The Reading / Listening - Billionaires' CO2 Emissions - Level 3

We all know about the damage being done to the environment by industries, households, belching cows and the release of methane from permafrost. A new report highlights a source of CO2 emissions that few of us are aware of – billionaires. The British charity Oxfam has reported that the lavish lifestyles of the world's wealthiest create significantly more CO2 than the average person. It conducted an analysis of the investments and lifestyles of 125 of the world's richest billionaires. The conclusion was that the average billionaire is responsible for 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a million times more than the average person creates. Collectively, billionaires create as much CO2 as France.

The lifestyles of billionaires are damaging to the environment. Luxury yachts, extravagant mansions and private jets mean the super-rich have a huge carbon footprint. This is made bigger by the investments they make. Speaking at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt, an Oxfam spokesperson provided details about CO2 and the super-rich. She said: "The major and growing responsibility of wealthy people for overall emissions is rarely discussed or considered in climate policy making. This has to change." She added: "These billionaire investors at the top of the corporate pyramid have a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability for too long."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Billionaires' CO2 Emissions - Level 0,  Billionaires' CO2 Emissions - Level 1   or  Billionaires' CO2 Emissions - Level 2

Sources
  • https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/07/world/billionaires-greenhouse-gases-climate-intl
  • https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/07/super-richs-carbon-investment-emissions-equivalent-to-whole-of-france
  • https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/07/single-billionaire-produces-million-times-more-emissions-average-person-oxfam


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. BILLIONAIRES' CO2 EMISSIONS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about billionaires' CO2 emissions. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       damage / environment / industries / households / belching cows / billionaire / average
       lifestyles / yachts / private jets / climate change / wealthy / investor / responsibility
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. TAX: Students A strongly believe billionaires should pay a big tax for the damage they do to the environment; Students B strongly believe not. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. DAMAGE: What damage do these things do to the environment? How can we stop it? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Damage

How to Stop It

Billionaires

 

 

Cows

 

 

Permafrost

 

 

Fast food

 

 

Cars

 

 

You

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. COWS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "cows". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. BIGGEST DAMAGE: Rank these with your partner. Put the people who create the most environmental damage at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Billionaires
  • Heads of governments
  • Motorists
  • Meat eaters
  • Oil company CEOs
  • Mining company CEOs
  • Loggers
  • All of us

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. household a. Emitting wind noisily from the stomach through the mouth.
      2. belching b. A thick subsurface layer of soil that remains below freezing point throughout the year, mainly in polar regions.
      3. methane c. A home and its the people who live in it regarded as one unit.
      4. permafrost d. Organized and carried out.
      5. lavish e. Luxuriously rich.
      6. conducted f. As a group; as a whole.
      7. collectively g. A colourless, odourless flammable gas which is the main constituent of natural gas. It has the chemical formula CH4.

    Paragraph 2

      8. extravagant h. The fact or condition of being responsible for something.
      9. mansion i. Taken as a whole; in all.
      10. carbon footprint j. A course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual.
      11. overall k. Lacking restraint in spending money or using resources.
      12. policy l. A large, impressive house.
      13. corporate m. Relating to a large company or group.
      14. accountability n. The amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular person or business.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article says cows add to the damage done to the environment.     T / F
  2. A charity made a report about the CO2 billionaires create.     T / F
  3. The article says there are just 125 billionaires in the world.     T / F
  4. The article says billionaires in France create the most CO2.     T / F
  5. The article says private jets create the most CO2.     T / F
  6. The investments made by billionaires add to CO2 emissions.     T / F
  7. A charity said many people talk about the CO2 emissions of billionaires.   T / F
  8. The article says a billionaire escaped from a pyramid.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. damage
  2. release
  3. significantly
  4. analysis
  5. collectively
  6. huge
  7. provided
  8. major
  9. discussed
  10. escaped
  1. examination
  2. important
  3. as a whole
  4. gave
  5. discharge
  6. got away
  7. harm
  8. talked about
  9. seriously
  10. very big

