IB DP ESS 6.2 Climate Change Causes - Teaching Notes & PowerPoint 2026

IB DP ESS 6.2 Climate Change Causes Teaching Notes & PowerPoint 2026

This comprehensive teaching and revision resource covers the Climate Change Causes topic (Topic 6.2) from the IB Diploma Programme Environmental Systems and Societies course (first assessment 2026). It is designed to serve two purposes: as supplemental teaching notes for instructors and as revision material for students.

Editable PowerPoint Version Included

In addition to the printable PDF version, this resource includes an editable PowerPoint presentation that mirrors the full content. Teachers may add, remove, or adapt slides, embed case studies, climate data, or videos, and tailor lessons to suit different learning needs. This makes it suitable for classroom teaching, flipped learning, and independent revision.

What Makes This Resource Useful for ESS Teachers

Follows the Subject Guide Directly
The content is organised according to the IB ESS subject guide and covers all required assessment statements for Topic 6.2 in a clear and logical order, ensuring full syllabus coverage and easy lesson sequencing.

Helpful for New Teachers
If you are new to teaching ESS, this resource provides a structured pathway through climate systems, greenhouse gases, and anthropogenic drivers of climate change, significantly reducing planning time.

Dual-Purpose Design
Use the material as your own teaching notes or provide it directly to students as structured revision notes. The explanations are accessible for independent study while maintaining the depth required for IB assessment preparation.

Content Included

• Structure and functioning of the climate system
• Natural vs anthropogenic causes of climate change
• The natural greenhouse effect and enhanced greenhouse effect
• Major greenhouse gases and their relative impacts
• Fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and agriculture as key drivers
• Historical climate evidence from ice cores, tree rings, and sediment data
• Global temperature trends and carbon dioxide correlations
• Positive and negative feedback mechanisms in climate systems
• Albedo changes and feedback loops
• Systems diagrams and cause-and-effect relationships
• Links between greenhouse gas concentrations and global warming
• Key terminology and definitions highlighted for revision
• Diagrams, charts, and structured summaries to support conceptual understanding

Human activities such as fossil fuel use, deforestation, and industrialisation have significantly increased greenhouse gas concentrations, intensifying the greenhouse effect and contributing to global warming and climate change.

This is a straightforward, curriculum-aligned teaching tool that presents the Climate Change Causes topic in a clear, organised format, making complex atmospheric and climate concepts easier to teach, understand, and revise for IB ESS assessments.