2015 GCE A Level Q6.

2015 GCE A Level Q6. In your society, how well are the demands for the economy and the environment balanced?

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The question begins with an assumption that the economy is opposed to the environment, and thus a need for balancing. To the extent that concrete measures have been put in place to safeguard our environment from collapsing while pursuing economic prosperity, these demands have been well-balanced. However, many of these measures are counter-active in nature; they seek to correct, but not to create sustainable systems to balance the economy and the environment. Nevertheless, a deeper question that we must ask is this – is such a precarious balancing act, at all, desirable?

It must first be acknowledged that there is at least a consensus across the society to balance economic demands and environmental concerns. At the governmental level, committees such as the National Climate Change Secretariat and the National Environment Agency push for bold safeguards for our environment while ensuring they are sustainable with economic plans. Grassroots and NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund also contribute greatly to ensuring this balance does not tilt against environmental efforts. Corporates, too, balance their profit agendas with strong Corporate Social Responsibility programmes that champion sustainability (for instance, the Lien Foundation). Such cross-cutting efforts across sectors provide much needed partnership for maintaining the delicate balance.