Start practising

Opinion (Agree / Disagree) Environment Task 2

Some believe that tackling environmental issues should be managed by a global organization instead of being handled individually by national governments. Agree disagree questions Do you agree or disagree with this belief?

A full IELTS Writing Task 2 answer to this question, with a paragraph plan, ideas you can use, and the vocabulary that fits this topic.

The question

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Some believe that tackling environmental issues should be managed by a global organization instead of being handled individually by national governments. Agree disagree questions Do you agree or disagree with this belief?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

How to read this question

You are given one statement and asked how far you agree. The examiner is checking that you take a clear position in the introduction and hold it consistently to the conclusion — a partial agreement is fine, an unclear one is not.

Paragraph plan

Introduction — Paraphrase the prompt and state a clear conditional position — agreeing overall while acknowledging that national governments remain indispensable for implementation.

Body 1 — Develop the main argument: why global organisations are better placed than individual governments to address environmental problems.

Body 2 — Introduce the condition: global organisations lack enforcement power and must rely on national governments to implement solutions, adapt them to local conditions, and legislate accordingly.

Conclusion — Restate the conditional position without contradiction. Do not introduce new reasons.

Model essay

Band 8.5–9.0 model essay

310 words

According to some, environmental challenges ought to be addressed by an international body rather than by individual national governments. In my view, while global coordination is essential for issues that transcend borders, national governments should retain primary responsibility for implementation within their own territories.

To begin, a global organisation would be well positioned to tackle environmental problems that no single country can resolve alone, such as ocean pollution or climate change caused by cumulative global emissions. To clarify, since greenhouse gases disperse across borders regardless of their country of origin, unilateral action by one nation often proves insufficient if neighbouring countries continue unrestricted industrial activity. A centralised body could establish binding international targets and monitor compliance, ensuring that every country contributes proportionally rather than allowing free riders to benefit from others' sacrifices while continuing to pollute unchecked. Such coordination would also make it easier to share funding and technology with poorer nations that lack the resources to act alone, thereby narrowing the gap between wealthy and developing economies.

Nevertheless, national governments should retain authority over how environmental policies are enforced domestically. This is attributable to the fact that governments possess a far more accurate understanding of their own country's economic capacity, industrial structure and cultural context than a distant international body could. For instance, a rigid global mandate might impose emissions targets ill-suited to a developing nation still reliant on industrialisation for poverty reduction, whereas a national government can calibrate policy to balance environmental protection with economic necessity. Consequently, an overly centralised approach risks generating resentment and non-compliance rather than genuine cooperation among member states, undermining the very goals it was designed to achieve.

To conclude, although I agree that a global organisation should coordinate efforts on transnational environmental issues, I believe implementation and enforcement should remain the responsibility of individual national governments, who best understand their own domestic circumstances.

Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to read the rest of this essay and unlock every model on the site.

Get free access →

Ideas & vocabulary for this topic

Ideas you can use

  • Introduction: Paraphrase the belief that a global body should manage environmental issues, and state the balanced position: global coordination for cross-border problems, national responsibility for domestic enforcement.
  • Body 1: Agree that a global organisation suits problems no single country can solve alone (e.g. ocean pollution, climate change), through binding targets and shared funding/technology with poorer nations.
  • Body 2: Argue national governments should keep enforcement authority since they understand their own economic capacity and context best, and a rigid global mandate risks being ill-suited and provoking non-compliance.
  • Conclusion: Restate the balanced view: global coordination on cross-border issues, but national governments remain responsible for implementation.
Word or phraseMeaningUsed in a sentence
transcendto go beyond the limits of somethingglobal coordination is essential for issues that transcend borders
unilateral actionaction taken by one party alone, without agreement from othersunilateral action by one nation often proves insufficient
disperseto spread out over a wide areagreenhouse gases disperse across borders regardless of their country of origin
binding targetsofficial goals that participants are legally obliged to meeta centralised body could establish binding international targets
free ridersparties who benefit from a collective effort without contributing to itallowing free riders to benefit from others' sacrifices
calibrateto adjust something carefully to suit specific conditionsa national government can calibrate policy to balance environmental protection with economic necessity
non-compliancefailure to act according to a rule or agreementrisks generating resentment and non-compliance rather than genuine cooperation
mandatean official instruction or authorisation to act in a particular waya rigid global mandate might impose emissions targets ill-suited to a developing nation

Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to see the ideas and vocabulary for this topic and unlock every model on the site.

Get free access →

Write your own answer

Draft your response below and get it marked against all four IELTS criteria — free, no account, one check a day.

0 words Check my answer

Answers checked here may be published on this page, without your name, to help other learners. Nothing else about you is stored.