CELPIP Vocabulary for Environment and Nature

The Celpip Plus team

Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria

Updated October 4, 202613 min read

Environment & Nature collocations for CELPIP

Environmental questions are a natural fit for CELPIP because they mix everyday habits with community decisions. Writing Task 1 may ask you to email your building manager about overflowing recycling bins, or a city office about litter in a local park. Writing Task 2 surveys often ask how a city should spend money on the environment, such as planting trees or building bike lanes. In Speaking, Task 7, Expressing Opinions, may ask whether stores should stop offering plastic bags; Task 3, Describing a Scene, may show volunteers cleaning up a beach; and Task 1, Giving Advice, may involve a friend who wants to waste less at home. These collocations help you talk about pollution, waste and nature precisely.

Verb + noun collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
reduce carbon emissions	lower the amount of CO2 released	Cities are trying to reduce carbon emissions by expanding public transit.
protect endangered species	stop at-risk animals and plants from dying out	The new reserve was created to protect endangered species in the region.
conserve natural resources	use resources like water and forests carefully	Simple habits, such as shorter showers, help conserve natural resources.
tackle climate change	actively work to deal with climate change	Every level of government is under pressure to tackle climate change.
raise environmental awareness	help people understand environmental issues	The school assembly aimed to raise environmental awareness among students.
preserve biodiversity	protect the variety of life in an area	Protecting wetlands is one of the best ways to preserve biodiversity.
combat deforestation	fight against the clearing of forests	Several conservation groups plant trees to combat deforestation.
promote renewable energy	encourage the use of clean energy sources	The town offers small grants to promote renewable energy in homes.
minimize your carbon footprint	reduce your personal environmental impact	Cycling to work is one way to minimize your carbon footprint.
restore natural habitats	return damaged land or water to a healthy state	Volunteers spent the weekend helping restore natural habitats along the river.
curb pollution	limit or reduce pollution	The city added bike lanes downtown partly to curb pollution.
adopt sustainable practices	start using environmentally responsible methods	More companies are choosing to adopt sustainable practices, such as composting.

Adjective + noun collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
renewable energy	power from sources that don't run out, like sun or wind	Many households are switching to renewable energy to cut costs.
a protected area	land or water where nature is kept safe by rules	Campfires are not allowed in some parts of the protected area.
extreme weather	unusually severe weather events	This summer brought extreme weather to much of the country.
rising sea levels	ocean levels increasing as ice melts	Some coastal towns are already planning for rising sea levels.
greenhouse gases	gases that trap heat and warm the planet	Cars are a major source of greenhouse gases in cities.
sustainable development	growth that doesn't use up future resources	The plan focuses on sustainable development rather than rapid expansion.
a fragile ecosystem	a natural system that is easily damaged	A single oil spill could badly damage a fragile ecosystem like this bay.
pristine wilderness	untouched, unspoiled natural land	The park protects a large area of pristine wilderness.
eco-friendly products	goods designed to cause less environmental harm	The store now stocks a wide range of eco-friendly products.
a severe drought	a long period with very little rain	Farmers struggled through a severe drought last year.
poor air quality	polluted, unhealthy air	Wildfire smoke caused poor air quality across the region for a week.
a carbon-neutral lifestyle	a way of living that adds no net CO2	She is working toward a carbon-neutral lifestyle, starting with her commute.

Phrasal verbs

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
cut down on (waste)	reduce the amount of something	Our office is trying to cut down on paper waste this year.
phase out (plastic)	gradually stop using something	Our town plans to phase out plastic straws at city events.
clean up (a park or river)	remove litter or pollution from a place	Volunteers gathered on Saturday to clean up the local river.
die out (a species)	disappear completely over time	Without protection, this frog species could die out within decades.
run out of (resources)	have none left	Some regions are at risk of running out of fresh water.
give off (fumes)	release gas, heat or a smell	Older furnaces give off more fumes than newer models.
break down (biodegrade)	decompose naturally over time	Plastic can take hundreds of years to break down.
pile up (garbage)	build up in a growing amount	Garbage began to pile up after the strike delayed collection.
wipe out (a species)	destroy completely, often quickly	A single storm can wipe out a fragile coastal ecosystem.
cut back on (consumption)	use less of something	Many families are trying to cut back on electricity use.
clamp down on (illegal logging)	take strict action to stop something	Authorities have started to clamp down on illegal logging.
switch over to (solar power)	change from one system to another	The factory recently switched over to solar power.

