Environment & Climate
Essential vocabulary for IELTS essays on climate change, pollution, conservation, and sustainability.
Foundation
Simple, clear usage
Intermediate
Academic context
Band 9
Sophisticated, Band 9 style
10 words
The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level without depleting natural resources or causing long-term damage.
🌱 Foundation Example
"We need to think about sustainability when we use natural resources."
Common collocations:
Gases and pollutants, particularly greenhouse gases, released into the atmosphere as a result of industrial processes, transportation, and energy generation.
🌱 Foundation Example
"Cars produce emissions that are bad for the air."
Common collocations:
The large-scale removal of forests, typically to clear land for agriculture, urban development, or commercial logging.
🌱 Foundation Example
"Deforestation destroys the homes of many animals."
Common collocations:
The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, considered in terms of its contribution to ecosystem health.
🌱 Foundation Example
"The rainforest has a lot of biodiversity because many different animals live there."
Common collocations:
Energy from naturally replenishing sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and geothermal power that do not deplete finite reserves.
🌱 Foundation Example
"Solar panels use renewable energy from the sun to make electricity."
Common collocations:
The introduction of harmful substances or contaminants into the natural environment, causing adverse changes.
🌱 Foundation Example
"Factories cause a lot of air pollution."
Common collocations:
The protection, preservation, and sustainable management of the natural environment and wildlife.
🌱 Foundation Example
"Conservation means protecting animals and nature."
Common collocations:
The total amount of greenhouse gases generated by an individual's, organisation's, or product's activities, expressed in equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide.
🌱 Foundation Example
"Driving a car makes your carbon footprint bigger."
Common collocations:
Relating to the relationships between organisms and their environment, or to the long-term health of natural ecosystems.
🌱 Foundation Example
"Plastic bags are very bad for the ecological health of the oceans."
Common collocations:
Natural fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed from the remains of ancient organisms and combusted to generate energy — releasing stored carbon dioxide.
🌱 Foundation Example
"Oil and coal are fossil fuels that cause pollution when they are burned."
Common collocations:
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