Teaching sequence

10 minutes

Tune In: Who are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases?

15 minutes

Find Out: Where do Australia's emissions come from?

30 minutes

Take Action: How can we lower Australia's emissions?

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: Who are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases?

Step 1.

Show students this table that shows the top 20 most populated countries in the world and their populations.

1	India 1,428,627,663	6	Nigeria 223,804,632
2	China 1,425,671,352	7	Brazil 216,422,446
3	United States 339,996,563	8	Bangladesh 172,954,319
4	Indonesia 277,534,122	9	Russia 144,444,359
5	Pakistan 240,485,658	10	Mexico 128,455,567
11	Ethiopia 126,527,060	16	Vietnam 98,858,950
12	Japan 123,294,513	17	Iran 89,172,767
13	Philippines 117,337,368	18	Turkey 85,816,199
14	Egypt 112,716,598	19	Germany 83,294,633
15	DR Congo 102,262,808	20	Thailand 71,801,279

After students have had a minute or so to observe the table, ask them whether this is what they expected or if there were any surprises in this list. Tell students that Australia has the 55th largest population, with 26,439,111 people.

Step 2.

In this section, the aim is for students to predict the top 10 greenhouse gas emitters in the world. Ask them if they think the list of top greenhouse gas emitters would follow the same pattern as the top populated countries, and why they think this is/is not the case.

Divide students into groups of 3-4 and task them with attempting to name the top 10 biggest emitters of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide, as it accounts for 74.4% of greenhouse gases) in the world. Encourage them to use the population list from above and their knowledge of the various countries. For instance, they might think China has a lot of industries where products are made, so they might have a high emissions number. Ask them to include where they think Australia sits on this list in comparison to the countries they have chosen (if they haven’t put Australia in the top 10!)

You may like to show your students the expanded population list or show them a world map to help them think about this task.

Once students have their top 10 sorted, get the groups to read out their list and compare and contrast their answers.

Were there any common themes? Why did they make those choices? Where have they placed Australia, and why?

Step 3.

Head to the Our World in Data website, which has compiled a lot of information about emissions around the world, and show your students the CO₂ emissions by region list (selecting ‘Table’ in the embedded infographic, and sorting the 2021 column down will give the easiest-to-navigate list).

The top 10 emitters of carbon dioxide (as of 2021) are as follows:

1	China	6	Iran
2	United States	7	Germany
3	India	8	Saudi Arabia
4	Russia	9	Indonesia
5	Japan	10	South Korea

Source: Our World in Data

Australia is the 16th highest emitter of carbon dioxide.

As you work through the list with your students, draw out the comparisons to their lists and discuss the similarities and differences. Ask them:

Why do you think these countries have a high number of emissions?
Does the trend in emissions follow the trends in population? What does this tell you about emissions?
Does Australia's position surprise you? Why?

Find Out: Where do Australia's emissions come from?

Step 1.

Ask students to use their devices to explore the Our World in Data CO₂ emissions page used in the previous step. They can find a huge amount of data on this page, but ask them to focus on global CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels, land use and per capita contribution to make it a little easier to navigate. Students can change the countries they are looking at and the format they see the data, but we want them to see the timeline in which the rapid increase of carbon dioxide emissions has occurred compared to other countries.

As students may well be aware, carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas. Another greenhouse gas is nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Australia is the third biggest emitter of this gas, mainly from the agricultural sector and fertiliser use. For students requiring extension, let them explore the Greenhouse gas emissions page from our world in data, which focuses on all greenhouse gases rather than just CO_2.

Step 2.

Once you have given students a little time to explore, pose the following question:

Where do these emissions come from, and why do you think that Australia's emissions are so high when compared with our population?

Step 3.

The CSIRO has compiled data that shows the source of Australia's emissions:

Energy (burning fossil fuels to produce electricity) - 33.6%
Stationary energy (including manufacturing, mining, residential and commercial fuel use) - 20.4%
Transport - 17.6%
Agriculture - 14.6%
Fugitive emissions - 10.0% (emissions lost to the atmosphere during coal and gas mining activities)
Industrial processes - 6.2 %
Waste - 2.7%

Note: Greenhouse gas emissions are also influenced by changes in land use. For example, land clearing for agriculture means carbon stored in plants and trees is lost to the atmosphere because the vegetation isn’t allowed to regrow.

