Influence of Superpowers on Global Concerns (Edexcel A Level Geography)

• As the world population increases so does the demand on resources
• Superpowers and emerging superpowers place the greatest demands on resources and have the largest environmental footprint

Water

• Over 2.7 billion people suffer water scarcity for at least one month each year
• Both India and China are suffering increasing water scarcity due to:
  • Increasing industry and agricultural demand
  • Increasing population
  • Pollution of fresh water sources by industry, agricultural and domestic waste water
  • Uneven water supply, the highest demand in China is in the north-east whereas the highest supply is in the south
  • Increasing drought

Food

• The demand for food increases as a result of:
  • Population increase
  • Increased calorie intake

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Annual worldwide demand for plant and animal based food

Fossil fuels

• As countries develop, their energy requirements increase as:
  • More energy is used in factories and industry
  • Domestic demand increases as people have more technology - washing machines, TVs, fridges etc...
• Many emerging countries rely on fossil fuels as they are cheaper and they may have their own reserves of fossil fuels
  • In Indonesia 81% of electricity is generated by fossil fuels
  • Since 2011 China has used more coal than the rest of the world combined - 57% of China's energy is produced using coal

Minerals

• Minerals are used in many different ways:
  • Energy - fossil fuels used to produce energy, components for renewable energy (solar panels, turbines)
  • Industry - all products from mobile phones to cars use minerals in their manufacture from oil to copper
  • Construction - materials to make concrete, bricks
  • Metals
• The use of minerals is projected to continue to increase, with particularly demand for minerals such as graphite and lithium which are used in batteries and renewable energy

Projected demand for minerals for energy technologies 

Environmental degradation

• The increased demand for resources is leading to significant environmental degradation including:
  • Water pollution from industry, agriculture and domestic waste
    • An estimated 80% of groundwater in China is unfit for human consumption
  • Severe air pollution
    • About 90% of the global population experienced unhealthy air quality
    • In 2019 7 of the 10 most polluted cities were in India
  • Soil degradation is an increasing issue around the world 
    • The UN estimates 40% of the world's land is degraded
    • Growing food becomes more difficult as soils become infertile, leading to food shortages and reducing food production by up to 12% by 2050
    • The regeneration of 2.5cm of topsoil can take hundreds of years
• The Environmental Performance Index ranks countries based on a wide range of environmental factors including water and air pollution, and soil degradation

Environmental Performance Index 2022

Carbon emissions

• Superpowers or emerging superpowers are the largest emitters of CO₂
• China emits over 30% of all global greenhouse emissions, followed by the USA (13%) and the EU (8%)and India (8%)
• The UN reported in 2019 that the group of 20 major economies (G20) are responsible for 78% of greenhouse gas emissions

Share of global greenhouse gas emissions

• There are significant differences between nations in their willingness to act to reduce carbon emissions and reach global agreements
• As the largest emitter in the world it is essential that China participates in any international agreement
  • In 2016 China's NDC pledged to reach a peak of CO₂ emissions in 2030 and to be carbon neutral in 2060
• Russia and the EU also signed the Paris Agreement of 2015
  • Russia agreed to reduce emissions to 70% relative to the 1990 level by 2030
  • The EU has pledged to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels
• The USA initially signed up to the Paris Agreement under President Obama
  • President Trump took the decision to withdraw the US from the agreement in 2017 and this took effect in 2020
  • President Biden took office in 2021 and his first act was to rejoin the agreement
  • The target for the US is now a 50-52% reduction from 2005 emission levels by 2030

• Global consumption has increased due to growing wealth particularly in emerging countries which leads to increased disposable income
• It is estimated that by 2050 global demand for:
  • Water will be 1.6 times greater
  • Energy will be 1.8 times greater
  • Mineral resources will be more than 2 times greater
• The global middle class is increasing and is predicted to reach 5.3 billion by 2030
  • The population in Asia will account for almost 90% of this increase
  • Over 43% of the global middle class will live in either India or China

Share of the global middle class by region

• Middle class spending is predicted to almost double by in the 13 years between 2017-2030 
  • In 2017 it was $37 trillion by 2030 it may reach $64 trillion

• The increased wealth will be spent on products such as washing machines, phones, cars, wider variety of food. In turn this will increase the demand for:
  • Energy for industry and domestic use
  • Water for agriculture
  • Rare minerals for making the products
• Increased demand will cause: 
  • • Rising prices 
    • Reduced availability as supplies of non-renewable supplies are used up
• Impacts of increased consumption and resource include:
  • Water pollution
  • Air pollution
  • Soil contamination
  • Visual pollution
  • Deforestation