UN Environmental Programme
Topic: A
Climate Change
Submitted by: Australia
Climate Change is an amusing theory to some people. Only one fourth of
Americans believe in global warming. To Australians, climate change is a reality
that needs a solution now. Australia’s government acknowledges the science
supporting global warming. Global warming is when the sun’s rays emit radiation
causing the Earth to warm. The problem arises when some of the heat remains
trapped by the greenhouse gases of our atmosphere. Some of the greenhouse
gases are water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane. On average, our planet stays
at a temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit.
On December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, an agreement called the Kyoto
Protocol was developed. It was not scheduled to be enforced, however, until
February 16, 2005. The protocol was an agreement signed by the majority of the
world’s developed countries and was intended to help reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and slow global warming. There are 192 countries that signed on to the
protocol, including Australia. Australia’s government is fully committed to
reducing their amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, striving to meet reduced
emissions of 2000 by five percent by the year 2020.
The Kyoto Protocol has forced countries to develop their own plans to
help protect the environment. For example, Norway’s goal is to have a thirty
percent reduction of greenhouses gas emissions by 2020 as compared to 1990.
In December, 2011, parties in the UNEP (United Nations Environment
Programme) established an agreement called the Durban Platform for Enhanced
Action (“ADP”). The ADP is collaborative enforcement program intended to
help countries regulate their systems regulating climate actions. The important
aspect of ADP is that all parties play their part. “We can’t wait until the 2020s to
start cutting emissions. We are going to have to do it this decade,” said Samantha
Smith in 2012, who headed the Global Climate and Energy Initiative of the World
Wildlife Fund. The ADP is to be in effect by 2020, and is intended to complement
the Kyoto Protocol.
In order to efficiently eradicate the problem, all major emitters of
greenhouse gases are responsible for reducing their share of emissions. Australia
and 17 other countries release more than 1% of global emissions each year.
Together these countries emit more than three quarters of global emissions.
Ninety-nine countries have pledged to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
The UNFCCC also invites parties to offers ideas and views on agreements called
submissions. Australia is vocal with their perspective on the agreements and
won’t hesitate to voice its opinions on important issues involving climate change.
Australia is passionate about the topic of climate change and is working for a
solution.
"Kids 4 Clean Air | Pollution | Climate | Recycling." Kids 4 Clean Air |
Pollution | Climate | Recycling. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.clean-air-kids.org.uk/globalwarming.html>.
"Climate Change - Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade." Climate Change - Australian Government Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.dfat.gov.au/issues/climate-ch
Submitted by: Bulgaria
As a wise man once said: “We did not inherit this Earth from our fathers, but
borrowed it from our children.” Today, are we really taking care of our children’s future?
The Earth is not ours to keep, but ours to borrow for a short time. Bulgaria is a fairly
small country, it borders the countries of Romania, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, and
Macedonia. These countries are also affected by climate change. Climate change isn’t
something that affects some of us, but all of us.
The temperature in Bulgaria was originally moderate but over the last 54 years,
heat waves and temperature risings have increased massively. Also, during the last
decade or so, the amount of precipitation has also increased significantly and floods have
become more frequent and are the cause of many casualties, including the damage of
various socioeconomic sectors (Climate change 2). Prognosis for year 2100 warns that
climate change will not only have a negative effect on Bulgaria, but on Europe as a
whole. Sea levels are predicted to increase causing greater dangers of tidal waves and
other natural disasters including forest fires. It is of upmost importance that we as a
Global Community to take necessary actions to adapt to climate change before it’s too
late. We have use of technology, the knowledge of the causes (greenhouse effect, etc.),
the awareness of the issues, and motivation to address this problem thoroughly. We all
must take advantage of our options to prepare for future changes. (Marinov, P. 3).
Rossen Plevneliev, president of Bulgaria, has supported efforts with the newly
organized Climate Summit, and will support the completion of negotiations on the new
Climate Agreement in 2015. Bulgaria is also working on the adoption of a national tactic
to prepare for climate change by 2030. It will be an analysis of each sector and pragmatic
action on health care, management of water and forest resources, agriculture, tourism,
infrastructure and the transportation of energy. In 2014, Bulgaria has adopted a law that
was supplemented by the Third National Action Plan on climate change. The program
changes environmental practices into a low carbon economy, which includes effective
measures to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in Bulgaria by more than
18.5% by 2020 (Bulgarian President 2).
