IB ESS HL 6.3.14 (HL)—Climate tragedy of the commons Question Bank

• The concept of the tragedy of the commons suggests that catastrophic climate change is likely unless there is international cooperation on an unprecedented scale

• The atmosphere is common to all, but when one nation benefits from an action that harms the atmosphere (e.g., burning of fossil fuels), the costs are shared by all nations

• The reverse scenario is also true: the costs of restoring the atmosphere (e.g., by carbon capture and storage) might be borne by a single nation