IELTS writing task 2 answer (11) (a country's development=environmental degradation?) Question: "Pollution and other environmental problems result from a country’s development. Pollution is unavoidable if a country intends to become richer. To what extent do you agree or disagree?" Answer: Environmental deterioration occurs when Earth’s natural resources are depleted, or polluted by harmful emissions. Although I acknowledge that a country’s development can pose a threat to environment, I would argue that whether it actually happens depends on the nation’s law enforcement and the degree of development. In countries, whose industrial development is in early stages, industrialization inevitably results in environmental issues. These countries have insufficient capital and underdeveloped technologies, and try to maximize their profit as poverty is what they are most eager to shake off. Therefore, they ignore environmental protection as it costs a fortune. Haworth village in Victorian Era had an average life-span of 25 years because of water pollution brought by the initial industrial development occurring in the U.K without any environmental law enforcement. When a country’s development reaches a certain phase, the negative consequence of industrialisation will be reduced to a certain degree. These nations have accumulated considerable capital and their technologies are relatively advanced. They start to realise the importance of sustainable development. However, the wealth built is not sufficient to cover the population, economic growth, as a result, is still considered the priority. These countries take steps to alleviate environmental problems after these problems occur. On the other hand, in some fully industrialised nations, environmental degradation is being curbed as further development takes place. The policymakers are under mounting pressure to enforce environmental laws so as to reduce pollution and restore the environment, and they have adequate resources to support environmental projects like reforestation. They adopt environmentally friendly facilities to minimise pollution from the beginning of production activities. This is particularly pronounced in the Northern European countries today. In conclusion, I believe environmental problems are not necessarily caused by a nation’s development. When a country is in post-industrial stages, its level of development can be inversely proportional to the contamination situation.