Rossen Plevneliev, our president, stated at the September 2014 General
Assembly, “Over the last few months, Bulgaria and the Balkans have suffered
unprecedented floods. Thousands of people lost their homes, crops were ruined, and
many innocent people died. In other parts of the globe, countries faced extreme draught
and forest fires. Heavy storms were no longer news but everyday life. Nature once again
reminded us that today, political statements alone are not sufficient. For the sake of our
children and our planet, it is time we act. Climate change needs to be urgently addressed.
I would like to thank the Secretary General Ba Ki-Moon for having organized the
Climate Summit.” (General Assembly 4). Bulgaria strongly appeals to this committee to
work together to develop an International plan and protocol to address this devastating
problem. If we don’t act now, then when, or who will?
Works Cited
"Bulgarian President: Climate Change Not an Illusion, Requires Global Response." The
Sofia Globe RSS. Sofia Globe Staff, 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. (1)
Climate change Bulgaria. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2014, from
http://www.climateadaptation.eu/bulgaria/climate-change/ (2
Marinov, P. (2014, February 24). Bulgaria's climate will change drastically by end of 21st
century. Retrieved November 25, 2014. (3)
Plevneliev, Rossen. "General Assembly of the United Nations." Bulgaria. 26 Sept. 2014.
Web. 16 Nov. 2014. (4)
Country: China
Recently, China has faced many natural disasters as a result of climate change,
such as rising sea levels, flooding, and famine. These catastrophes have all led to many
fatalities. Many people have died due to drowning in the high waters and because of
starvation. Flooding has caused the loss of crops and resulted in widespread famine. It
has also cost the country of China over one billion dollars in damages. Climate change is
a global problem that has had a widespread impact. This problem started when human
modernization caused the release of many different greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere. The concentration of gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous
oxide has increased and resulted in shifting weather patterns. The United Nations
Environmental Programme (UNEP) , which was formed to shape environmental policy,
has tried to do many things to fix this issue in China. One of the UNEP's mottos is to
"Raise your Voice, Not the Sea Level"(china.org.cn). In addition to creating a motto, the
UNEP has also taken a stand to try to fix this issue. They have created programs for
"enhancing green development" and "sustaining environmental management".
(UNEP.org) China, in an agreement with UNEP, has agreed "to harness their strengths,
capacities and resources to assist countries of the Global South combat climate
change."(UNEP.org) By working with the UNEP, China has been able to address the
particular issues they face with change.
China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide. China must reduce the
amount of carbon dioxide it produces for there to be a decrease in air pollution.
Additionally China must aim to cut energy consumption by decreasing their usage of
coal. Since 2008, in collaboration with the UNEP, China has made a commitment to
becoming a "green economy." The China Council for International Cooperation on
Environment was formed and headed by Chinese premier Li Keqiang. This council
works closely with the UNEP sending a" message that China is committed to combating
climate change " not only in China, but globally. China has done this by becoming the
world leader in renewable energy production. China must continue to increase its
capacity of wind farms and hold it's place as the leading manufacturer of solar energy.
Actions such as these will help reduce air pollution and start to fix the problems caused
by human modernization.
Bibliography
"UNEP: Climate change undermines development." china.org.cn. Gong Yingchun, June
5, 2014.
Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
"Climate Change." ccwa.org. Cleveland Council on World Affairs, N.d. Web. 10 Dec.
2014.
"New China-UNEP Agreement to Boost South-South Cooperation on Climate Change
Adaptation." UNEP.org. Za Mei, N.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.
Submitted by: India
School: University School
Climate change is one of the world’s most pressing issues, and its consequences have
already been seen throughout the world. India’s climate has been changing dramatically,
creating agricultural problems. We believe the energy crisis is at the forefront of it. We need
to rely more on renewable sources, as will be explained. To start off, most rural villages in
India and other developing countries still rely on old sources of energy, which emit
greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases, which are also produced through the burning of
fossil fuels and coal, rise to the atmosphere and create a blanket around the Earth. Energy
such as visible light gets through, and is absorbed by the ground. But that radiation is reemitted as infrared (The heat we feel), a weaker form of radiation, which can’t escape out of
the greenhouse gas blanket around the Earth, thus, heating the Earth. Some of these
greenhouse gases are methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. A solution to this problem
is using renewable energy, such as solar power, which don’t emit the greenhouse gases. Solar
Panels, one of the most well known renewable energy sources, works by allowing photons to
knock electrons free of atoms, creating a flow of electricity. This process, along with wind
power, hydropower, geothermal energy, and other renewable sources, don’t produce the
harmful gases, rather collecting energy from naturally replenishing sources, such as wind.
