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Expand your IELTS Vocabulary – Environment

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Post 1: Expanding your IELTS Vocabulary - Education

Post 2: Expanding your IELTS Vocabulary - Transportation

Today’s theme is the environment. Just as with our previous posts, we’ll be looking at how to create relevant vocabulary sets on the topic in order to improve your vocabulary for your IELTS. So let’s get started!

Vocabulary sets related to the environment

As you may already know by now, the environment is a very popular IELTS theme. It is particularly common in Speaking Part 3, where you’re expected to discuss the topic in a more general way and in greater depth. Likewise, you could be asked to write about environmental issues in Writing Task 2. Here, you might have to identify causes for specific environmental problems, suggest solutions, predict consequences and/or give your opinion on the subject in a discussion. Below are three sub-topics related to the environment, each containing words or phrases that you can use to elaborate your answers in both the Speaking and Writing modules of the test:

1. Nature

word/phrase	part of speech	meaning	common collocations	example	pronunciation
habitat	noun	the natural environment where an animal or plant lives	natural habitat, wildlife habitat, threatened/endangered habitat, damage/destroy a habitat, conserve/protect a habitat, loss of habitat	I believe new measures are necessary to protect wildlife habitats.	/ˈhæb.ə.tæt/
biodiversity	noun	the number and types of plants and animals in a specific area or in the world	biodiversity loss, biodiversity conservation, global biodiversity, preserve biodiversity	Biodiversity conservation plans should be a priority for governments around the world.	/ˌbaɪ.oʊ.dɪˈvɝː.sə.t̬i/
ecosystem	noun	all the people, animals and plants living in an area and the way they affect each other and the environment	forest ecosystem, healthy ecosystem, maintain the ecosystem, benefit the ecosystem, damage the ecosystem, species in an ecosystem	It is well known that commercial fishing can have a very negative impact on the ecosystem, yet little has been done to address this.	/ˈiː.koʊˌsɪs.təm/
endangered species	noun	a type of plant or animal that might stop existing	save endangered species, critically endangered species	There are many organizations that are committed to saving endangered species.	/ɪnˈdeɪn·dʒərd ˈspi·ʃiz/
vegetation	noun	plants in general	natural vegetation, green vegetation, dense/lush/thick vegetation, native vegetation, destroy the vegetation	The Costa Rican jungles are characterized by thick, green vegetation.	/ˌvedʒ.ˈteɪ.ʃən/

2. Environmental problems

word/phrase	part of speech	meaning	common collocations	example	pronunciation
global warming	noun	a gradual increase in the earth’s temperature caused by gases surrounding the earth	contribute to global warming, combat/fight/tackle global warming	We have to fight global warming before it’s too late.	/ˌɡloʊ.bəl ˈwɔːr.mɪŋ/
pollute	verb	to make air, water or soil dirty	pollute the environment, pollute the air/water/soil	If we continue to pollute our environment, our children and grandchildren will have to pay the consequences.	/pəˈluːt/
deforestation	noun	the cutting down of trees in an area	mass deforestation, illegal deforestation, reduce deforestation	Forest biodiversity is threatened by mass deforestation carried out around the world.	/diːˌfɔːr.əˈsteɪ.ʃən/
climate change	noun	changes in the world’s weather, in particular an increase in temperature, caused by human activity	the impacts/results of climate change, climate change talks, climate change sceptic/denier (someone who does not believe in climate change)	Personally, I don’t think that climate change can do us any good.	/ˈklaɪ.mət ˌtʃeɪndʒ/
extinct	adjective	no longer existing	be extinct, become/go extinct, completely/totally extinct, almost/nearly/practically/virtually extinct	Many species of plants and animals have become extinct due to human activity.	/ɪkˈstɪŋkt/

3. Protecting the environment

word/phrase	part of speech	meaning	common collocations	example	pronunciation
sustainable	adjective	causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to be continued over a long period of time	sustainable growth, sustainable development, sustainable communities, sustainable energy sources	Big companies should donate a percentage of their profits to support sustainable development.	/səˈsteɪ.nə.bəl/
renewable energy	noun	energy that is produced using natural resources such as the wind, sun, etc.	renewable energy industry, renewable energy projects/sources/technology, demand for renewable energy	The environmental benefits of renewable energy are countless.	/rɪˈnuː.ə.bəl ˈen.ɚ.dʒi/
conservation	noun	the protection of animals, plants, natural areas and natural substances	wildlife conservation, energy conservation, water conservation, nature/environmental conservation, conservation area	Energy conservation saves us money and helps the environment.	/ˌkɑːn.sɚˈveɪ.ʃən/
veganism	noun	the practice of not eating or using animal products (e.g. meat, fish, eggs, etc.)	strict veganism	I believe that veganism, clean energy and environmental conservation are the solution to climate change.	/ˈviː.ɡən.ɪ.zəm/
environmentalism	noun	the study of or an interest in the environment and the belief that it must be protected from harmful human activity	promote environmentalism	Some believe that eco-tourism can promote environmentalism.	/ɪnˌvaɪ.rənˈmen.t̬əl.ɪ.zəm/

Idioms related to the environment

idiom	meaning	example
reduce, reuse, recycle	phrase used to encourage people to waste less and use things again to protect the environment	The three R’s - reduce, reuse and recycle - all help to cut down on the amount of waste we produce.
to go green	to change one’s lifestyle to help protect the environment	Grocery stores should go green by using paper bags instead of plastic.
to have a green thumb	to have the ability to grow plants well	My mother has a green thumb and grows most of the fruit and veggies she consumes.
to go solar	to collect solar energy by using solar energy panels	What many people don’t know is that by going solar, they’re also saving money.

Finally, keep in mind that the topic of the environment often goes hand in hand with other common IELTS themes, such as transportation. This increases the chances of having to discuss environmental issues to some extent at some point during the test. It is important that you’re able to determine when you’re being asked to connect topics, in order to use this vocabulary in a flexible way.

Keep checking our blog for our next IELTS vocabulary theme - travel!

By Andrea Castro

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