Formal and spoken phrases for environment and nature

These phrases belong to environmental situations. Use the formal ones in a Writing Task 1 email to a building manager or city office, or in a Writing Task 2 survey response about a green project, and the spoken ones when you talk about your own habits in Speaking.

Formal phrases for Writing

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
the environmental impact (of)	the effect something has on nature	The environmental impact of single-use coffee cups is hard to ignore.
reduce landfill waste	send less garbage to landfills	A building composting program would reduce landfill waste considerably.
green space	parks and other areas of grass and trees in a city	Residents need more green space as the neighbourhood grows.
a recycling program	an organized system for collecting recyclable items	The building's recycling program is confusing for new tenants.
overflowing bins	garbage or recycling bins that are too full	The overflowing bins behind the building have started to attract raccoons.
energy-efficient appliances	machines that use less electricity	Replacing the old fridges with energy-efficient appliances would lower our bills.
long-term environmental benefits	good effects on nature that last for years	Planting trees offers long-term environmental benefits, such as cooler streets.
an environmentally responsible choice	a decision that limits harm to nature	Walking children to school is an environmentally responsible choice.
a community clean-up	an event where neighbours remove litter together	The residents' association organizes a community clean-up every April.

Spoken phrases for Speaking

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
go green	start living in a more eco-friendly way	We've been trying to go green at home, starting with composting.
a reusable bag	a bag you use again and again	I always keep a reusable bag in my backpack.
the green bin	a city bin for food scraps (the name varies by city)	Coffee grounds and banana peels go in the green bin.
pick up litter	collect garbage that people have dropped	We picked up litter along the beach on Saturday morning.
it's such a waste	it's a shame that something is not used	The cafeteria throws out so much food. It's such a waste.
get out into nature	spend time outdoors, away from the city	I try to get out into nature at least once a weekend.
wildfire smoke	smoke from forest fires that spreads into towns	The wildfire smoke was so bad in August that we kept the windows closed.
eco-conscious	careful about your effect on the environment	I'm pretty eco-conscious, but I still drive to work in the winter.

Connectors such as "with this in mind" and chunks such as "to be honest" fit any topic, so they are collected on two shared pages: Formal Phrases for CELPIP Writing and Natural Spoken Phrases for CELPIP Speaking.

Worked examples

Writing Task 2: Trees or bike lanes

Prompt: Your city has money for one environmental project this year and is asking residents to choose. Choose the option you prefer and explain why.

Option A: Plant 5,000 trees along streets and in parks.
Option B: Build a network of protected bike lanes downtown.

I would choose Option A, because planting trees would help every resident, not only people who cycle.

First, trees offer long-term environmental benefits. They absorb greenhouse gases, and their shade matters more each summer as we face more extreme weather. Last July, the streets near my apartment were so hot that many seniors stayed inside for days. Rows of trees would make those streets cooler and help curb pollution along busy roads.

Second, many neighbourhoods in our city have very little green space. New trees in parks would give families a place to relax and would help restore natural habitats for birds and insects. In this way, the project would preserve biodiversity in the middle of the city.

I agree that bike lanes would reduce carbon emissions if enough people used them. However, our winters are long, and many residents would only cycle for a few months a year. Trees work in every season, and once they are planted, they need relatively little upkeep.

For these reasons, I believe Option A is the better use of the money.

The answer names its choice in the first sentence, gives two reasons with a local example, and answers the strongest point for Option B.

Speaking Task 7: Expressing Opinions

Prompt: Some people think grocery stores should stop offering plastic bags completely. Others think customers should be allowed to choose. What is your opinion? Explain why.

In my opinion, grocery stores should stop offering plastic bags completely, and I have two reasons.

First, plastic bags create waste that lasts a very long time. A bag might be used for twenty minutes, but it can take hundreds of years to break down. In my neighbourhood, I see bags caught in trees and floating in the creek behind the school. When our community group held a clean-up last spring, plastic bags were the most common litter we picked up. If stores phase out plastic bags, there will be much less garbage piling up in parks and rivers.

