Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management 0680/12 is the May/June 2026 Paper 1 (Theory), variant 2. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, is worth 80 marks and is sat by every 0680 candidate. It had seven compulsory questions: three short ones in Section A (20 marks) and four longer ones in Section B (60 marks). The biggest was Question 7 on climate change in the Arctic, worth 20 marks and ending in the paper’s only levels-marked question. This guide goes through the paper question by question and shows what the official mark scheme gave marks for. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of both 0680 papers from this series, see IGCSE Environmental Management 0680 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

0680/12 at a glance

Section	Question	Topic	Marks
A	1	Domestic electricity use in the USA and fracking	8
A	2	Trees against soil erosion, other strategies, desertification	7
A	3	Dams and fresh water	5
B	4	Malaria and cholera: data, drones, a field investigation	15
B	5	Carbon capture with basalt	9
B	6	Landfill sites, recycled tyres, bioremediation, landfill tax	16
B	7	Climate change in the Arctic	20
		Total	80

Question-by-question walkthrough

Question 1: electricity and fracking (8 marks)

A table gave the percentage of US domestic electricity used for five purposes, with “other” left blank.

• Pie chart key (1 mark): the six labels had to match the sectors in order.
• The “other” percentage (1 mark): 100 − (10 + 15 + 8.5 + 11 + 10.5) = 45%. The scheme notes there is no error carried forward here, because the value comes straight from the table.
• Why the borehole goes deeper than 300 m (1 mark): to get below the ground water and the igneous rock, to reach the sedimentary (shale) rock, because that is where the shale gas is. Calling the igneous layer a cap on the gas was also allowed.
• Why high pressure is used (1 mark): to open up or create cracks (fractures) in the rock.
• The role of sand (1 mark): it keeps the cracks open. “Proppant” was accepted.
• Two substances collected at the surface (2 marks): methane (shale or natural gas), water, and waste products such as sediment or used chemicals. Oil was also allowed. “Gas” on its own was ignored, and so was “rock”.
• The sedimentary rock (1 mark): shale. Sandstone, limestone, chalk and coal seams were also allowed, but slate was rejected because it is metamorphic.

Question 2: soil erosion and desertification (7 marks)

• How a row of trees reduces erosion (3 marks): it acts as a windbreak (shelter belt), roots bind the soil, roots reduce run-off and water erosion, trees reduce wind speed and so wind erosion, and leaves increase interception of rain.
• Two other strategies (2 marks): terracing, contour ploughing, bunds, keeping vegetation cover (cover crops, managed grazing), and adding organic matter or mulch. Intercropping, crop rotation and trickle irrigation were allowed. Windbreaks were ignored because the question had already shown them, and fertiliser without explanation was rejected.
• Desertification (2 marks): the land becomes dry (lack of rain or drought was allowed) and vegetation is lost, leaving barren land. “Fertility” was ignored.

Question 3: dams (5 marks)

• How a dam creates fresh water (3 marks): a large wall holds back the river to create a reservoir. Writing “dam” for the first point was ignored, since the question already uses the word.
• Two other benefits of a multipurpose dam (2 marks): hydroelectric power, recreation or tourism, fishing, flood control, jobs and better infrastructure. Fresh water was ignored, because the question had already given it.

Question 4: malaria and cholera (15 marks)

• Country with the most estimated deaths (1 mark): Nigeria, read from a log-scale scatter graph comparing two sources’ estimates.
• What the graph shows about the two sources (1 mark): source 1’s estimates are higher, or the sources give different estimates. A positive correlation was allowed. Saying the estimates are similar was ignored.
• Two benefits of spraying rice fields with a drone (2 marks): it is automated and needs less labour, it covers large or hard-to-reach areas, it stops larvae developing into adult mosquitoes and so controls the vector, and it doses areas evenly. Cost and “time” without explanation were ignored.
• Selecting six fields at random (2 marks): give every field a number, letter or grid reference, then pick them by a random method such as a random number generator, drawing from a hat or rolling a die.
• Mean larvae on day 10 (1 mark): 110, with 109 to 111 accepted.
• Conclusion about the insecticide (3 marks): the number of larvae fell overall, it was lower with insecticide than with water (the control), and it fell faster with insecticide. Fewer larvae means fewer adult mosquitoes. A data comparison also scored, such as a final count of about 64 with water against 10 with insecticide (±1).
• Strategies to control cholera (5 marks): eight marking points, any five: better sanitation, providing toilets and discouraging open defecation, handwashing, sewage treatment, treated drinking water, boiling, chlorination and vaccination. “Education” or “awareness” on its own was ignored, and so were filtering and healthcare.

