Prompt: Environmental protection is the responsibility of politicians, not individuals as individuals can do too little. Ċ To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion.

It is considered that it is the government's responsibility to solve environmental problems as the impact of individual efforts is minimal. In my opinion, I entirely agree with this view from a technological perspective. Ċ The first reason I believe environmental protection is the role of the government is that it requires a fundamental shift in the way society operates. The current society is functioning based on the dependence on the use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Therefore, environmental issues could not be alleviated by small changes in people's lifestyles if these unsustainable practices remained unchanged. Industry and construction, for instance, emit significantly larger amounts of greenhouse gases than other areas of society. Ċ Some might argue that individuals are making a major contribution to the environmental deterioration as, admittedly, there is a substantial amount of CO2 emission from households. However, individual efforts of curbing energy use have a minimal positive effect compared to the government investment in technology to shift the way energy is produced and used. The government, for this reason, has a much larger responsibility in reducing the environmental impact. For example, experts in Japan are working on the idea of self-sufficient homes by utilising highly efficient solar panels. By allocating more funds to such development, society would be able to achieve environmental sustainability effectively. Ċ In conclusion, I completely agree with the idea of politicians having a major role in protecting the environment instead of individual people. It is crucial that the government promote technological advancement in order to make a larger shift in energy use.