Second, the change is easy for shoppers. Most people already own a few reusable bags. At first, people might leave them in the car, but habits change quickly. When my local store started charging for bags, I started keeping two in my backpack, and now I never forget them.

Some people say a ban is unfair to families who buy a lot of groceries. That's a fair point, but stores can sell sturdy boxes or paper bags instead. To me, it's a simple way to cut down on waste, conserve natural resources and raise environmental awareness, especially among kids who see their parents bring their own bags.

A clear opinion, two reasons with personal examples, and a short answer to the other side fill the 90 seconds.

CLB 7 vs CLB 9: one sentence, two ways

CLB 7 version: The city wants to stop plastic bags slowly because they make a lot of garbage.

CLB 9 version: The city plans to phase out plastic bags, because they take centuries to break down and keep piling up in landfills.

What changed: "stop … slowly" became the phrasal verb "phase out", and "make a lot of garbage" became two phrasal verbs, "break down" and "pile up", that explain the problem.

Common mistakes

"We must protect the nature" → We must protect nature. "Nature" and "climate change" take no article when you mean them in general.
"The government should make pollution less" → The government should curb pollution or reduce pollution.
"We need to preserve water" → We need to conserve water. You conserve resources by using less of them; you preserve habitats, forests and traditions by keeping them unchanged.
"Danger species" or "endangering species" → endangered species.
"There is bad air today" (in a formal response) → air quality is poor today. "Bad air" is understandable in conversation, but "poor air quality" is the standard phrase in writing.
"We should cut off plastic" → We should cut down on plastic. "Cut off" means disconnecting something, such as a power supply.
"The town will phase off plastic straws" → phase out plastic straws.
"The storm died out the forest" → The storm wiped out the forest. "Wipe out" means destroy, usually quickly; "die out" means slowly disappear, and it has no object.
"Old cars give out a lot of fumes" → Old cars give off a lot of fumes. "Give out" means hand out or stop working.
"I make recycling every week" → I recycle every week or I put out the recycling every week.
"We should economize water" → We should save water or conserve water.
"Nature-friendly products" → eco-friendly products or environmentally friendly products.
"People throw garbage on the floor in the park" → People drop litter on the ground in the park. Outdoors, the surface is "the ground"; "the floor" is inside a building.

Practise

Vocabulary flashcards and quizzes: review these collocations until they come to mind without effort.
Writing Task 2 practice: answer a survey about a green project in your city and use at least five collocations from this page.
Speaking Task 7 practice: give your opinion on an environmental question using "cut down on", "phase out" and "reduce carbon emissions".

vocabulary

CELPIP Vocabulary for Environment and Nature

The Celpip Plus team

Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria

Updated October 4, 202613 min read

Environment & Nature collocations for CELPIP

Verb + noun collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
reduce carbon emissions	lower the amount of CO2 released	Cities are trying to reduce carbon emissions by expanding public transit.
protect endangered species	stop at-risk animals and plants from dying out	The new reserve was created to protect endangered species in the region.
conserve natural resources	use resources like water and forests carefully	Simple habits, such as shorter showers, help conserve natural resources.
tackle climate change	actively work to deal with climate change	Every level of government is under pressure to tackle climate change.
raise environmental awareness	help people understand environmental issues	The school assembly aimed to raise environmental awareness among students.
preserve biodiversity	protect the variety of life in an area	Protecting wetlands is one of the best ways to preserve biodiversity.
combat deforestation	fight against the clearing of forests	Several conservation groups plant trees to combat deforestation.
promote renewable energy	encourage the use of clean energy sources	The town offers small grants to promote renewable energy in homes.
minimize your carbon footprint	reduce your personal environmental impact	Cycling to work is one way to minimize your carbon footprint.
restore natural habitats	return damaged land or water to a healthy state	Volunteers spent the weekend helping restore natural habitats along the river.
curb pollution	limit or reduce pollution	The city added bike lanes downtown partly to curb pollution.
adopt sustainable practices	start using environmentally responsible methods	More companies are choosing to adopt sustainable practices, such as composting.