Question 5: carbon capture with basalt (9 marks)

Crushed basalt is spread on fields, rain absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, the water reacts with the basalt to form carbonates, and these are washed into rivers and the sea.

• Rock type (1 mark): igneous.
• The rock cycle process in crushing basalt into small pieces (1 mark): weathering.
• The water cycle process carrying carbonates to rivers (1 mark): surface run-off or through-flow (groundwater flow was allowed).
• Mass of basalt (1 mark): 4 tonnes captures 1 tonne of CO₂, so 4 × 37 = 148 billion tonnes.
• Benefits and limitations (4 marks, maximum 3 from either side): benefits were no specialist equipment, higher crop yields, no cost to farmers and carbon locked away in the sea. Limitations were that it doesn’t reduce emissions at source (a named source such as burning fossil fuels scored separately), huge quantities of basalt are needed, more mining would be required (with a named impact), the effects of storing carbon in the sea are not fully known, and it only works when it rains. Transporting the basalt using fossil fuels was allowed.
• The correct CO₂ graph (1 mark): graph D.

Question 6: landfill (16 marks)

• Three features of an environmental impact assessment (3 marks): identifying impacts, ways to reduce them, plans for restoration, regular monitoring, public consultation, and approval from the authorities. Cost was ignored.
• Why waste is compressed (1 mark): it takes up less space.
• Three management features from the diagram, with reasons (3 marks): each mark needs the feature and its reason. For example: the plastic or clay layer stops soil and ground water pollution, the gas vent removes methane, a greenhouse gas, the cover layer stops waste blowing away, smells and pests, the monitoring wells check for contamination, and removing liquid waste reduces leaching. Three features with no reasons scored only 1.
• Other benefits of roads made with tyre powder and waste stone (4 marks): because the roads crack less, there is less repair and less use of finite resources, which means less air pollution and lower CO₂ emissions, and safer roads. Using the waste also recycles tyres and stone, uses many tyres per kilometre of road, and is sustainable. Copying the question’s information without adding to it scored nothing, and “less landfill” was ignored because the question had already given it.
• Bioremediation (3 marks): microorganisms (or plants) are added to the soil, break down pollutants such as heavy metals, use them as an energy source, and improve the soil and its fertility, so plants can grow and the topsoil builds up.
• Percentage decrease (1 mark): (1500 − 250) ÷ 1500 × 100 = 83% (83.3 also allowed).
• How landfill tax helps (1 mark): it encourages reuse and recycling, or the money raised can fund cleaner strategies or research.

Question 7: climate change in the Arctic (20 marks)

• Why 30 climate stations (1 mark): to obtain representative data. Reliability and avoiding bias were allowed; accuracy was ignored.
• Warmest month (1 mark): July.
• January temperature range (2 marks): one mark for reading the right values (−30 and −37.5) and one for the answer 7.5 °C. Error carried forward applied from misread values.
• Total mean precipitation (1 mark): adding the twelve monthly means gives 138.5 mm.
• Bar chart (4 marks): both axes labelled, with mm on the precipitation axis; a linear scale so the bars fill at least half the grid; 10 to 12 bars plotted correctly (to within half a small square); and bars of equal width.
• Summer sea ice lost from 1979 to 2023 (1 mark): circle 30%.
• Two benefits of pumping sea water onto the ice to freeze (2 marks): it replaces lost sea ice, thickens it, makes it slower to melt, and draws on a plentiful supply of sea water. Restoring albedo (more sunlight reflected) was allowed.
• Two limitations (2 marks): the pumps need energy, possibly from fossil fuels, it is costly, it needs skilled labour, the location is remote, the cold is hard on people and machines, many holes would be needed to cover the Arctic, and the effects on the ocean ecosystem are unknown. “Time consuming” was ignored.

7(f) “The biggest impact of climate change is ice sheet melting” (6 marks). The only levels-marked question on the paper:

• Level 1 (1–2): limited development, possibly a list, with little or no evaluation.
• Level 2 (3–4): a conclusion that is developed and supported, but the evaluation may be one-sided and the detail may be patchy.
• Level 3 (5–6): a coherent answer that develops and supports its conclusion with relevant detail and examples, uses vocabulary precisely, and is likely to be balanced.

For the statement, the scheme listed sea level rise, flooding and loss of land, salinisation and contaminated ground water, loss of life, homes and jobs, crop failure and drowned livestock, more water-related disease, migration, and the speed and possible irreversibility of the melting. Against it, the scheme listed other impacts of climate change that could be bigger: extreme weather, rising temperatures, crop failure, forced migration, invasive species and loss of biodiversity and habitat. It also allowed the point that other impacts have similar effects to melting. Make the case on both sides, then say how far you agree and why.

