News by Levels · Level 3 · For teachers
Teacher guide & answers
UNEP Warns That Climate Overshoot Need Not Be Permanent
How to use these two pages
Give learners the student worksheet. It contains the story and questions, without the answers. Keep this guide for yourself. Use it to lead the activity and explain the answers afterwards.
Student worksheetA simple 15–20-minute lesson
- Before reading · 2 minutes
Show the title. Ask: “What do you think this story is about?”
- Read and answer · 8–10 minutes
Give out the student worksheet. Learners read for the main idea, then reread to answer the 3 questions. They can compare answers with a partner.
- Discuss and write · 5–8 minutes
Check the answers below together. Ask learners to point to the clue in the story, then finish with the open question.
Adjust the support: Let learners use word help or Level 1 if needed. For a challenge, compare the wording in another level. This activity is not a proficiency test.
Answers to the 3 questions
The question numbers match the student worksheet. Each answer includes a reason and the clue learners can find in the story.
What is the purpose of the report’s lowest-overshoot pathway?
Correct answer: B — Limit how high warming goes and work towards a return
Why: The report focuses on limiting the overshoot and a possible return. It does not say the threshold no longer matters.
Clue in the story: UNEP’s October 21 assessment shifts attention from avoiding 1.5°C overshoot to limiting its scale and duration. In the report’s lowest-overshoot pathway, warming peaks at roughly 1.7–1.8°C around mid-century.
Which requirement accompanies deep emissions reductions?
Correct answer: A — Removing carbon dioxide from the air
Why: The text requires both emissions cuts and carbon removal. One is not presented as a substitute for the other.
Clue in the story: Deep emissions reductions and increasing carbon removal would give approximately a 50% chance of returning to or below 1.5°C by 2100. PBL, which contributed modeling, stresses the effort required. The pathway is conditional, not an assured forecast.
Which interpretation respects the conditional nature of the pathway?
Correct answer: C — It depends on difficult actions and is not guaranteed
Why: The text explicitly warns that success is uncertain or conditional. A scenario is not a guaranteed outcome.
Clue in the story: Deep emissions reductions and increasing carbon removal would give approximately a 50% chance of returning to or below 1.5°C by 2100. PBL, which contributed modeling, stresses the effort required. The pathway is conditional, not an assured forecast.
The open question: accept different answers
Ask learners: Explain to a friend why going above 1.5°C does not mean that further action is pointless.
One possible answer: Action could still limit how far and how long warming rises above the threshold. The possible return also depends on emissions cuts and carbon removal.
This is an example, not the only correct answer. Look for a relevant idea, a reason and the learner’s own words. Learners can answer aloud or write one or two sentences.