Paper 2 Checklists 

Unit 1: Changing Populations

🗺️ What shapes population distribution globally?

• 🏞️ Physical factors: climate, water, soil, natural hazards
  
  

• 🏙️ Human factors: jobs, infrastructure, history, politics
  
  

💰 Global economic groups:

• 🟤 Low-income countries (LICs)
  
  

• 🟡 Middle-income and emerging economies (MICs/NEEs)
  
  

• 🔵 High-income countries (HICs)
  
  

🧭 National patterns – what happens within countries:

• 🧳 Voluntary internal migration – people moving within their country for work/lifestyle
  
  

• 🔁 Core–periphery patterns – rich “core” vs. poorer “periphery”
  
  

• 🌆 Megacities – massive cities growing fast (10 million+)
  
  

📚 Case study:

• 2 contrasting examples of uneven population distribution (e.g. sparse vs dense areas)
  
  

🧠 [Sy/Ev] Thinking skills:

• Compare why people live where they do
  
  

• Look at different scales – local to global
  
  

• Analyze interactions between population and economy

🔄 2. Changing Populations & Places

See how populations change over time — and how places respond.

📉 Population change indicators:

• ➕ Natural increase (births – deaths)
  
  

• 👶 Fertility rate
  
  

• 🎂 Life expectancy
  
  

• 🧓 Age structure (youthful/ageing)
  
  

• ⚖️ Dependency ratio – how many people rely on others
  
  

📚 Case study:

• 2 or more contrasting countries with different population changes
  
  

🌆 Megacity impact:

• What happens when megacities grow too fast?
  ▪️ Housing problems
  ▪️ Informal jobs
  ▪️ Inequality
  
  

• 📚 Case study: One fast-growing megacity (e.g. Lagos, Jakarta)
  
  

🏚️ Forced migration:

• Why are people forced to move (e.g. war, disaster, persecution)?
  ▪️ Push factors: reasons to leave
  ▪️ Consequences: for individuals and host countries
  
  

• 📚 Case study: Two examples of forced migration or internal displacement
  
  

🧠 [Sy/Ev] Thinking skills:

• Analyze how population changes affect people and places
  
  

• Understand spatial links between origin and destination

🚻 3. Challenges & Opportunities

Explore population problems — and the solutions being tried.

📊 Trends to know:

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family size changes
  
  

• ⚖️ Sex ratio imbalances
  
  

• 👴 Ageing and greying populations
  ▪️ Seen more in Europe, Japan, etc.
  
  

🧓 Managing change – population policies:

• 🧷 Ageing population strategies
  
  

• 👶 Pro-natalist policies (e.g. France wants more babies!)
  
  

• 🚫 Anti-natalist policies (e.g. China’s One Child Policy)
  
  

• 👩‍🦱 Gender equality & 🛡️ anti-trafficking policies
  
  

🧠 Demographic dividend:

• When a country has lots of working-age people, it can grow economically — if used well
  
  

• 📚 Case study: One country benefiting from its demographic dividend (e.g. India, Vietnam)
  
  

🧠 [Sy/Ev] Thinking skills:

• Explore how population changes shift global power
  ▪️ e.g. youthful Africa, ageing Europe
  
  

• Compare local vs national vs international consequences

Unit 2: Global Climate - Vulnerability and Resilience

🔥 1. Causes of Global Climate Change

Explore what’s causing Earth to heat up — naturally and through human activity.

☀️ Energy balance basics:

• 🌤️ Natural greenhouse effect: keeps Earth warm and life-friendly
  
  

• ↔️ Energy in = Energy out: if that balance is disturbed, climate changes
  
  

🚫 Disturbing the balance – natural causes:

• 🌋 Volcanoes: dust blocks sunlight → short-term cooling (global dimming)
  
  

• ☀️ Solar radiation: changes over time (sunspot cycles)
  
  

• 🧊 Albedo: white ice reflects sun → melts → less reflection → more warming (feedback loop!)
  
  

• 🐄 Methane: released from melting permafrost, cows, rice farming → traps heat
  ▪️ More warming = more methane = more warming (positive feedback)
  
  

🔄 Human causes – the enhanced greenhouse effect:

• 🛻 More CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O from:
  
  

  • Transport 🚗
    
    

  • Industry 🏭
    
    

  • Deforestation 🌳
    
    

  • Global trade & consumption 🌐
    
    

🌍 Global variation in emissions:

• 💵 Rich countries emit more historically
  
  

• 🌱 Some emerging economies now emit more per capita (e.g. Qatar, USA)
  
  

• 🌍 Globalisation spreads pollution and responsibility
  
  

🧠 [Sy/SK] Synthesis & Skills:

• Understand how Earth’s systems are connected: atmosphere, ice, oceans, land
  
  

• Learn how feedback loops accelerate change
  
  

• Think spatially – where emissions come from, and where effects are felt

🌪️ 2. Consequences of Global Climate Change

Understand what’s already happening — and what could happen next.

