Decarbonization Solutions
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Provided by: OER Project|Published on: June 20, 2025
Lesson PlansScientist Reviewed
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- In this unit, students will look into some of the solutions to reducing emissions and overcoming the grand challenges of decarbonization.
- Students will participate in research and a debate to explore decarbonizing energy, buildings and goods, agriculture, and transportation.
- This is one of many lessons in the online Climate course by OER Project.
Subjects: Physics, Earth and Space Sciences, Engineering
Authors: OER Project: Climate
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- Many of the articles are written with a conversational tone that students will enjoy.
- The teacher guide is a handy tool, which includes possible answers to the questions, summaries of some of the included resources, and useful tips!
Prerequisites
- Using the Teaching Tools button, students can access a teaching guide with a login and two helpful blog articles.
- The lesson preceding this one is called Exploring the Grand Challenges and teachers may want to have their students go through this lesson before participating in this one.
- Students should understand how to support a claim with evidence.
- Teachers should note that there is no link to the article Getting Alternative Fuels in Use in the Grand Solutions Research Library. There are enough additional resources for this solution to supplement the missing article.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Many strategies for differentiating the lesson and other suggestions are implemented in the teacher guide.
- Teachers can utilize the student-facing platform by assigning the readings and videos as homework, saving time in class for interactive activities.
- For the final debate, students with anxiety or other differences may find it difficult to speak in front of the whole class. Teachers may want to give these students the option to give the presentation in front of just the teacher or to record their presentation ahead of time.
- Teachers can strategically assign the topics for the Grand Challenges Solutions Research. For example, students with high reading stamina can research renewable energy, low-carbon cement, and other solutions that have a lot of article resources. Students with strengths in math skills may benefit from researching one of the solutions that include a data exploration resource.
- Teachers can adapt this lesson to focus on career exploration by highlighting the graphic biographies that feature case studies of people working in their field to reduce emissions.
This resource guides students through understanding the technologies and challenges to decarbonization. Throughout, the connections between sectors and tradeoffs are highlighted. This lesson is strongly grounded in rigorous climate science and features several documents that list sources to help students get started on their own research. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
OER Project
OER Project equips teachers with free, innovative curricula and teaching tools that spark curiosity and inspire critical thinking in students. Our courses place student inquiry at the center of learning, and are designed to be adaptable across age levels and state standards.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
