Carbon Capture: Can It Fix Climate Change?

This lesson explores the role of carbon capture technologies in addressing climate change. Students examine how carbon dioxide is produced, how it contributes to global warming, and how emerging technologies aim to capture and store or reuse carbon emissions.

The lesson begins with a guided discussion on climate change and environmental impacts, allowing students to activate prior knowledge and share perspectives on environmental challenges. Students then watch a short explanatory video and complete comprehension activities that help them identify the main problem, the proposed technological solution, and the limitations of scaling carbon capture systems.

Through structured language activities, learners develop the ability to explain scientific processes and environmental systems in clear academic English. The lesson introduces common cause–effect language, environmental collocations, and cohesion chains used to connect ideas in scientific explanations. Students also examine how scientists use hedging language to discuss new technologies cautiously and how the passive voice is commonly used when describing processes.

This lesson is designed to work with mixed-level groups. 

Learning Focus

Students will practise:

• explaining environmental processes and technologies

• describing cause–effect relationships related to climate change

• using common environmental collocations (e.g., reduce emissions, capture carbon)

• recognising and applying cohesion chains in academic writing

• analysing and explaining scientific diagrams and systems