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. belching
  2. CO2 emissions that few
  3. It conducted an analysis
  4. a million times more than the
  5. billionaires create as much
  6. The lifestyles
  7. private
  8. wealthy
  9. This has to
  10. responsibility for driving climate
  1. jets
  2. of billionaires
  3. CO2 as France
  4. change
  5. of us are aware of
  6. cows
  7. breakdown
  8. average person creates
  9. people
  10. of the investments

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
source
analysis
average
damage
lavish
metric
belching
conclusion

We all know about the (1) _____________________ being done to the environment by industries, households, (2) _____________________ cows and the release of methane from permafrost. A new report highlights a (3) _____________________ of CO2 emissions that few of us are aware of - billionaires. The British charity Oxfam has reported that the (4) _____________________ lifestyles of the world's wealthiest create significantly more CO2 than the average person. It conducted an (5) _____________________ of the investments and lifestyles of 125 of the world's richest billionaires. The (6) _____________________ was that the average billionaire is responsible for 3 million (7) _____________________ tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a million times more than the (8) _____________________ person creates. Collectively, billionaires create as much CO2 as France.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
footprint
major
accountability
lifestyles
pyramid
details
extravagant
policy

The (9) _____________________ of billionaires are damaging to the environment. Luxury yachts, (10) _____________________ mansions and private jets mean the super-rich have a huge carbon (11) _____________________. This is made bigger by the investments they make. Speaking at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt, an Oxfam spokesperson provided (12) _____________________ about CO2 and the super-rich. She said: "The (13) _____________________ and growing responsibility of wealthy people for overall emissions is rarely discussed or considered in climate (14) _____________________ making. This has to change." She added: "These billionaire investors at the top of the corporate (15) _____________________ have a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped (16) _____________________ for too long."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) the damage being done to the environment by industries, ______
     a.  households, belching crows
     b.  households, belching clowns
     c.  households, belching cowers
     d.  households, belching cows
2)  A new report highlights a source of CO2 emissions that few of ______
     a.  us are aware
     b.  us are beware
     c.  us are away
     d.  us are a where
3)  The British charity Oxfam has reported that ______
     a.  the slavish lifestyles
     b.  the lavish lifestyles
     c.  the rubbish lifestyles
     d.  the rabid lifestyles
4)  The conclusion was that the average billionaire is responsible for 3 ______
     a.  millions metric tons
     b.  million metric tons
     c.  million metric ton
     d.  millions metric ton
5)  Collectively, billionaires create as much ______
     a.  CO2 has France
     b.  CO2 was France
     c.  CO2 as French
     d.  CO2 as France

6)  Luxury yachts, extravagant mansions ______
     a.  and privation jets
     b.  and private jet
     c.  and private jets
     d.  and privately jets
7)  and private jets mean the super-rich have a ______
     a.  hug carbon footprint
     b.  huge carbon footprint
     c.  huge carb on footprint
     d.  huge carbon feet print
8)  COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt, an Oxfam ______
     a.  spokesperson provide it details
     b.  spokesperson provided detail
     c.  spokesperson provide detail
     d.  spokesperson provided details
9)  wealthy people for overall emissions is rarely discussed or considered in ______
     a.  climate policy making
     b.  climate policies making
     c.  climate policy make in
     d.  climate policy make kin
10)  She added these billionaire investors at the top of ______
     a.  the corporate pier mid
     b.  the corporate per amid
     c.  the corporate pyramid
     d.  the corporate pier amid

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

We all know about the (1) ____________________ to the environment by industries, households, belching cows and the release of methane from permafrost. A new report (2) ____________________ of CO2 emissions that few of us are aware of - billionaires. The British charity Oxfam has reported that (3) ____________________ of the world's wealthiest create significantly more CO2 than the average person. It (4) ____________________ of the investments and lifestyles of 125 of the world's richest billionaires. The (5) ____________________ the average billionaire is responsible for 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a million times more than the (6) ____________________. Collectively, billionaires create as much CO2 as France.

