Climate change

According to the UN, climate change will probably transform the way most people live. However, a group of economists, including three Nobel Prize winners, says this is the least important of the world's immediate problems.

The team of six American and two other economists concluded it is not worth spending money on climate change because the effects were expected to happen in a far future. They recommended that money should be spent on HIV/Aids, water and free trade. But they were immediately accused by international development and environment groups of "understanding nothing about the real world". These recommendations, which mainly throw doubts on the idea that there will be a serious climate change in a near future, have been very well received by followers of the free market round the world. On the contrary, the experts’ conclusions have been attacked by many scientists.The leader of this group of economists, Professor Ludgrum, told the journalists they were what he called the "Real Madrid" team of "galactica" economists. "We are here to reach consensus about how to help the world's poor," he said. "We are economists, and not politicians; we have long, valuable experience in giving priority to basic things, and moreover we are impartial”.

ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

1) Why don’t the economists see climate change as a priority?

2) How did the environment groups react to the experts’ conclusions?

ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT.

3) There are not qualified voices within the group of economists.

4) According to the group of economists, there will be a serious climate change in the near future.

5) Nobody agrees with the conclusions of the team of economists.

6) The economists consider themselves the elite of experts.

7) Give one synonym for ATTACK (verb, line 10)

8) Find in the text the word which has the following definition:

“those who got a prize in a competition or in a competitive situation”

9) Find in the text one opposite for UNIMPORTANT (adjective).

10) Give a noun with the same root as EXPECTED (adjective, line 5).

11) Turn the following sentence into reported speech:

He said: “We are here today to reach consensus”

12) Turn the following sentence into the active voice:

Their conclusions have been attacked by many scientists.

13) Give a question for the underlined words.

Money should be spent on HIV/Aids.

14) Complete the following sentence:

If governments spent less money on wars…

WRITE A COMPOSITION (80-100 WORDS). CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS.

SPECIFY YOUR OPTION.

a) Do you think that fighting climate change should be a real priority? Why?

b) What can be done to improve environmental conditions?