Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Climate change, energy and resources — Revision Notes

For full explanations and worked paragraphs, read the study guide for this topic first.

These notes cover the topic “Climate change, energy and resources” from the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). The topic is on the topic list in section 3, which the syllabus says is for all components: Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project. The skills come from section 2 (assessment objectives) and section 4 (details of the assessment).

Topic knowledge is not assessed. The syllabus says “Knowledge of content is not assessed in this syllabus.” These notes show how to use this topic to practise the assessed skills. Do not revise climate facts for their own sake.

Links: Global Perspectives hub · 0457 checklist · practice questions for this topic

The skills, in the syllabus’s own words

Assessment objective	What it covers	Weighting in the qualification
AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation	Research issues, causes, consequences and courses of action; analyse and evaluate evidence, reasoning and sources; build a line of reasoning	68%
AO2 Reflection	Consider perspectives objectively and with empathy; justify your own perspective; reflect on your learning	15%
AO3 Communication and collaboration	Present arguments and evidence clearly; cite and reference; contribute to the Team Project	17%

Component 1 is 100% AO1. Command words printed in the syllabus: analyse, describe, evaluate, explain, identify, suggest.

Key terms

Term	Definition	Climate and energy use
Issue	“An important subject or problem for discussion” (syllabus)	Who should pay for cutting emissions
Perspective	“A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning” (syllabus)	An island state’s view on how fast to act
Evidence	Information that helps develop understanding or prove something true or false (syllabus)	Measured emissions, survey results
Argument	Statements with reasons and evidence supporting a claim (syllabus)	“A carbon tax works because…”
Fact	Can be checked as true or false	A plant’s opening date
Opinion	A personal view that cannot be proved	“Solar farms are ugly”
Claim	Put forward as true; needs support	“Wind is the cheapest power”
Prediction	About the future; cannot yet be checked	“Coal will be gone by 2040”
Value	A belief about what matters	“Fairness to future generations”
Generalisation	Broad statement from limited cases	“Nobody wants a wind farm nearby”
Bias	One-sided presentation	A campaign leaflet with no costs listed
Vested interest	Gain or loss from the outcome	A mining firm writing about mining laws
Mitigation	Reducing the causes of climate change	Switching from coal to solar
Adaptation	Coping with the effects	Raising flood walls
Energy security	Reliable, affordable energy supply	A country cutting fuel imports

Real examples at a glance

You will not be marked for knowing these. Use them as context for research and to test your reasoning.

Example	What it is	What it shows	One evaluation point
Paris Agreement (2015)	Global deal: hold warming well below 2°C and pursue 1.5°C	Global course of action	Countries set their own targets, so success depends on them keeping their promises
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)	Treaty with “common but differentiated responsibilities”	Why developing and developed countries disagree	The principle is agreed, but how to share costs is still disputed
IPCC (set up 1988)	Body that assesses published climate research	A source with high credibility	Projections are ranges that depend on future emissions
COP27 (2022) loss and damage fund	Agreement to set up a fund for vulnerable countries	A fairness-based course of action	A fund only helps if enough money is paid into it
Germany’s nuclear shutdown (15 April 2023)	Last three nuclear plants closed	Perspectives within one country	Safety concerns on one side, low-carbon supply on the other
Alliance of Small Island States	Group of island and low-lying coastal states	A strong global perspective on urgency	They have a vested interest, but that alone does not weaken their evidence

Must-know distinctions

• Fact vs claim. A fact can be checked. A claim needs evidence before you accept it. A number in a source is only as good as its method.
• Opinion vs perspective. An opinion can stand alone. A perspective is based on evidence and reasoning.
• Prediction vs evidence. “Bills will fall” is a prediction. It can be reasonable, but it is not yet evidence.
• Vested interest vs bias. A vested interest is a reason a source might be biased. Bias is shown in the content (one-sided, missing evidence). Check the content before you decide.
• Cause vs consequence. In a feedback loop, one can become the other (heat → air conditioning → more emissions → more heat).
• Mitigation vs adaptation. Cutting emissions vs coping with effects. A course of action can do one without the other.
• Global, national, local. Component 2 needs local and/or national and global perspectives. Component 3 starts from a local issue.
• Several courses of action vs one. In Component 2, consider several, then propose a single course of action and explain how it could be implemented and what its impact would be.