The lifestyles of billionaires (7) ____________________ the environment. Luxury yachts, extravagant mansions and private jets mean the super-rich have a (8) ____________________. This is made bigger by the investments they make. Speaking at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt, an Oxfam spokesperson (9) ____________________ CO2 and the super-rich. She said: "The major and growing responsibility of wealthy people for overall (10) ____________________ discussed or considered in climate policy making. This has to change." She added: "These billionaire investors at the top of the (11) ____________________ a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have (12) ____________________ too long."

Comprehension questions

  1. What does the article say cows do that damages the environment?
  2. What kind of organization made a report on billionaires and CO2?
  3. How many billionaires did the report look at?
  4. How much more CO2 does a billionaire create than an average person?
  5. What country produces the same amount of CO2 as the billionaires?
  6. What two kinds of transport do billionaires use that creates CO2?
  7. What kind of carbon footprint do billionaires have?
  8. Where did the head of a charity speak?
  9. What did a charity say the billionaires were at the top of?
  10. What did a charity say billionaires have escaped from?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say cows do that damages the environment?
a) they break wind
b) they belch
c) they eat too much grass
d) they have too many calves
2) What kind of organization made a report on billionaires and CO2?
a) an accountancy company
b) a school
c) a government department
d) a charity
3) How many billionaires did the report look at?
a) 125
b) 126
c) 127
d) 128
4) How much more CO2 does a billionaire create than an average person?
a) a hundred thousand times more
b) a billion times more
c) a million times more
d) 10 thousand times more
5) What country produces the same amount of CO2 as the billionaires?
a) Brazil
b) France
c) Vanuatu
d) Namibia

6) What two kinds of transport do billionaires use that creates CO2?
a) yachts and jets
b) rockets and e-scooters
c) limousines and helicopters
d) trains and speed boats
7) What kind of carbon footprint do billionaires have?
a)  a green one
b) a dirty one
c) a huge one
d) an old one
8) Where did the head of a charity speak?
a) at COP 27
b) at the charity's HQ
c) New York
d) at the UN
9) What did a charity say the billionaires were at the top of?
a) the corporate pyramid
b) their game
c) the tree
d) the rich list
10) What did a charity say billionaires have escaped from?
a) boredom
b) prison
c) poverty
d) accountability

Role play

Role  A – Billionaires
You think billionaires cause the most damage to the environment. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their people aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which of these causes the least damage (and why): motorists, loggers or heads of governments.

Role  B – Motorists
You think motorists cause the most damage to the environment. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their people aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which of these causes the least damage (and why): billionaires, loggers or heads of governments.

Role  C – Loggers
You think loggers cause the most damage to the environment. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their people aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which of these causes the least damage (and why): motorists, billionaires or heads of governments.

Role  D – Heads of Governments
You think heads of governments cause the most damage to the environment. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their people aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which of these causes the least damage (and why): motorists, loggers or billionaires.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'billionaire'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'CO2'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • cows
    • few
    • lavish
    • analysis
    • 125
    • France
    • yachts
    • huge
    • details
    • rarely
    • top
    • long

