# PTE SWT #24: Climate Change and Economic...

Summarize Written Text #24 - Level 3 - Feeds Writing + Reading

> Read the passage below and summarize it using one sentence. Type your response in the box at the bottom of the screen. You have 10 minutes to finish this task. Your response will be judged on the quality of your answer.

When major crops wither, it can have knock-on effects across the ocean and show up on your grocery bill. Inflation has been climbing in the United States at the highest rate in 40 years, up 9.1 percent over the past 12 months, much of it the result of spiking food and energy prices. The surge has been egged on by the pandemic-beleaguered supply chain and by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But climate change is becoming a driver of inflation, too. Experts are warning that heat, flooding, drought, wildfires and other disasters have been wreaking economic havoc, with worse to come. "If we wish to control inflation, we must address climate change now," David A. Super, a professor of law and economics at Georgetown, wrote in The Hill. Beyond crops, the changing climate has driven up the price of lumber as well as insurance premiums. "Heatflation" might already have something to do with escalating food costs around the world. A heat wave in India this spring devastated wheat plants, leading it to ban exports. In the United States last year, searing heat and drought in the Great Plains scorched the wheat crop and also enabled wheat-munching grasshopper populations to flourish. The grain's price nearly doubled to $10.17 a bushel, its highest level since 2008. Extreme temperatures endanger livestock, too: The heat wave that struck much of the country in June caused thousands of cattle to die of heat stress in Kansas.

## Answer

Climate change drives inflation by impacting crops, lumber, and livestock through extreme weather events like droughts and heatwaves, with experts urging immediate action to address environmental factors that exacerbate rising food and energy prices in the global economy.

## Explanation

A strong response identifies the core link between environmental instability and economic volatility. By citing specific instances of crop failure and supply chain disruption, the writer demonstrates a clear understanding of the causal relationship described in the text.

## Hints

- Focus on the main argument: how does the environment influence the cost of living?
- Select two or three specific examples from the text to illustrate how weather events lead to higher prices.

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