IB ESS SL 1.3.3 Environmental Sustainability Questions

Evidence for:
(i) carbon off-setting has increased afforestation/reforestation/tree planting / forestation has increased carbon sinks / forestation has contributed to mitigating climate change/reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels;
(ii) afforestation/reforestation/increase in protected area has increased biodiversity/natural habitat for wildlife;
(iii) afforestation/reforestation has increased natural capital/goods and services;
(iv) most electricity comes from renewable sources of energy rather than non-renewable sources (can be used up / exhaustible) / most electricity comes from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels hence produces less carbon dioxide emissions/has a lower EF;
(v) use of electric/hybrid/biofuel/hydrogen vehicles limits carbon dioxide emissions / increase use of renewables/electric transport could improve air quality in urban areas;
(vi) use of public transport limits individual car use and reduces overall carbon dioxide emissions/could improve urban air quality/has a lower EF;
(vii) certified carbon neutral coffee farming may mitigate impacts of intensive (cash crops) agriculture / certified carbon neutral coffee farming may support businesses which have a smaller carbon footprint;

Evidence against:
(viii) there are emissions of other greenhouse gases from farming (eg methane from cattle/beef production / nitrous oxide from using fertilizers or manure);
(ix) increase in land area used for intensive agriculture (pineapples) reduces biodiversity;
(x) there is high use of fossil fuel / transport sector depends on fossil fuels / the transportation of importing fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide;
(xi) ecological footprint (EF) is beyond the carrying capacity / EF is greater than biocapacity;
(xii) despite increased forestation the biocapacity has continued to decline which is not sustainable / biocapacity still appears to be declining which is not sustainable;
(xiii) large tourism numbers may cause damage to the environment eg roads may fragment habitats / building development for tourism may lead to habitat destruction;
(xiv) tourists that travel to Costa Rica can produce high levels of greenhouse gases/carbon dioxide emissions through plane travel;
(xv) growth in agriculture leads to deforestation / there is still some loss of mature forest to agriculture / difficult to enforce ban on deforestation;
(xvi) in future, the country will eventually run out of space for carbon off-setting by planting trees and therefore this is not a sustainable practice;
(xvii) hydropower has a detrimental effect on the environment eg blocks migratory routes for fish, causes siltation behind the dam wall and reduces flow of nutrients/sediments downstream contributing to coastal erosion/lower diversity;
(xviii) (despite carbon zero policy/efforts to reduce $\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ levels) the levels of $\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ emissions for Costa Rica are above the regional average;

Conclusion/opinion:
For example: Although Costa Rica produces most of its electricity from renewable sources, non-renewable resources are still used eg oil which is a finite resource and is not sustainable for the future;
Despite reducing loss of forest/increasing sinks for carbon, the biocapacity continues to decline and hence overall Costa Rica is not sustainable; While Costa Rica still has some issues relating to emissions of GHGs through agriculture/transport, it is moving in the right direction towards environmental sustainability with its tree planting campaigns/increase in protected areas and cleaner air due to renewable energy sources;