Adjective + noun collocations

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
renewable energy	power from sources that don't run out, like sun or wind	Many households are switching to renewable energy to cut costs.
a protected area	land or water where nature is kept safe by rules	Campfires are not allowed in some parts of the protected area.
extreme weather	unusually severe weather events	This summer brought extreme weather to much of the country.
rising sea levels	ocean levels increasing as ice melts	Some coastal towns are already planning for rising sea levels.
greenhouse gases	gases that trap heat and warm the planet	Cars are a major source of greenhouse gases in cities.
sustainable development	growth that doesn't use up future resources	The plan focuses on sustainable development rather than rapid expansion.
a fragile ecosystem	a natural system that is easily damaged	A single oil spill could badly damage a fragile ecosystem like this bay.
pristine wilderness	untouched, unspoiled natural land	The park protects a large area of pristine wilderness.
eco-friendly products	goods designed to cause less environmental harm	The store now stocks a wide range of eco-friendly products.
a severe drought	a long period with very little rain	Farmers struggled through a severe drought last year.
poor air quality	polluted, unhealthy air	Wildfire smoke caused poor air quality across the region for a week.
a carbon-neutral lifestyle	a way of living that adds no net CO2	She is working toward a carbon-neutral lifestyle, starting with her commute.

Phrasal verbs

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
cut down on (waste)	reduce the amount of something	Our office is trying to cut down on paper waste this year.
phase out (plastic)	gradually stop using something	Our town plans to phase out plastic straws at city events.
clean up (a park or river)	remove litter or pollution from a place	Volunteers gathered on Saturday to clean up the local river.
die out (a species)	disappear completely over time	Without protection, this frog species could die out within decades.
run out of (resources)	have none left	Some regions are at risk of running out of fresh water.
give off (fumes)	release gas, heat or a smell	Older furnaces give off more fumes than newer models.
break down (biodegrade)	decompose naturally over time	Plastic can take hundreds of years to break down.
pile up (garbage)	build up in a growing amount	Garbage began to pile up after the strike delayed collection.
wipe out (a species)	destroy completely, often quickly	A single storm can wipe out a fragile coastal ecosystem.
cut back on (consumption)	use less of something	Many families are trying to cut back on electricity use.
clamp down on (illegal logging)	take strict action to stop something	Authorities have started to clamp down on illegal logging.
switch over to (solar power)	change from one system to another	The factory recently switched over to solar power.

Formal and spoken phrases for environment and nature

Formal phrases for Writing

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
the environmental impact (of)	the effect something has on nature	The environmental impact of single-use coffee cups is hard to ignore.
reduce landfill waste	send less garbage to landfills	A building composting program would reduce landfill waste considerably.
green space	parks and other areas of grass and trees in a city	Residents need more green space as the neighbourhood grows.
a recycling program	an organized system for collecting recyclable items	The building's recycling program is confusing for new tenants.
overflowing bins	garbage or recycling bins that are too full	The overflowing bins behind the building have started to attract raccoons.
energy-efficient appliances	machines that use less electricity	Replacing the old fridges with energy-efficient appliances would lower our bills.
long-term environmental benefits	good effects on nature that last for years	Planting trees offers long-term environmental benefits, such as cooler streets.
an environmentally responsible choice	a decision that limits harm to nature	Walking children to school is an environmentally responsible choice.
a community clean-up	an event where neighbours remove litter together	The residents' association organizes a community clean-up every April.

Spoken phrases for Speaking

Collocation	Meaning	Example sentence
go green	start living in a more eco-friendly way	We've been trying to go green at home, starting with composting.
a reusable bag	a bag you use again and again	I always keep a reusable bag in my backpack.
the green bin	a city bin for food scraps (the name varies by city)	Coffee grounds and banana peels go in the green bin.
pick up litter	collect garbage that people have dropped	We picked up litter along the beach on Saturday morning.
it's such a waste	it's a shame that something is not used	The cafeteria throws out so much food. It's such a waste.
get out into nature	spend time outdoors, away from the city	I try to get out into nature at least once a weekend.
wildfire smoke	smoke from forest fires that spreads into towns	The wildfire smoke was so bad in August that we kept the windows closed.
eco-conscious	careful about your effect on the environment	I'm pretty eco-conscious, but I still drive to work in the winter.

Worked examples

Writing Task 2: Trees or bike lanes

Prompt: Your city has money for one environmental project this year and is asking residents to choose. Choose the option you prefer and explain why.

