Aufgabe 1 · Abitur NRW Englisch GK · Elliott: The planet heats, the worl 2026

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Larry Elliott: The planet heats, the world economy cools – the real global recession is ecological

On Monday last week the world registered its hottest-ever day but the record lasted only 24

hours before it was beaten by an even more sizzling Tuesday. And while the temperature

continues to warm up the global economy continues to cool down.

Germany is already in recession and plenty of other developed countries – including the UK –

5 seem to be heading in that direction. China's post-lockdown recovery has petered out, the US

jobs market seems to be cooling in response to higher interest rates.

The combination of weak activity and the increasing number of extreme weather events is

worrying. Normally, pressure on the environment intensifies during booms, which is why there

were big surges in support for the green movement in the early 1970s, the late 1980s and the

10 period immediately before the global financial crisis of 2008.

If, as seems likely, there will be no letup in global heating despite slower growth, that's a real

concern. The US economy may technically avoid falling into recession, but the fact that the

recent Canadian forest fires led to New York City being choked in a noxious orange smog

speaks of a planet heading for a catastrophic slump. In a sense, the real recession is the

15 ecological one.

Generally, governments focus on the future of the planet when they feel they have nothing

much else to worry about. That, at least, has been the record until now. Recessions – and

even the threat of recessions – have the effect of making policymakers focus on the short term.

Stretched public finances coupled with the desire to remain popular engenders a growth at all

20 costs mentality. Fears are now surfacing about the costs of the transition to a cleaner, less

carbon-intensive economy, particularly on those least able to bear them.

Make no mistake, some of these concerns are legitimate. Heat pumps are expensive. Electric

cars are seen only in the driveways of the better off. Fossil fuels make up three-quarters of the

UK's energy mix and ending that dependency will be neither quick nor easy.

25 In the current circumstances, politicians think they have more pressing matters to deal with

than hitting net zero goals. Action to tackle the climate emergency can be put off to another

day when, fingers crossed, science and market forces will come up with a solution that will

allow us all to consume as much as we like without destroying the planet. [...]

It would be wrong to assume it is only the politicians who are at fault. Our political masters

30 respond to the signals they get from voters, and the message is by no means as clearcut as

those urging more drastic action on the climate emergency would hope. In part, that's due to

the cost-of-living crisis, but it goes deeper than that.

Many support football teams sponsored by fossil fuel interests and the fans really don't care if

the new star striker is being bought with dirty Middle East oil money so long as he scores plenty

35 of goals. People worry more about the future of the planet than they did when Fritz Schumacher

wrote Small is Beautiful 1 half a century ago, but what they really want is a painless transition

that doesn't force them to stop doing the things they like, such as driving to see friends and

relatives or jetting off for a holiday abroad.

There is still time to step back from the edge of the abyss. For a start, the green movement

40 needs to heal the divide between those backing no growth and those favouring sustainable

growth [...].

Next, there is low-hanging fruit to be picked. Andrew Simms, co-director of the New Weather

Institute campaign group, says sport sponsorship was a key battleground in the successful

struggle to end tobacco advertising and that fossil fuels have become the new tobacco. [...]

45 The green transition would be easier were the UK a less unequal country. What's more,

Britain's energy infrastructure is in a poor state and needs a lot of sustained investment if it is

to be ready for the new power sources being developed, such as floating windfarms and

hydrogen.

The IPPR 2, a left leaning thinktank, is proposing a £30bn a year public investment package,

50 including in clean energy, which it says would improve the supply side of the economy, boost

growth potential and be good for the public finances.

There are other suggestions for how the government might speed up the green transition, all

of which meet with the same riposte: that the plans are unaffordable, irresponsible and the

stuff of fantasy.

55 In truth, the real fantasists are those who cling to the belief that we can continue to exploit the

natural world to satisfy our desires. If that's what economics is about, we badly need a new

economics.

790 words

Elliott, L. (2023). The planet heats, the world economy cools – the real global recession is ecological. The Guardian. 9 July 2023.

1 Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered is a collection of essays; the title refers to the idea of small, appropriate technologies and policies as alternatives to measures following the belief that "bigger is better."

2 IPPR – Institute for Public Policy Research

1 Outline the information on global developments regarding climate and economy. (20 %)