Where the marks are on 0680/12

Type of mark	Questions	Marks
Knowledge, explanation and suggestion (points-based)	1(b), 2, 3, 4(b), 4(e), 5(a), 5(c), 6(a)–(d), 6(e)(ii), 7(e)	51
Reading data and calculations	1(a)(ii), 4(a)(i), 4(d)(i), 5(b), 6(e)(i), 7(b), 7(c)(i), 7(d)	10
Graphs and diagrams	1(a)(i), 4(a)(ii), 5(d), 7(c)(ii)	7
Investigation skills	4(c), 4(d)(ii), 7(a)	6
Extended evaluation (levels)	7(f)	6
Total		80

• Section B is worth three times Section A (60 against 20), and Questions 6 and 7 alone carry 36 marks.
• Several “suggest” and “describe” parts paired a feature with a reason. 6(b)(ii) and 6(c) both capped answers that listed without explaining.
• The calculations are quick marks. Four of the five are worth 1 mark each and need only a single step.

How to self-mark 0680/12 with the mark scheme

1. Learn the abbreviations. A semicolon separates marking points, a slash shows alternatives, M1, M2 and so on number the points, and A, R and I mean accept, reject and ignore. ecf is error carried forward, ora is “or reverse argument”, AW is alternative wording and AVP is any valid point.
2. Tick numbered points, then apply the maximum. In 5(c), no more than 3 marks can come from benefits or from limitations alone, so a list of four benefits scores 3.
3. Read the guidance column for ignores. The scheme ignores answers that repeat what the question already gave you: “dam” in 3(a), fresh water in 3(b), windbreaks in 2(b), less landfill in 6(c).
4. Apply the list rule. For “state two” or “state three” parts, mark only the first answers up to the number asked for, and treat a contradiction as cancelling a correct point.
5. Check units and accepted ranges. 109 to 111 larvae in 4(d)(i); a unit on the precipitation axis of the bar chart; 83 or 83.3 in 6(e)(i).
6. Mark 7(f) by level, not by point count. Find the level description that fits the whole answer, then decide whether you sit at the top or bottom of it.

Sit 0680/12 as a timed mock

You have 105 minutes for 80 marks, about 1.3 minutes per mark.

Block	Marks	Time
Question 1	8	10 minutes
Question 2	7	8 minutes
Question 3	5	6 minutes
Question 4	15	19 minutes
Question 5	9	11 minutes
Question 6	16	20 minutes
Question 7, including the bar chart and 7(f)	20	26 minutes
Check calculations and graph	–	5 minutes

Plan 7(f) before writing: two impacts that support the statement, two other impacts that could be bigger, and a one-line conclusion.

Other May/June 2026 0680 papers

• 0680 Paper 22 (Management in Context)

Practise and download

• Download 0680/12 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• Both 0680 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free IGCSE Environmental Management quiz

Need help with a 0680 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE Environmental Management tutor →

Frequently asked questions

What topics were on 0680 Paper 12 May/June 2026? +

Seven questions: US electricity use and fracking; soil erosion and desertification; dams and fresh water; malaria and cholera control; carbon capture using basalt; landfill design, recycling tyres and bioremediation; and climate change in the Arctic, ending with a 6-mark question on ice sheet melting.

How many marks is 0680/12 and how long is it? +

It is out of 80 marks and lasts 1 hour 45 minutes. Section A (Questions 1 to 3) is worth 20 marks and Section B (Questions 4 to 7) is worth 60. Question 7, on the Arctic, is the biggest at 20 marks.

What were the calculation answers on 0680/12 2026? +

'Other' electricity use was 45%, the mass of basalt needed was 148 billion tonnes, the fall in UK landfill sites was 83%, the January temperature range was 7.5 °C and the total mean precipitation was 138.5 mm. Each answer was worth 1 mark except the temperature range, which was worth 2.

How is the 6-mark question on 0680/12 marked? +

Question 7(f) is marked in three levels: 1–2, 3–4 and 5–6. The top level needs a coherent answer that develops and supports a conclusion with relevant details and examples, and good answers are likely to weigh both sides of the statement.

Does every 0680 candidate sit Paper 12? +

Yes. Environmental Management has no Core or Extended tiers, so every candidate sits Paper 1 (Theory) and Paper 2 (Management in Context). 0680/12 is variant 2 of Paper 1.

Where can I download 0680/12 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management 0680 past papers page.

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