🌊 Impacts on Earth systems:

• 🧊 Ice melts → rising sea levels
  
  

• 🌊 Ocean warming → coral bleaching, stronger storms
  
  

• 🌫️ Extreme weather: more droughts, floods, hurricanes
  
  

• 🌿 Biomes shift: animals migrate, forests change location
  
  

• 🌾 Agriculture changes:
  
  

  • Some crops fail
    
    

  • Some areas get longer growing seasons
    
    

  • Soil erosion gets worse
    
    

🚨 Impacts on people:

• ⚕️ Health risks (e.g. heatstroke, disease spread)
  
  

• 🚶‍♀️ Climate migration (e.g. island nations, desertification zones)
  
  

• 🚢 Ocean transport routes change – melting Arctic opens new trade paths
  
  

📍 [Sy/SK] Synthesis & Skills:

• 🗺️ Climate impacts are not felt equally – poorer places hit harder
  
  

• 📆 There is uncertainty: not sure exactly when or how bad, but risks are growing

🧭 3. Responding to Global Climate Change

What are governments, businesses, and communities doing about it?

⚠️ Not everyone’s affected equally:

• 🏝️ Low-lying areas (e.g. Maldives) = high exposure
  
  

• 💸 Wealth = more ways to adapt (e.g. sea walls, insurance)
  
  

• 👶 Age, education, and gender affect vulnerability
  
  

• 📚 Case study: Two places with very different vulnerability
  
  

🏛️ Government responses:

• 🌍 Global cooperation (e.g. Paris Agreement)
  
  

• 💰 Carbon trading/offsetting
  
  

• 🛰️ Technology: geo-engineering, renewable energy, carbon capture
  
  

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Civil society & corporate action:

• 🧒 Youth movements (e.g. Fridays for Future)
  
  

• 🏢 Eco-friendly companies
  
  

• 🧑‍🌾 Community projects (e.g. tree planting, local adaptation)
  
  

• 📚 Case study: One country where non-government actors lead climate action
  
  

🧠 [Sy/SK] Synthesis & Evaluation:

• Ask:
  
  

  • Who should act? 🌍
    
    

  • Is it fair to expect poor countries to do more? ⚖️
    
    

  • Which solutions are realistic or urgent?
    
    

Unit 3:  Global Resource Consumption and Security

🌐 Global development & consumption:

• 🌱 Development = more resource use
  
  

• 💰 The New Global Middle Class = rising incomes, rising demand
  
  

📏 Measuring consumption:

• 🦶 Ecological footprints: show human demand vs Earth's capacity
  
  

• Measured at:
  ▪️ 🧍 Individual
  ▪️ 🏙️ National
  ▪️ 🌍 Global
  
  

📊 What are we consuming more of?

💧 Water

• 🌾 In food production (especially meat)
  
  

• 🧴 In products (e.g. cotton, plastic)
  
  

• 🌍 Embedded water = "virtual" water use
  
  

🌾 Land/Food

• 🍖 Diets are changing: more meat, processed food
  
  

• 🌱 Demand for farmland and sustainable sources grows
  
  

⚡ Energy

• 🛢️ Fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas)
  
  

• ☢️ Nuclear
  
  

• 🌞 Renewables (solar, wind, hydro)
  
  

• 🔬 New tech (e.g. hydrogen fuel cells)
  
  

🧠 [Sy/Sk] Thinking skills:

• See how places connect through trade and consumption
  
  

• Spot trends across regions (e.g. Asia vs Europe)

🧨 2. Impacts of Changing Trends in Resource Consumption

What happens when demand exceeds supply?

⚠️ Pressure on resources causes insecurity:

• 💧 Water scarcity
  
  

• 🌾 Food shortages
  
  

• 🔋 Energy dependence (especially on fossil fuels)
  
  

🔗 Water–Food–Energy Nexus:

All are interconnected — problems in one affect the others

Examples:

• 🚰 Water security = clean, accessible water
  
  

• 🍞 Food security = enough food to meet dietary needs
  
  

• 🔌 Energy security = reliable supply at affordable prices
  
  

🌡️ Climate change makes it worse:

• ⛈️ Droughts, floods affect water & crops
  
  

• ❄️ Melting glaciers reduce water storage
  
  

• 🔄 Disruption of global energy and food trade routes
  
  

📚 Case studies:

• 2 contrasting countries with different resource security (e.g. Norway vs Chad)
  
  

🗑️ Waste & recycling:

• ♻️ Global trade in waste (e.g. e-waste to Asia/Africa)
  
  

• 🌐 Uneven systems for recycling and reuse
  
  

🧠 [Sy/Sk] Thinking skills:

• Explore perspectives on what’s “secure”
  
  

• Look at different scales – household to global

🔄 3. Resource Stewardship

How do we manage resources fairly and sustainably?

🧠 Who makes decisions?

• 👨‍⚖️ Governments
  
  

• 🏭 Corporations
  
  

• 👥 Civil society (NGOs, communities)
  
  

🧭 Competing ideas:

• ❌ Pessimists (e.g. Neo-Malthusians): we’ll run out!
  
  

• ✅ Optimists (e.g. Boserup): innovation will save us
  
  

• ⚖️ Stewardship views: careful, balanced use
  
  

♻️ Solutions and strategies:

🔄 Circular economy

• Reduce, reuse, recycle
  
  

• Design waste out of the system
  
  

• E.g. clothes made from recycled plastics
  
  

🌍 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• 17 UN targets to improve life and protect the planet
  
  

• 🕊️ Aim: balance people, planet, prosperity
  
  

🧠 [Sy/Sk] Thinking skills:

• Evaluate which strategies work best
  
  

• Assess who benefits most or least
  
  

• Think locally and globally