Ask students the following questions:

Why is it important to understand where Australia's greenhouse gas emissions are coming from?
- Suggested response: Because we have such a high amount of emissions, it is important to understand where they are coming from in order to help in ways to reduce them
How does burning fossil fuels to produce electricity/energy cause CO₂ to be released?
- Suggested response: Burning fossil fuels is a combustion reaction that burns a hydrocarbon in oxygen to produce water vapour and carbon dioxide.
How is the carbon cycle impacted through the burning of fossil fuels and agriculture, as well as other sources on this list?
- Suggested response: Carbon is lost from trees and plants when they are cleared, farm animals such as cows emit carbon in the form of methane, which is lost to the atmosphere, burning of fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide, which is also lost to the atmosphere etc.

Take Action: How can we lower Australia's emissions?

Step 1.

There are many different ways that Australia (and the world) are working to lower their emissions and have less of an impact on climate change. This move towards NET ZERO will result in many different jobs in different sectors.

Discuss this concept with your students and ask them the following:

What does net zero mean?
- A balance between the amount of greenhouse gas that is produced and the amount that is removed from the atmosphere.
Why is it important to move towards net zero?
- To lessen the greenhouse effect and decrease the effects of climate change.
Are we producing or removing more at the moment?
- Producing more greenhouse gases that are being trapped in the atmosphere and contributing to the greenhouse effect.
What are the two things we could do to move towards net zero?
- Reduce the amount of emissions of greenhouse gases we create and remove more carbon from the atmosphere.
Are you aware of any current ways to do these two things?
- Students may have a range of responses - some could be burning less fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy, carbon capture and storage processes, regeneration practices, and regenerative agriculture.

Step 2.

Divide students into 5 groups and allocate (or allow your students to choose) one of the topics below so that each group is researching something different. The aim of this activity is for students to look more deeply into the 4 main sources of carbon emissions by researching what is being done (now and in the future) to reduce these emissions (or remove them from the atmosphere) to move towards net zero.

Topics

Renewable energy technologies (1. Energy emissions)
Ways to reduce energy usage in homes and commercially (2. Stationary energy emissions)
Ways to reduce emissions from transport (3. Transport emissions)
Ways to reduce agricultural emissions (4. Agriculture)
Carbon capture (remove more carbon from the atmosphere, lessening impact of all emissions)

To guide students in their research, ask them to focus on the following questions. Each group member could focus on a different question to make the most of their research time.

What causes these greenhouse gas emissions?
What are some ways these emissions can be lessened?
Describe these technologies and give information about how they can lessen the emissions produced.
What are some ways this is already being done in Australia, and who is leading the charge?
What is looking to be done in the future in this space?

Task your students to discuss their findings and condense them into a 1-2 minute pitch to inform the rest of the class.

Step 3.

Once students have had enough time to research their processes, ask each group to present their findings to the class.

Encourage students to ask questions of each group and draw out any similarities or differences in their topics!

Optional Extension - What careers would enable less greenhouse gas emissions in the future?

To build upon this knowledge of the projects and technologies that are being used (or could be used in the future) to transition to a net zero economy, students could be tasked with diving a little deeper into the careers that will enable these projects to exist and flourish.

Students can use the document ‘The Million Jobs Plan: Powering jobs, wages and economic growth’ which is available online at: The Million Jobs Plan - Beyond Zero Emissions (bze.org.au)

They can choose one of the sectors they have researched above and use the plan and the internet in order to prepare a job advertisement for a career that this industry needs. It should explain:

The renewable energy and what it is
Where the job will be (where is this project likely to be established?)
The potential growth in the particular industry
How many different types of jobs (and potential numbers) that the industry or industries need
Why it would be a good job to go into for the future

Reflection

Set the stage for your students to reflect on their learnings from this lesson by creating a newspaper headline that captures the most important points from the lesson, and their understanding of what it will take to move towards a net zero economy.

Reflect on the following with the class

How does their headline differ from what you would have said at the start of the lesson?
What excites you about the future?
What worries you about the future?
What type of jobs/careers/industries do you think will be important in the future?

What Causes Australia’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

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