India’s energy consumption is mainly composed of coal, petroleum, and nonrenewable fossil fuels that contribute to global warming. Renewable sources are still
expensive and hard to purchase in India. Of India’s energy consumption, 44% of it comes
from coal, while Petroleum, natural gas, and other non-renewable fossil fuels make up most
of India’s other energy. Only 5% of India’s energy is renewable. Many rural parts of India
still have not upgraded to modern sources of energy, and risk being left behind in a energy
and climate reform movement. Some of these places include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Bihar, Bharkland, and Chattisgarh. More international aid for these regions is much needed,
but not necessarily in a monetary form. India has also offered incentives to rural cities to
encourage them to, if not immediately step into renewable energy, upgrade to modern energy
sources. Again, the problem with renewable energy is the price of it. The average price of
solar energy per watt in India is RS 43.4. Statistics show that the average Indian family can’t
afford to upgrade to any sort of modern, renewable source of energy, whether it’s
hydroelectric power, or solar power. In conclusion, we need to find a solution to lower the
price of renewable energy sources in rural and urban areas, and encourage rural villages to
try and upgrade to renewable sources of energy.
In order to fix the crisis, India and other countries need to increase awareness of these
renewable sources, attract companies that produce these sources of energy to the region using
incentives, and additionally incentivize energy consumers to switch to renewable energy. A
solution is an incentive to renewable energy companies, giving them reason to lower prices.
This would also attract these companies to the region. Henceforth, solving the price and
availability issues. Also, urbanization could solve the energy crisis. With more citizens
moving from rural, undeveloped cities to big cities, it would be easier to spread renewable
energy. Although, urbanization poses one other problem; Urbanization would cause more
cars on streets, more energy consumption, which if the project relating to switching to
renewable energy fails, would release harmful levels of greenhouse gasses into the
atmosphere. There is no easy solution to our problem, but with comprehensive reform, we
may be able to turn around the current trend within the next century.
Works Cited:
"Rural Population (% of Total Population) in India." Rural Population (% of
Total Population) in India. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
"Harnessing the Power of One Billion Tourists for a Sustainable Future - UNEP."
Harnessing the Power of One Billion Tourists for a Sustainable Future - UNEP. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
Madagascar
On different parts of the world there are different climates. Many animals
live in these climates are used to the climate and if that suddenly changes, which
has started, animals will lose their habitat (climatechange.gov.au), especially in
the Arctic. The heat will lead to Arctic animals homes to melt. The animals will
then move to a new place where they don’t belong. Climate change started from
a greenhouse and gases traveled to the asthenosphere. Changing weather
patterns are causing major problems to the environment. Food reproduction will
be reduced to a maximum in a result of the climate change.
Madagascar hasn’t come up with a solution for its country yet. We have
started to process a solution to how they can adjust to the climate change, how
they can help there selves and animals. There is over a 90% probability that
human activities warmed the planet for 250 years, and since the Industrial
Revolution humans have increased the atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentration by one third (Climate.nasa.gov). These regions will be extremely
affected by flooding, rising sea level, and famine. Cities could also face problems
with extreme precipitation and inland flooding. It is predicted that these effects
will result in an economic deceleration. It is also predicted that the climate
change could lead to a 2% decline per decade in crop yield of rice, maize, and
wheat; this contrasts directly with the predicted 14% increase in world population
per decade (Theguardian.com).
Coming up with a solution we want to move the animals along with the
weather. The weather is slowing changing in direction so we would move animals
out of their habitat and, we would have to make new homes because some of the
air is reproducing gases. Ice sheets have been melting very slowly for a long
period of time. There have been records of warm water surrounding the sheets of
ice. We are doing a lot of work to try to help the animals and come up with
solutions. A lot of layers will have to be considered in the process of this.
