IB ESS HL.b Environmental Economics Question Bank

Explain whether or not you believe it is justified to place an economic value on natural systems.

This graph is marked in the local booklet OCR/PDF as removed for copyright reasons, so the local booklet does not contain the data needed to calculate the average annual GDP increase.

Figure: Fact file on energy and economic development in Brazil: Fact file on energy and economic development in Brazil
- Brazil has experienced fast economic growth and is one of the most influential nations in South America.
- Major industries include mining, agriculture and the manufacture of products ranging from motor vehicles and aircraft to computers.
- There has been significant growth in the service industries including the telecommunications, banking, commerce and computing sectors.
- Over $80 \%$ of Brazil's gross domestic product (GDP) is generated in the Atlantic Rainforest region.
- Brazil is a major producer of oil. However about $70 \%$ of its electricity comes from hydroelectric power (HEP).
- Brazil is also the largest global producer of bioethanol, a biofuel produced from plants such as sugar cane. Over $40 \%$ of petrol (gasoline) use has been replaced by bioethanol.
- Brazil's energy policy has involved:
- improving energy efficiency.
- increasing energy production from renewable sources.
- diversification of energy sources.
[Sources: adapted from www.economywatch.com, www.nature.org, http://sugarcane.org and www.reegle.info]

Figure: GDP, energy use, life expectancy and under-5 mortality in Brazil from 1990 to 2012: GDP, energy use, life expectancy and under 5 mortality rate in Brazil from 1990 to 2012

With reference to Figure: GDP, energy use, life expectancy and under-5 mortality in Brazil from 1990 to 2012, estimate the average annual increase in gross domestic product (GDP) between 1990 and 2012.