Environment and conservation: IELTS Speaking Part 3 questions & answers

Opening question

Development: society

1. Cause and effect

   Why do you think some people ignore environmental problems?

   2
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   Sample answerBand 8Main causeAnother causeEffect

   1. Main cause→
   2. Another cause→
   3. Effect

   For the most part, I'd put it down to the fact that the consequences feel distant, either in time or in place, so it's hard to feel a sense of urgency about a glacier melting on the other side of the world. There's also a feeling of helplessness, since the problems are so vast that many people assume nothing they do could possibly matter, and it's more comfortable not to think about it at all. The upshot is a kind of collective shrug, where people agree that climate change is serious but carry on with exactly the same habits, which in turn makes it easier for politicians to delay difficult decisions.

   put it down to

   say that something is caused by

   a sense of urgency

   a feeling that action is needed now

   a kind of collective shrug

   a shared attitude of not caring much

   111 words · about 48 seconds spoken

2. Opinion

   Can ordinary individuals really make a difference to the environment?

   3
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   To some extent they can, though I'd be wary of overstating it. On their own, one person's recycling or shorter showers barely register, but individual choices add up and, more importantly, they send signals to businesses and governments about what people want. Look at how quickly supermarkets started offering refill stations and plastic-free packaging once enough shoppers began complaining. At the same time, it would be naive to think personal virtue can replace regulation, because the biggest sources of emissions are industries and energy systems that no individual controls.

   barely register

   are hardly noticeable at all

   individual choices add up

   small personal actions together become significant

   it would be naive to think

   it would be unrealistic to believe

   89 words · about 39 seconds spoken

3. Compare

   How has people's attitude to the environment changed in recent years?

   4
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   Sample answerBand 8ThenNowWhy it changed

   1. Then→
   2. Now→
   3. Why it changed

   Not so long ago, environmental concern was seen as a niche interest, something for activists or scientists rather than ordinary people, and most of us didn't give much thought to where our rubbish ended up. Nowadays it's become far more mainstream, and you'll find people of all ages carrying reusable bottles, sorting their waste and even choosing jobs or holidays with the environment in mind. Part of the reason is that the effects have become impossible to miss, with heatwaves and floods making headlines almost every year, and young people in particular have grown up hearing about it at school, so it's simply part of how they see the world.

   a niche interest

   something only a small group cares about

   far more mainstream

   accepted by most ordinary people

   impossible to miss

   so obvious that everyone notices

   110 words · about 48 seconds spoken

Depth: the abstract and the future

1. Pros and cons

   What are the most effective ways governments can protect the environment?

   5
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   Regulation is arguably the most powerful tool, since when governments set strict limits on emissions or ban something like single-use plastics outright, behaviour changes almost overnight. The drawback is that heavy-handed rules can be unpopular and hit poorer households hardest, as we've seen when fuel taxes have sparked protests in several countries. Weighing it all up, the smartest approach probably combines firm rules with incentives, for instance subsidising solar panels or public transport, so that the greener option is also the cheaper one and people don't feel they're being punished.

   almost overnight

   very quickly, in a short time

   heavy-handed rules

   rules that are too strict or forceful

   Weighing it all up

   considering all the arguments together

   90 words · about 39 seconds spoken

2. Pros and cons

   Is economic growth always bad for the environment?

   6
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   Sample answerBand 8UpsideDownsideOn balance

   1. Upside→
   2. Downside→
   3. On balance

   Growth isn't inherently harmful, in my view, because richer countries can afford cleaner technology, proper waste treatment and the kind of research that makes renewable energy cheaper for everyone. On the other hand, growth that's measured purely by how much we produce and consume does tend to mean more resources being dug up, more energy burned and more goods ending up in landfill. So it depends on what kind of growth we're talking about, and the real challenge is to decouple prosperity from pollution, so that an economy can expand through services and green industries rather than through ever more consumption.

   isn't inherently harmful

   is not bad by its very nature

   ending up in landfill

   being thrown away and buried as rubbish

   decouple prosperity from pollution

   grow richer without creating more pollution

   101 words · about 44 seconds spoken

3. The future

   How might people's daily habits need to change to protect the planet?

   7
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   Sample answerBand 8PredictionBecauseBut

   1. Prediction→
   2. Because→
   3. But

   I suspect the biggest shifts will have to come in how we eat and how we travel, with far less meat on our plates and far fewer short journeys made by car. Those are two of the areas where ordinary habits have the largest footprint, and unlike heating or industry, they're things people decide on every single day. Whether people will actually make those changes voluntarily is another matter, since habits are deeply ingrained, and it'll probably take a mixture of cheaper alternatives and gentle pressure from governments before most people adapt.

   have the largest footprint

   cause the most environmental damage

   is another matter

   is a separate and less certain question

   deeply ingrained

   firmly established and hard to change

   92 words · about 40 seconds spoken

4. What if

   If everyone stopped using cars, what would be the consequences?

   8
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   Sample answerBand 8If soResultWider effect

   1. If so→
   2. Result→
   3. Wider effect

   If cars disappeared from our roads overnight, the first thing you'd notice would be how much cleaner and quieter towns and cities became. Air quality would improve dramatically, fewer people would be killed or injured in accidents, and huge amounts of space currently given over to roads and car parks could be turned into parks, housing or cycle lanes. In the wider economy, the shift would be hugely disruptive, since entire industries depend on cars, and people in rural areas with no realistic alternative could find themselves cut off from work, shops and healthcare unless public transport were transformed at the same time.

   given over to

   used for a particular purpose

   hugely disruptive

   causing serious problems and sudden change

   cut off from

   unable to reach or access

   103 words · about 45 seconds spoken

5. Opinion

   Should protecting the environment be a global responsibility rather than a national one?

   9
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   Sample answerBand 8My viewWhyExampleBut

   1. My view→
   2. Why→
   3. Example→
   4. But

   Ultimately, I believe it has to be both, but the global dimension is unavoidable. Pollution and greenhouse gases don't respect borders, so one country cleaning up its act achieves little if its neighbours carry on polluting, and there's always the temptation to let others shoulder the cost. The ozone layer is a good case in point, since it only began to recover once almost every country agreed to phase out the chemicals that were damaging it. Still, international agreements are only as good as the national governments that enforce them, so in practice the real work is done at home, through each country's own laws and investment.

   don't respect borders

   spread between countries regardless of boundaries

   shoulder the cost

   accept the burden of paying

   a good case in point

   a clear example of what was just said

   107 words · about 47 seconds spoken