You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Many people believe that companies and individuals should pay to clean up the environment in proportion to the amount of pollution they have produced. To what extent to you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer:
It is often argued that people should be charged in accordance with the amount of pollution they produce. While I accept that certain organisations should be penalised for this, I believe that every individual should not be forced to pay a fine.
There are several reasons why the giant entrepreneurs should pay for contaminating the land. Having penalised with a specific amount of money factories will help the government to raise money which can be used in a variety of long-term and rationalised measures to mitigate the pollution from the earth. This will also deter them from producing more garbage and pollution. Take London as an example, where governments have invested recently a hefty amount of money in public transportation, in particular, local buses which have been designed to be much more efficient than the older ones. So these vehicles discharge fewer combustible pollutants into the air. Also, these self-centered companies sometimes exploit natural resources such as forests, water land and agricultural lands, beyond all their limits just to increase the profit. If these companies are not obliged to share the amount of money, which is required to curb pollutions, they will become more short-sighted (or greedy) in terms of making more money without even caring about the impact on climate change and environment.
However, I would argue that every individual should not be liable to pay recommended fine. It is unrealistic that we can stop people from polluting the universe merely by imposing charges. Because people need electricity to enjoy technologies, a farmland to grow crops and an accommodation to live, food to eat as well as a mean of transportation to travel. Furthermore, if people from devastated backgrounds are charged more for the impact they have on climate; it will create an upheaval situation where lower-income groups would not be able to pay even for their daily necessities.
In conclusion, organisations who are earning millions of pounds by exploiting natural resources should only be obliged to share the amount of money in curbing the pollution rather than all the common citizens.
[ Written by – Shamaila Afzal ]