Resources Log:
1) Publisher: European Environment Agency
http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate#tab-articles
Publisher: Europa
2) http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange,
By Worldbank, Written in 2014
3) http://www.newscientist.com/topic/climate-change. Newscience. 2014
4) http://www.climatecentral.org/. Climate Central. Written in 2014
Submitted by: Pakistan
Hydraulic fracturing is where you pump chemicals into the ground to inaccessible gas
reserves for more gas. There are positives to hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is
a process where special chemicals are pumped into the ground to get gas. It is very
controversial and many people are worried about the effect of fracking on the
environment. They are worried that fracking could contaminate drinking water, pollute
the air and cause earthquakes. France is so concerned about the harmful effects of
fracking that they have banned it. Pakistan supports fracking for natural gas. Natural gas
is better for the environment because burning it emits less carbon dioxide than coal or
oil. It is cheaper than oil which means it is more affordable for people to use. Fracking
also creates a lot of jobs.
The United Nations wants to use a way that requires recycled or underground injection.
They want to mandate full disclosure of products used in fracking and ban substances
that are known to be harmful, Isolate drilling wells from other strata, implementing
monitoring and enforcement procedures, and trying to avoid extract and run practices.
Two things Pakistan would like the U.N to do are the following. Support from the U.N. to
perform research into fracking and its impact on the earth. We need to test the ground
so that there aren’t earthquakes, test the water supply to make certain it isn’t
contaminated, and test the air quality. Help to create laws and regulations for how the
land is fracked.
Bibliography
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/september/fracking-costs-benefits-091214.html?view=print
http://mediad.publicbroadcast.net/p/michigan/files/styles/x_large/public/gasdrillingrig_wyomingu
ppergreenrivervally
https://www.aei.org/publication/benefits-of-hydraulic-fracking/
UNEP Topic A
Haiti
One of Haiti's main problems is climate change. The main reason climate change occurs in
Haiti is because it lies directly in the path of a hurricane corridor. During rainy season, tropical
storms destroy plants, houses, and buildings. Earthquakes also have a large impact. Scientists
believe they are triggered by deforestation and previous hurricanes. After hurricanes the plates
are already damaged because of fallen trees, but they become even more weak because the
ground isn't leveled, which causes the earthquake. In 2010 Haiti suffered an earthquake in which
over 200,000 people died.
Haiti's recover after this detestation event was a struggle but the country received
developmental aid. The Dominican Republic donated food since there was a food shortage. The
United States delivered supplies and rescue teams to aid anyone who was severely hurt. Also, the
United Kingdom gave Haiti 10 million dollars to help it get back on its feet. On the other hand,
the Haiti government did almost nothing to help. Before the 2010 earthquake, the plan was to
restructure crucial buildings. Calais a geophysicist said, "You can identify the few buildings that
are critical, that have to stand up in the face of a large earthquake, like hospitals and schools,
from which rescue operations can be organized. This hasn't been done." During Haiti's next
earthquake the first building to collapse was the hospital because Haiti didn't follow through in
the plan. After experiencing no progress, Haiti began to take a real stand to present day. Today
the government is debating if they should rebuild or relocate the capital, Port-au-Prince and are
continuing to reconstruct buildings to make them stronger.
In order for Haiti to help climate change, preparation would have to be done. Building
stronger buildings and preparing Haiti for what is coming in the future is a smart idea. Haiti
should stop cutting down trees in forests to keep the ground leveled with even plates. Preventing
the effects of climate change isn't impossible but very difficult.
UNEP Topic A
Work Cited
"Climate Change in Haiti." columbia.edu. Columbia Climate Center, 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 8 Dec.
2014.
"Could Haiti's Earthquake Tragedy Have Been Prevented?" popularmechanics.com. Popular
Mechanics, 2 Mar. 2010. Web. 8 Dec. 2014
"Did climate change cause Haiti quake?" sfgate.com. SFGate, 4 Jan. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
"For Haiti, climate change is more present fear than horrible imagining." theguardian.com. The
Guardian, 15 Dec. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
"Haiti earthquake: The nations that are stepping up to help." csmonitor.com. csmonitor ,14 Jan.
2010 Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
"Haiti to improve quake preparedness." nature.com. Nature, 13 Dec. 2010. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
"Preparing for the Next Earthquake: Haiti Debates Moving Its Capital." spiegel.de. Spiegel
Online International, 2 Feb. 2010 Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
"Why the Haiti earthquake may not have been a natural disaster." independent.co.uk.
independent.co, 10 Dec. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
UNEP Topic A