Mini essay plan

Typical extended task: evaluate which of three courses of action would best reduce a country’s emissions from electricity (in the Written Exam, the actions and evidence come from the source insert).

1. Set the criteria. Effectiveness, cost and feasibility, fairness, and side effects. Say which matters most and why.
2. Action 1, e.g. carbon tax. Use source evidence: it may cut emissions by making fossil fuels dearer. Limitation: it can hit poorer households hardest unless money is returned to them.
3. Action 2, e.g. renewables subsidy. Evidence of uptake from the source. Limitation: uptake may be uneven if only wealthier people can afford the rest of the cost.
4. Action 3, e.g. community energy schemes. Strong on fairness and local support. Limitation: small scale, slow to grow.
5. Compare directly. Do not just describe each. Say which is better on each criterion, using source evidence.
6. Judgement. Choose one (or a justified combination). Explain why it beats the others, and what would need to be true for it to work.

Each paragraph should follow: point from the source → apply it → analyse the effect → evaluate with a limitation.

Coursework ideas at a glance

Individual Report (Component 2). The issue must divide opinion, and your title is a global research question. You need local and/or national and global perspectives, then one chosen course of action.

Possible question	Perspectives to research
Should rich countries pay poorer countries to stop using coal?	A coal-mining town; a national government balancing jobs and targets; international donors and campaign groups
Should new oil and gas fields still be opened?	Local workers; a national treasury that relies on fuel income; countries most at risk from warming
Should cities ban petrol cars from their centres?	Local shop owners and commuters; national transport policy; global health and climate views

Team Project (Component 3). Start from a local issue the team can act on and measure.

Local issue	Possible action	How to measure success
Lights and fans left on in empty classrooms	Switch-off campaign with student monitors	Count rooms left on before and after
Families unsure how to cut energy bills	Short guide shared with parents	Short survey before and after reading it
Most pupils driven to school	Walk-to-school week	Count cars at the gate on matched days

For the coursework rules, see the Individual Report revision notes and the Team Project revision notes.

Quick self-test

1. What does the syllabus say about knowledge of content in 0457?
2. Give the syllabus definition of a perspective.
3. Name the eight terms Component 1 says you will benefit from understanding.
4. “Electric cars will replace petrol cars within 20 years.” Which term best describes this statement?
5. Why does a vested interest not prove that a source is wrong?
6. Give one global, one national and one local issue within this topic.
7. What is the difference between mitigation and adaptation?
8. Why is “Climate change” a poor Individual Report title?
9. Which assessment objective makes up all of Component 1?
10. What must a Team Project plan say about the action, besides what it is?
11. Give one limitation of using IPCC projections as evidence.

Answers

1. Knowledge of content is not assessed. The topics are a context for building skills.
2. A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning.
3. Bias, claim, fact, generalisation, opinion, prediction, value and vested interest.
4. A prediction. It is about the future and cannot yet be checked.
5. It is a reason to check the evidence closely. The source may still be accurate and well reasoned.
6. For example: global, sharing the cost of cutting emissions; national, choosing how to generate electricity; local, energy waste in a school.
7. Mitigation reduces the causes of climate change. Adaptation helps people cope with its effects.
8. It is a topic, not a question. It does not name an issue that divides opinion or set up different perspectives.
9. AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation.
10. How the action will be evidenced and how its success will be measured, plus team roles and responsibilities.
11. They are ranges that depend on future emissions, so no single figure is certain.

Where marks are usually lost

• Adding outside facts about climate science in Component 1 instead of using the sources. Prior knowledge is not assessed.
• Identifying a term (for example “this is an opinion”) without explaining why, using words from the source.
• Calling a source unreliable only because of who wrote it, without looking at its evidence and reasoning.
• Accepting survey numbers without asking who was asked, how many, and by whom.
• Describing each course of action separately and never comparing them or reaching a judgement.
• Giving perspectives that are only “for” and “against” with no reasons, evidence or group named.
• In the Individual Report, discussing courses of action but never choosing one and explaining how it could be implemented.
• In the Team Project, choosing “awareness” actions with no way to measure success.
• In the Reflective Paper, describing what happened instead of reflecting on what you learned and how you could improve.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). Topic list in section 3; assessment objectives and weightings in section 2; components and command words in section 4.