Option A: Plant 5,000 trees along streets and in parks.
Option B: Build a network of protected bike lanes downtown.

I would choose Option A, because planting trees would help every resident, not only people who cycle.

First, trees offer long-term environmental benefits. They absorb greenhouse gases, and their shade matters more each summer as we face more extreme weather. Last July, the streets near my apartment were so hot that many seniors stayed inside for days. Rows of trees would make those streets cooler and help curb pollution along busy roads.

Second, many neighbourhoods in our city have very little green space. New trees in parks would give families a place to relax and would help restore natural habitats for birds and insects. In this way, the project would preserve biodiversity in the middle of the city.

I agree that bike lanes would reduce carbon emissions if enough people used them. However, our winters are long, and many residents would only cycle for a few months a year. Trees work in every season, and once they are planted, they need relatively little upkeep.

For these reasons, I believe Option A is the better use of the money.

The answer names its choice in the first sentence, gives two reasons with a local example, and answers the strongest point for Option B.

Speaking Task 7: Expressing Opinions

Prompt: Some people think grocery stores should stop offering plastic bags completely. Others think customers should be allowed to choose. What is your opinion? Explain why.

In my opinion, grocery stores should stop offering plastic bags completely, and I have two reasons.

First, plastic bags create waste that lasts a very long time. A bag might be used for twenty minutes, but it can take hundreds of years to break down. In my neighbourhood, I see bags caught in trees and floating in the creek behind the school. When our community group held a clean-up last spring, plastic bags were the most common litter we picked up. If stores phase out plastic bags, there will be much less garbage piling up in parks and rivers.

Second, the change is easy for shoppers. Most people already own a few reusable bags. At first, people might leave them in the car, but habits change quickly. When my local store started charging for bags, I started keeping two in my backpack, and now I never forget them.

Some people say a ban is unfair to families who buy a lot of groceries. That's a fair point, but stores can sell sturdy boxes or paper bags instead. To me, it's a simple way to cut down on waste, conserve natural resources and raise environmental awareness, especially among kids who see their parents bring their own bags.

A clear opinion, two reasons with personal examples, and a short answer to the other side fill the 90 seconds.

CLB 7 vs CLB 9: one sentence, two ways

CLB 7 version: The city wants to stop plastic bags slowly because they make a lot of garbage.

CLB 9 version: The city plans to phase out plastic bags, because they take centuries to break down and keep piling up in landfills.

What changed: "stop … slowly" became the phrasal verb "phase out", and "make a lot of garbage" became two phrasal verbs, "break down" and "pile up", that explain the problem.

Common mistakes

"We must protect the nature" → We must protect nature. "Nature" and "climate change" take no article when you mean them in general.
"The government should make pollution less" → The government should curb pollution or reduce pollution.
"We need to preserve water" → We need to conserve water. You conserve resources by using less of them; you preserve habitats, forests and traditions by keeping them unchanged.
"Danger species" or "endangering species" → endangered species.
"There is bad air today" (in a formal response) → air quality is poor today. "Bad air" is understandable in conversation, but "poor air quality" is the standard phrase in writing.
"We should cut off plastic" → We should cut down on plastic. "Cut off" means disconnecting something, such as a power supply.
"The town will phase off plastic straws" → phase out plastic straws.
"The storm died out the forest" → The storm wiped out the forest. "Wipe out" means destroy, usually quickly; "die out" means slowly disappear, and it has no object.
"Old cars give out a lot of fumes" → Old cars give off a lot of fumes. "Give out" means hand out or stop working.
"I make recycling every week" → I recycle every week or I put out the recycling every week.
"We should economize water" → We should save water or conserve water.
"Nature-friendly products" → eco-friendly products or environmentally friendly products.
"People throw garbage on the floor in the park" → People drop litter on the ground in the park. Outdoors, the surface is "the ground"; "the floor" is inside a building.

Practise

Vocabulary flashcards and quizzes: review these collocations until they come to mind without effort.
Writing Task 2 practice: answer a survey about a green project in your city and use at least five collocations from this page.
Speaking Task 7 practice: give your opinion on an environmental question using "cut down on", "phase out" and "reduce carbon emissions".