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Billionaires' CO2 Emissions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'CO2'?
    3. What damage does CO2 do to the environment?
    4. How is CO2 created?
    5. What should billionaires do to cut down on CO2 emissions?
    6. Should billionaires change their lifestyles?
    7. Should billionaires have to pay a huge environmental tax?
    8. What do you know about the dangers of melting permafrost?
    9. Should everyone get back to living a simple life?
    10. What environmental advice do you have for billionaires?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'billionaire'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What would your daily lifestyle be like as a billionaire?
    5. Would you like a huge mansion and a private jet?
    6. What will the COP27 conference change?
    7. How can billionaires invest to help the environment?
    8. What will our environment be like in 20 years from now?
    9. How can we make billionaires more accountable?
    10. What questions would you like to ask Oxfam?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    We all know about the damage (1) ____ done to the environment by industries, households, belching cows and the release of methane from permafrost. A new report highlights a source of CO2 emissions that (2) ____ of us are aware of - billionaires. The British charity Oxfam has reported that the (3) ____ lifestyles of the world's wealthiest create significantly more CO2 than the average person. It conducted an analysis (4) ____ the investments and lifestyles of 125 of the world's richest billionaires. The (5) ____ was that the average billionaire is responsible for 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a million times more than the average person creates. (6) ____, billionaires create as much CO2 as France.

    The lifestyles of billionaires are (7) ____ to the environment. Luxury yachts, extravagant mansions and private jets mean the super-rich have a huge carbon footprint. This is made bigger by the investments they (8) ____. Speaking at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt, an Oxfam spokesperson provided (9) ____ about CO2 and the super-rich. She said: "The major and growing responsibility of wealthy people for (10) ____ emissions is rarely discussed or considered in climate policy making. This has to change." She added: "These billionaire investors at the top of the corporate (11) ____ have a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped (12) ____ for too long."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    (a)     having     (b)     doing     (c)     being     (d)     spring    
    (a)     few     (b)     scant     (c)     sparse     (d)     little    
    (a)     lavish     (b)     slavish     (c)     relish     (d)     polish    
    (a)     of     (b)     on     (c)     to     (d)     by    
    (a)     seclusion     (b)     reclusion     (c)     inclusion     (d)     conclusion    
    (a)     Seductively     (b)     Destructively     (c)     Reflectively     (d)     Collectively    
    (a)     damaging     (b)     damages     (c)     damage     (d)     damaged    
    (a)     profit     (b)     spend     (c)     invest     (d)     make    
    (a)     details     (b)     entrails     (c)     retails     (d)     entails    
    (a)     coverall     (b)     overall     (c)     overalls     (d)     viral    
    (a)     orb     (b)     pyramid     (c)     sphere     (d)     quadrangle    
    (a)     accountability     (b)     accountants     (c)     accounts     (d)     accountancy

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. damage being done to the environment by etdirusnis
    2. englcibh cows
    3. the release of naemhte from permafrost
    4. sivahl lifestyles
    5. igatnisfcyiln more CO2
    6. 3 million tiermc tons of carbon dioxide

    Paragraph 2

    1. Luxury yshcta
    2. a huge carbon ntripfoto
    3. oarelvl emissions
    4. climate ocypil making
    5. top of the corporate ipdymar
    6. They have escaped ctulacbanytiio

    Put the text back together

    (...)  lifestyles of the world's wealthiest create significantly more CO2 than the average person. It conducted an analysis
    (  1  ) We all know about the damage being done to the environment by industries, households, belching
    (...)  for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability for too long."
    (...)  of the investments and lifestyles of 125 of the world's richest billionaires. The conclusion was that the average billionaire is
    (...)  responsible for 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a million times
    (...)  discussed or considered in climate policy making. This has to change." She added: "These
    (...)  more than the average person creates. Collectively, billionaires create as much CO2 as France.
    (...)  make. Speaking at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt, an Oxfam spokesperson provided details
    (...)  cows and the release of methane from permafrost. A new report highlights a source of CO2 emissions that few
    (...)  about CO2 and the super-rich. She said: "The major and growing responsibility of wealthy people for overall emissions is rarely
    (...)  billionaire investors at the top of the corporate pyramid have a huge responsibility
    (...)  jets mean the super-rich have a huge carbon footprint. This is made bigger by the investments they
    (...)  The lifestyles of billionaires are damaging to the environment. Luxury yachts, extravagant mansions and private
    (...)  of us are aware of - billionaires. The British charity Oxfam has reported that the lavish

