.3 and the three HL lenses. The subtopic names shown for topics 2-8 are not printed in the brief and have not yet been checked against the IB's own ESS guide, so treat them as provisional and confirm them with your teacher or school.

  1. 1. Foundation

    • 1.1 Perspectives
    • 1.2 Systems
    • 1.3 Sustainability

  2. 2. Ecology

    • 2.1 Individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems
    • 2.2 Energy and biomass in ecosystems
    • 2.3 Biogeochemical cycles
    • 2.4 Climate and biomes
    • 2.5 Zonation, succession and change in ecosystems

  3. 3. Biodiversity and conservation

    • 3.1 Biodiversity and evolution
    • 3.2 Human impact on biodiversity
    • 3.3 Conservation and regeneration

  4. 4. Water

    • 4.1 Water systems
    • 4.2 Water access, use and security
    • 4.3 Aquatic food production systems
    • 4.4 Water pollution

  5. 5. Land

    • 5.1 Soil
    • 5.2 Agriculture and food

  6. 6. Atmosphere and climate change

    • 6.1 Introduction to the atmosphere
    • 6.2 Climate change – causes and impacts
    • 6.3 Climate change – mitigation and adaptation
    • 6.4 Stratospheric ozone

  7. 7. Natural resources

    • 7.1 Natural resources – uses and management
    • 7.2 Energy sources – uses and management
    • 7.3 Solid waste

  8. 8. Human populations and urban systems

    • 8.1 Human populations
    • 8.2 Urban systems and urban planning
    • 8.3 Urban air pollution

  9. 9. HL.a Environmental law

    Subtopics for this topic are not listed here yet; check the official document for the full content.

  10. 10. HL.b Environmental and ecological economics

    Subtopics for this topic are not listed here yet; check the official document for the full content.

  11. 11. HL.c Environmental ethics

    Subtopics for this topic are not listed here yet; check the official document for the full content.