Teacher preparation:

Overarching learning goal: Through this activity students understand that there are a range of energy resources. They begin to recognise that some of these energy sources can have significant impacts on our environment and can contribute to climate change and global warming. Students will learn that there are energy alternatives that have lower environmental and climate impacts.

The IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was created to:

provide policymakers (governments) with regular scientific updates about climate change;
highlight the impact climate change will have on the planet in the future; and,
offer some ideas about how to tackle the challenges of climate change's potential effects on the planet.

In 2021-22, the IPCC released their sixth assessment report. This is the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change.

The report makes a number of important points:

It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.
Global surface temperature will continue to increase until at least mid-century under all emissions scenarios considered. Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades (B1). The report describes five possible climate futures, where #1 is not great and #5 is extremely bad. If we want to keep global warming at less than two degrees, which the IPCC says is the best-case scenario, we need to reduce our CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions significantly and start right away.

'Net zero' or 'carbon neutral' are terms that refer to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere. Getting to net zero means we can still produce some emissions, so long as we're doing something else to reduce the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere at the same time, kind of like balancing a set of scales (more info).

Psychological safety. The IPCC Report sets a hard challenge. While this real-world issue is essential for students to understand, there is no doubt it can make them feel sad or anxious about the future is becoming darker and scarier by the day. So, reassure students that we can have a hopeful and optimistic outlook on this report, rather than one of doom and gloom. Explain that optimism involves looking objectively at a situation and making a conscious decision to focus on the good (more info), and that hope is the belief that you can make an impact (more info). Explain to students that you are going to look ahead, identify what needs to be improved, and then work on the skills and confidence so that they can go out and do it. If you're interested in learning more about how to approach challenging topics around climate change and sustainability in your classroom through a Hope and Optimism lens, consider our PD course.

Student and classroom organisation:

Step 1.

Begin this activity with a brainstorming mind map activity. Students can work as a class or in groups. If working as a class, write student responses on the board. If working in groups, ask students to use bubbl.us or mindmeister to record their ideas.

Ask your students to brainstorm the following two points (allow 1-2 minutes):

What do you think would happen if there was no energy on Earth?
What do we use energy for?

As students brainstorm, try to guide students towards points around electrical energy and electricity generation.

If your students have been working in groups, ask them to briefly share their ideas with the class.

Continuing on with the brainstorming session, ask students to now add a new point to their mind maps (allow 1-2 minutes):

What energy resources can be used to generate electricity?

Encourage students to think about all the ways that we generate energy - such as coal, wind and nuclear - and add these to the mind map.

Again ask students to share their responses with the class.

Finally, ask students to think about how each energy resource relates to the health of our environment, and in particular, how they relate to climate change and global warming. Ask students to add these ideas to their mind maps (allow 1-2 minutes).

Step 2.

During their brainstorming, students should have thought up some or all of the following sources of electrical energy:

Coal
Nuclear
Gas
Wind
Solar
Geothermal
Hydropower
Bioenergy

Break your class into at least 8 groups and assign each group with one of the energy resource above. Ask students to imagine that they have been invited to attend a national conference on energy and climate change. They will be researching information about their energy resource and presenting this to other delegates at the conference. The aim of the conference is to select three sources of energy for the future of Australia.

Groups will need to answer the following questions in their research:

What is the science and technology behind this resource?
- How does this energy resource work?
- What technology is used?
Is this energy resource renewable or non-renewable?
How is this energy resource used?
- Is this energy source used in Australia? If so, how much? If not, why not?
What are the benefits or problems associated with this resource?
- Are there any environmental, social or financial benefits of this resource? What are they?
- Are there any environmental, social or financial problems associated with this resource? What are they?
What is the relationship between this energy resource and climate change?
- Does this energy resource contribute to climate change? If so, how? If not, why not?
What do you think the future of this resource should be? Should it be expanded or scaled down? Why?

Groups should prepare a short movie or presentation of 3 to 4 slides/2 minutes (using PowerPoint or Prezi) sharing their research (useful resources to help with research available on the student worksheet). Allow approximately 20 minutes for students to undertake research and prepare presentations.

Step 3.

Once all groups have had the chance to share their presentations, ask students to imagine that the next stage of the conference is to decide on three energy resources for the future of Australia. The context for this discussion is that a serious of extreme weather events attributed to climate change has caused significant damage to several of Australia's major coal-fired power stations. The cost to rebuild these power stations is significant and it has been suggested that investment in renewable energy would be more a more sensible option for Australia's energy future, both financially and in terms of climate change mitigation.

Briefly discuss with your students the pros and cons of each type of energy and then ask students to vote for the three types of energy they think are the best. Write up all the types of energy resources on the board (or nominate a student to record results) and ask students vote for their top three, giving three points for their first choice, two for their second, and one for their third. Record student votes, tally up the votes and declare the winners.

Assessment/Reflection

1. Working independently, ask students to create a new mind map for one of the three winning energy resources (you can ask students to select the one they would like to look at, or you can assign them to students so that all energy types are covered). The mind maps should talk about the environmental risks and benefits of each type of energy, and what the consequences of these risks and benefits are (e.g. ask students to think about what impacts climate change or environmental harm might have on human or animal populations).

2. Ask students to complete the KWHL chart (available on the student worksheet).

Energy and climate change

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