One of the most important aspects of the new IB chemistry programme for first exams in 2016 is the emphasis put on environmental chemistry. Topics such as global warming, acid deposition and ozone depletion all form part of the new core and all four options have an environmental strand. Why this is so important has been highlighted this week.  Members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meeting in Yokohama, Japan have just issued the most serious warning yet about the likely effects of climate change. They have said that these changes are likely to be severe, pervasive and irreversible. They conclude that health, homes, food and safety will all be severely affected worldwide.  Their report is based on an analysis of over twelve thousand peer-reviewed scientific articles on climate change. They highlight the threat due to the coral reef because of increase acidification of sea-water, the migration of animals, humans and plants to higher ground as the temperature increases, more than 25% loss of crops worldwide and a 50% decrease in the amount of fish being caught in certain areas such as the tropics and Antarctic. Human safety will be put at risk by higher temperatures leading to heat related mortality and an increase in deaths form the effects of flooding.

Perhaps the irony of the new IB chemistry syllabus is that the people writing it instinctively realised the importance of environmental chemistry and yet it does not match up with the new aims. In the old programme Aim 8 received considerable prominence and was even specifically examined. It stated the importance of, “raising awareness of the moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of using science and technology. “The new Aim 8 in the 2014 Guide states, “become critically aware, as global citizens, of the ethical implications of using science and technology”. Compared to the last guide the importance of moral, social, economic and environmental implications has been omitted. Perhaps some would claim that these are covered by the term ‘global citizen’ but surely global citizens should also be ethical so if word ethical is retained in the current guide it implies all the other four implications are no longer relevant. Two indications that the people writing the new programme were not aware of this change to Aim 8 appear on pages 53 and 82 of the new 2014 Guide. Under ozone depletion on both pages 53 and 82 it states the old “Aim 8: Moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications” - not the new Aim 8 which does not specifically include any environmental factors.

The guide that is currently published contains several errors and, along with the data booklet and the specimen papers, is being  revised and republished before the teaching of the new programme starts in September 2014. It is to be hoped that during this revision the IB also considers reviewing and changing the wording to Aim 8 to include environmental issues for all the Group 4 subjects.