Buổi 50: Writing Task 2 – Discussion: vấn đề toàn cầu cần giải pháp toàn cầu hay địa phương? Dự đoán và bác bỏ phản đề

Problems such as climate change and pollution cross national borders, which leads some to argue that only agreements between governments can address them. Others place their faith in what communities and individuals can do themselves. In my view, international agreements are indispensable, but they succeed only when local action gives them substance.

The case for international agreements rests on scale and fairness. A single country that reduces its emissions or bans certain chemicals may bear the costs while its neighbours enjoy the benefits, and without shared rules, each government has a reason to wait for others to act first. Agreements can set common standards, provide ways of checking whether countries keep their promises and, crucially, reassure each party that it will not be acting alone.

Supporters of local action, on the other hand, point out that agreements are often slow to negotiate and weakly enforced. Communities, by contrast, can act immediately: a town can improve its public transport, a group of residents can organise waste collection, and successful projects can be copied elsewhere. Such initiatives also have the advantage of being visible, which tends to build public support for wider change.

The most serious objection to my view is that local efforts are simply too small to matter on a global scale. This is a fair point, in that no single community can reduce global pollution by itself. What this objection overlooks, however, is that international agreements are themselves carried out locally. A national target means little unless cities, businesses and households change what they do, and governments are more willing to sign ambitious agreements when they can see that their citizens are already acting. It follows that the two approaches are complementary rather than competing.

In conclusion, while global problems require global frameworks, those frameworks depend on local action to become real. The question is not which level matters more, but how effectively the two are connected.

Summary of decisions – regional planning call 1. The pilot will start on Monday 7 December in two offices only. 2. Each office will send its data to Ana by Friday 4 December (local time). 3. Duc will prepare a one-page guide for staff by Wednesday 2 December. 4. We will review results together on Thursday 17 December. Please reply to this email if anything above is incorrect.