ESS Aims (From the IB for first assessment 2026)
ESS aims to empower and equip students to:
- develop understanding of their own environmental impact in the broader context of the impact of humanity on the Earth and its biosphere,
- develop knowledge of diverse perspectives to address issues of sustainability,
- engage in and evaluate the tensions around environmental issues using critical thinking ,
- develop a systems approach to provide a holistic lens for the exploration of environmental issues, and
- be inspired to engage in environmental issues across local and global contexts.
Refer also to the individual and societies aims, and sciences aims.
Topic 1 Foundation in ESS is divided into three subtopics. All of these subtopics are covered in the same level for SL and HL and should be taught at the beginning of the program. The ESS emphasises on the use of the 3 key concepts throughout the syllabus. These key concepts should be well understood first (in Topic 1) so that exploration of the other topics in the ESS can be linkedThese key concepts are:
In addition to the foundation ESS key concepts, the HL students are required to use HL lenses in al topics. These lenses are a tool view and discuss different environmental perspectives, systems and sustainability. The HL lenses include:
HL.a Law
HL.b Economics
HL.c Ethics
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