a company that operates in many countries. TNC stands for transnational company.

Who suffers most from the effects of climate change?

poorer countries with the least money to protect themselves. They did least to cause it.

What is urbanisation?

the growth in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. It is fastest in poorer countries.

Which is a criticism of TNCs?

profits are taken out of the country where they are made. The host country keeps only part of the benefit.

Why do the poor often suffer most from pollution within a country?

cheap housing is found near factories, roads and waste sites. Low income limits where a person can afford to live.

Global ecological issues and inequality · Cambridge IGCSE Sociology

In plain words

The countries that did the least to heat the planet are suffering the most from it. That is the thread through this unit. Damage to the environment is not shared out evenly, and it tends to land on those with the least power to refuse it.

7 things to know

A transnational company (TNC) is a business that operates in many countries. TNCs bring jobs, investment and technology to poorer countries.
TNCs are also criticised. They may pay low wages, take the profits back to their home country, pollute where the rules are weak, and move away when costs rise. Some are richer than the countries they operate in, which gives them great influence.
Climate change has been caused mainly by the emissions of the richer, industrial countries. Its worst effects, such as floods, droughts and failed harvests, fall on poorer countries, which have the least money to protect themselves.
People forced to move by these effects are sometimes called climate refugees.
Pollution: dirty industries and waste are often moved to poorer countries. Within a country, the poor are the most likely to live beside factories, busy roads and rubbish dumps, and their health suffers.
Urbanisation is the growth in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. It is fastest in poorer countries. Cities offer jobs, schools and hospitals.
Rapid urbanisation also brings overcrowding, informal housing without clean water or sanitation, unemployment and pollution, and it widens the gap between rich and poor areas.

Worked example

A TNC opens a clothing factory in a poor country. Give one benefit and one cost for that society.

Benefit: thousands of jobs are created, giving families a wage they did not have before.
Cost: wages and safety standards may be low, and most of the profit leaves the country.
The company may also move the factory elsewhere if wages rise, so the benefit may not last.

Tips and tricks

For TNCs, always give both sides: jobs and investment against low pay, lost profits and pollution.
"Climate injustice" in one sentence: those who caused the least of the problem suffer the most from it.

5 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

Global ecological issues and inequality: 5 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

What is a TNC?
- a charity working abroad
- a company that operates in many countries (the answer)
- a government agency
- a type of trade union
TNC stands for transnational company.
Who suffers most from the effects of climate change?
- the richest countries
- poorer countries with the least money to protect themselves (the answer)
- countries with the most factories
- nobody
They did least to cause it.
What is urbanisation?
- the movement of people to the countryside
- the growth of farming
- the building of motorways
- the growth in the proportion of people living in towns and cities (the answer)
It is fastest in poorer countries.
Which is a criticism of TNCs?
- profits are taken out of the country where they are made (the answer)
- they create jobs
- they bring technology
- they build factories
The host country keeps only part of the benefit.
Why do the poor often suffer most from pollution within a country?Stretch
- they produce the most pollution
- they choose to live near factories
- pollution affects only the poor
- cheap housing is found near factories, roads and waste sites (the answer)
Low income limits where a person can afford to live.

5 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

Global ecological issues and inequality

Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

What is meant by the term "transnational company"?[2]
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A company that operates in many countries.
I got this one
Explain how climate change increases inequality between societies.[4]
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Richer countries have produced most of the emissions that cause climate change. Poorer countries suffer the worst effects, such as floods and droughts. They have the least money to protect themselves or recover, so the gap between rich and poor countries widens.
I got this one
Describe two problems caused by rapid urbanisation.[4]
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Any two, each described: overcrowded informal settlements without clean water or sanitation; unemployment, because people arrive faster than jobs are created; pollution of air and water; greater inequality between wealthy and poor districts.
I got this one

Answers: Global ecological issues and inequality

1. A company that operates in many countries.
2. Richer countries have produced most of the emissions that cause climate change. Poorer countries suffer the worst effects, such as floods and droughts. They have the least money to protect themselves or recover, so the gap between rich and poor countries widens.
3. Any two, each described: overcrowded informal settlements without clean water or sanitation; unemployment, because people arrive faster than jobs are created; pollution of air and water; greater inequality between wealthy and poor districts.