2023 Sembawang SS Prelim QP

Candidate’s Name Class Register Number SEMBAWANG SECONDARY SCHOOL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2023 SECONDARY 4 EXPRESS/ 5 NORMAL (ACADEMIC) HUMANITIES [2272] Social Studies, Geography [2273] Social Studies, History [2274] Social Studies, English Literature Paper 1 22 August 2023 1125 – 1310 1 hour 45 minutes READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Do not turn over the page until you are told to do so. Write your name, class, and register number on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. Do not use staplers, paper clips, highlighters, glue, or correction fluid. Section A FOR EXAMINER’S USE TOTAL / 50 Answer Questions 1-5. Section B Answer Questions 6 and 7. PARENT’S SIGNATURE Start each question on a fresh page. At the end of the examinatio n, fasten all your work in each section securely together. Sections A and B should be handed in separately.

2 The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. Setter: Ms Kaur This document consists of 8 printed pages including this cover page. [Turn over] SECTION A (Source-Based Case Study) Question 1 is compulsory for all candidates. 1 Being Part of a Globalised World Study the Background Information and the sources carefully, and then answer all the questions. You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in add ition to those sources which you are told to use. In answering the questions, you sho uld use your knowledge of the issue to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. 1 Study Source A. What is the attitude of the cartoonist towards the conference? Explain your answer. [5] 2 Study Source B and C.

3 How far do the two sources agree with one another? Explain your answer. [6] 3 Study Source D. How useful is this source as evidence of the efforts made by countries to deal with climate change? Explain your answer. [7] 4 Study Sources E and F. After reading Source E, are you surprised by Source F? Explain your answer. [7] 5 “Efforts to tackle climate change are doomed to fail.” Using sources in this case study, explain how far you would agree with this statement. [10]

4 How committed are countries to combating climate change? BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you to answer some of the questions. Global warming has resulted in rapid climate change around the world. This has largely been driven by human activities such as the burning of fossil f uels like coal and oil for energy. The burning of fossil fuels has caused rising tempera tures which have caused rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions. Scientists have predicted that if the rise in temperatures goes beyond 1.5 °C, there will b e irreversible damage to the Earth’s climate. In 2015, the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference was held in Paris. During this conference, leaders of many countries came together to discuss how to deal with climate change. These countries agreed to limit global warming b y reducing their emission of greenhouse gases. They also set targets for member countries. This agreement came to be known as the Paris Agreement. After 2015, countries strengthened their commitment to combat climate change and aimed to achieve net zero emissions. Achieving net zero means that the total emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2), are equal to the total amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere. To reach their aim, countries would be required to switch to cleaner energy sources and halve their emissions by 2030. However, despite their agreement, m any countries lack the economic resources to switch to alternative energy and still depend on fossil fuels to operate their industries. Read the following sources to find out if countries are truly committed to fightin g climate change.

5 Source A: An American cartoon published in 2021. The UN Conference on Climate Change brought together 120 world leaders and over 40,000 registered participants in Glasgow, Scotland. Source B: A comment by the UN Secretary General in a press conference to international journalists in 2023. I am very worried about where the world stands on climate. Countrie s are far off- track in meeting climate promises and commitments. I see a lack of ambition an d a lack of cooperation. The climate agenda is being undermined. At a time wh en we should be accelerating action, there is backtracking. Current efforts by countries are taking the world to a 2.8 degree temperature rise by the end of the century. That spells catastrophe. Yet the collective response remains pitiful. The solution is clear. Governments, companies and financial institutions need to play their part. The world must phase out fossil fuels. Last year, the oil and gas industry reaped a record $4 trillion windfall in net income. Yet for every dollar it spends on oil and gas drilling and exploration, only 4 cents went to clean energy. They are not even reaching the reduction targets they ha ve set for themselves.

6 Source C: From the London School of Economics Department of Government blogpost in 2021. The department is a world-leading centre for the study and research of politics and government. Countries condemn causes of climate change and claim to want to work towards eliminating greenhouse gases. But despite this, things are largely unchanged. Last year, the number of o il rigs* in the US doubled. The Paris Agreement, the source of so much optimism in pa st years, seems incapable of holding nations accountable. While change is happening, it is too slow, hindered by private interests and many people who continue to deny the truth: we are on the edge of disaster. Is this the fault of the government? I think so. These are institutions, created to implement our wants and care for our needs. In falling short of this, they have failed in their job to serve and uphold the majority will – instead succumbing to the pressure of profit-driven corporations. Beyond the crime of neglecting climate change, governments are failing to safeguard people’s lives. * Oil rigs are structures used to drill for oil Source D: From a speech by the President of the European Union* at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt in 2022. We are, and will remain, champions of climate action. We are committed to protecting nature and sustaining biodiversity and human life on earth. The European Union have an obligation towards people in developing countrie s. We built our prosperity partly by overusing fossil fuel resources and by mistreating the natural world. We must therefore shoulder our share of the burden, and we are doing so. We have an obligation towards the next generation, towards the young people who are appealing to our conscience. The European Union is the largest provider of climate funds, allocating more than EUR 20 billion in 2021. We are stepping up investment in renewable en ergy sources, but we will need to rely on all energy sources in making the transition. W e are also striving to work together with developed and developing countries to meet the climate targets set. *The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 countries located in Europe

7 Source E: Speech by Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean in Parliament in 2023. Reducing global greenhouse gas emissions is urgent. Singapore has decisively stepped up our efforts against climate change last year. After consulting th e public, we formally revised our climate targets. We are committed to achieving net z ero emissions by 2050. To mitigate climate change effects on Singapore, we must