IELTS essay sample about climate change

Climate change is a big environmental problem that has become critical in the last couple of decades. Some people claim that humans should stop burning fossil fuels and use only alternative energy resources, such as wind and solar power. Others say that oil, gas and coal are essential for many industries, and not using them will lead to economic collapse. What is your opinion?

Support your point of view with relevant examples.

Sample response

Climatic variations due to the excessive use of fossil fuels have become a major environment problem. Some people, therefore, feel that we should terminate the burning of fossil fuels and instead switch to renewable resources like wind and solar energy. However, others feel that we cannot stop the use of fossil fuels because they are required for many industries. I don’t quite agree with this view. In my opinion, it is possible for alternative energy sources to replace conventional sources like coal and petroleum.

Since most of the industries require fossil fuels, huge amounts of them are extracted from earth through mining. This creates several problems like earthquakes. Excessive mining upsets the structure of the earth and leads to several natural disasters. Mining in oceans affect aquatic life and may also lead to tsunamis that will wreak havoc in coastal areas. What’s more, when fossil fuels are burnt, they release dangerous gases into the atmosphere and cause serious air pollution.

It is true that our industries depend on fossil fuels. If their mining is stopped, it will cause economies to collapse. The only way to prevent this is to promote the uses of alternative sources. The problem with alternative sources is that they are still not available for wide scale use. For example, wind and solar energies, maybe greener but they are still more expensive. If we want to prevent the burning of fossil fuels, we need to develop technologies that will help us to harness the power of solar energy at a cheaper rate.

To conclude, the burning of fossil fuels have several negative consequences and should be stopped. However, this will not be possible without improving the technologies available for harnessing alternative sources.