    Put the words in the right order

    1. by   industries   .   done   Damage   to   the   being   environment
    2. permafrost   .   released   methane   the   from   Belching   and   cows
    3. The   lifestyles   world's   of   lavish   the   wealthiest   people   .
    4. of   the   conducted   investments   .   an   analysis   It
    5. Collectively,   as   much   as   France   .   create   billionaires   CO2
    6. of   are   billionaires   the   damaging   to   Lifestyles   environment   .
    7. a   huge   The   have   super-rich   footprint   .   carbon   world's
    8. wealthy   responsibility   emissions  .  Growing   people   for   of  overall
    9. top   of   the   corporate   at   the   pyramid   .   Investors
    10. for   accountability   have   escaped   long   .   They   too

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    We all know about the damage being / been done to the environment by industries, households, bloating / belching cows and the release of methane from permafrost. A new report highlights a source / sauce of CO2 emissions that few of us are unaware / aware of - billionaires. The British charity Oxfam has reported that the slavish / lavish lifestyles of the world's wealthiest create significantly more CO2 than the average / averaged person. It conducted an analysis / analyze of the investments and lifestyles of 125 of the world's richest billionaires. The inclusion / conclusion was that the average billionaire is responsible to / for 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a million times more than the average person creates. Collectively / Collections, billionaires create as much CO2 as France.

    The lifestyles of billionaires are damaging to the environment. Luxury yachts, extravagant / extravagance mansions and private jets mean the super-rich have a huge / hugely carbon footprint. This is made bigger by the investments they invest / make. Speaking at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt, an Oxfam spokesperson provided / divided details about CO2 and the super-rich. She said: "The majority / major and growing responsibility of / to wealthy people for overall emissions are / is rarely discussed or considered in / on climate policy making. This has to change." She added: "These billionaire investors at the top of the corporate quadrangle / pyramid have a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability for far / too long."

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    W_ _ll kn_w _b__t th_ d_m_g_ b__ng d_n_ t_ th_ _nv_r_nm_nt by _nd_str__s, h__s_h_lds, b_lch_ng c_ws _nd th_ r_l__s_ _f m_th_n_ fr_m p_rm_fr_st. _ n_w r_p_rt h_ghl_ghts _ s__rc_ _f C_2 _m_ss__ns th_t f_w _f _s _r_ _w_r_ _f - b_ll__n__r_s. Th_ Br_t_sh ch_r_ty _xf_m h_s r_p_rt_d th_t th_ l_v_sh l_f_styl_s _f th_ w_rld's w__lth__st cr__t_ s_gn_f_c_ntly m_r_ C_2 th_n th_ _v_r_g_ p_rs_n. _t c_nd_ct_d _n _n_lys_s _n th_ _nv_stm_nts _nd l_f_styl_s _f 125 _f th_ w_rld's r_ch_st b_ll__n__r_s. Th_ c_ncl_s__n w_s th_t th_ _v_r_g_ b_ll__n__r_ _s r_sp_ns_bl_ f_r 3 m_ll__n m_tr_c t_ns _f c_rb_n d__x_d_ p_r y__r. Th_s _s _ m_ll__n t_m_s m_r_ th_n th_ _v_r_g_ p_rs_n cr__t_s. C_ll_ct_v_ly, b_ll__n__r_s cr__t_ _s m_ch C_2 _s Fr_nc_.

