The Reading / Listening - Billionaires' CO2 Emissions - Level 2

Business, households and methane released from permafrost are damaging the environment. A new report from the British charity Oxfam highlighted the damage billionaires do to the environment. The rich lifestyles of the world's wealthiest people create a lot more CO2 than the average person. Their investments and lifestyles mean the average billionaire creates three million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a million times more than what the average person creates. Billionaires create as much CO2 as the whole country of France.

The lifestyles, luxury yachts, mansions and private jets mean billionaires have a huge carbon footprint. An Oxfam spokesperson spoke at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt. She gave 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…have a huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability for too long."

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Billionaires' CO2 Emissions - Level 0 Billionaires' CO2 Emissions - Level 1   or  Billionaires' CO2 Emissions - Level 3

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 :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. methane released from
  2. the world's
  3. a lot more CO2 than the average
  4. three million metric tons
  5. This is a million times
  6. what the average person
  7. Billionaires create as
  8. the whole country
  1. of carbon dioxide
  2. much CO2
  3. wealthiest people
  4. of France
  5. person
  6. more
  7. creates
  8. permafrost

Paragraph 2

  1. luxury
  2. private
  3. have a huge
  4. details about CO2
  5. growing responsibility of
  6. This has to
  7. driving climate
  8. for too
  1. jets
  2. breakdown
  3. wealthy people
  4. long
  5. change
  6. yachts
  7. and the super-rich
  8. carbon footprint

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Business, households (1) ___________________ from permafrost are damaging the environment. A (2) ___________________ the British charity Oxfam highlighted the damage billionaires do to the environment. The (3) ___________________ the world's wealthiest people create a lot more CO2 than the average person. Their investments and lifestyles (4) ___________________ billionaire creates three million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. This is a (5) ___________________ than what the average person creates. Billionaires create as much CO2 as the (6) ___________________ France.

The lifestyles, luxury yachts, mansions (7) ___________________ mean billionaires have (8) ___________________ footprint. An Oxfam spokesperson spoke at the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt. She (9) ___________________ CO2 and the super-rich. She said: "The major and growing responsibility of wealthy people (10) ___________________ is rarely discussed or considered in climate policy making. This has to change." She added: "These billionaire investors... (11) ___________________ responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability (12) ___________________."

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Business,householdsandmethanereleasedfrompermafrostaredama
gingtheenvironment.AnewreportfromtheBritishcharityOxfamhighli
ghtedthedamagebillionairesdototheenvironment.Therichlifestyleso
ftheworld'swealthiestpeoplecreatealotmoreCO2thantheaverageper
son.Theirinvestmentsandlifestylesmeantheaveragebillionairecreat
esthreemillionmetrictonsofcarbondioxideperyear.Thisisamilliontim
esmorethanwhattheaveragepersoncreates.Billionairescreateasmuc
hCO2asthewholecountryofFrance.Thelifestyles,luxuryyachts,mansi
onsandprivatejetsmeanbillionaireshaveahugecarbonfootprint.AnO
xfamspokespersonspokeattheCOP27ClimateChangeConferenceinE
gypt.ShegavedetailsaboutCO2andthesuper-rich.Shesaid:"Themaj
orandgrowingresponsibilityofwealthypeopleforoverallemissionsisra
relydiscussedorconsideredinclimatepolicymaking.Thishastochange
."Sheadded:"Thesebillionaireinvestors...haveahugeresponsibilityfo
rdrivingclimatebreakdown.Theyhaveescapedaccountabilityfortoolo
ng."

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 — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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