    Th_ l_f_styl_s _f b_ll__n__r_s _r_ d_m_g_ng t_ th_ _nv_r_nm_nt. L_x_ry y_chts, _xtr_v_g_nt m_ns__ns _nd pr_v_t_ j_ts m__n th_ s_p_r-r_ch h_v_ _ h_g_ c_rb_n f__tpr_nt. Th_s _s m_d_ b_gg_r by th_ _nv_stm_nts th_y m_k_. Sp__k_ng _t th_ C_P 27 Cl_m_t_ Ch_ng_ C_nf_r_nc_ _n _gypt, _n _xf_m sp_k_sp_rs_n pr_v_d_d d_t__ls _b__t C_2 _nd th_ s_p_r-r_ch. Sh_ s__d: "Th_ m_j_r _nd gr_w_ng r_sp_ns_b_l_ty _f w__lthy p__pl_ f_r _v_r_ll _m_ss__ns _s r_r_ly d_sc_ss_d _r c_ns_d_r_d _n cl_m_t_ p_l_cy m_k_ng. Th_s h_s t_ ch_ng_." Sh_ _dd_d: "Th_s_ b_ll__n__r_ _nv_st_rs _t th_ t_p _f th_ c_rp_r_t_ pyr_m_d h_v_ _ h_g_ r_sp_ns_b_l_ty f_r dr_v_ng cl_m_t_ br__kd_wn. Th_y h_v_ _sc_p_d _cc__nt_b_l_ty f_r t__ l_ng."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    we all know about the damage being done to the environment by industries households belching cows and the release of methane from permafrost a new report highlights a source of co2 emissions that few of us are aware of  billionaires the british charity oxfam has reported that the lavish lifestyles of the worlds wealthiest create significantly more co2 than the average person it conducted an analysis of the investments and lifestyles of 125 of the worlds richest billionaires the conclusion was that the average billionaire is responsible for 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year this is a million times more than the average person creates collectively billionaires create as much co2 as france

    the lifestyles of billionaires are damaging to the environment luxury yachts extravagant mansions and private jets mean the superrich have a huge carbon footprint this is made bigger by the investments they make speaking at the cop 27 climate change conference in egypt an oxfam spokesperson provided details about co2 and the superrich she said the major and growing responsibility of wealthy people for overall emissions is rarely discussed or considered in climate policy making this has to change she added these billionaire investors at the top of the corporate pyramid have a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown they have escaped accountability for too long

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Weallknowaboutthedamagebeingdonetotheenvironmentbyindustri
    es,households,belchingcowsandthereleaseofmethanefrompermafr
    ost.AnewreporthighlightsasourceofCO2emissionsthatfewofusareaw
    areof-billionaires.TheBritishcharityOxfamhasreportedthatthelavish
    lifestylesoftheworld'swealthiestcreatesignificantlymoreCO2thanthe
    averageperson.Itconductedananalysisoftheinvestmentsandlifestyl
    esof125oftheworld'srichestbillionaires.Theconclusionwasthattheav
    eragebillionaireisresponsiblefor3millionmetrictonsofcarbondioxide
    peryear.Thisisamilliontimesmorethantheaveragepersoncreates.Col
    lectively,billionairescreateasmuchCO2asFrance.Thelifestylesofbillio
    nairesaredamagingtotheenvironment.Luxuryyachts,extravagantm
    ansionsandprivatejetsmeanthesuper-richhaveahugecarbonfootpri
    nt.Thisismadebiggerbytheinvestmentstheymake.SpeakingattheCO
    P27ClimateChangeConferenceinEgypt,anOxfamspokespersonprovi
    deddetailsaboutCO2andthesuper-rich.Shesaid:"Themajorandgrowi
    ngresponsibilityofwealthypeopleforoverallemissionsisrarelydiscuss
    edorconsideredinclimatepolicymaking.Thishastochange."Sheadded
    :"Thesebillionaireinvestorsatthetopofthecorporatepyramidhaveahu
    geresponsibilityfordrivingclimatebreakdown.Theyhaveescapedacco
    untabilityfortoolong."

    Free writing

    Write about super-rich CO2 emissions for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Rich people should pay a very large environment tax.  Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. BILLIONAIRES' CO2 EMISSIONS: Make a poster about billionaires' CO2 emissions. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. CO2 TAX: Write a magazine article about billionaires paying a CO2 emissions tax. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on CO2 emissions. Ask him/her three questions about them. Give him/her three of your ideas on what billionaires can do to reduce emissions. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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