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United Nations Environmental Programme
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) was founded in 1972 to deal with global
environmental issues. The UNEP aims to shift global consciousness and activities towards sustainable
environmental practices. The UNEP also strives to assist developing nations to improve the quality of
life for their people through ecological conservation, sustainable development and remediation. The
UNEP has focused on the following six topics to address global environmental challenges: climate
change, disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, harmful
substances, and resource efficiency.
1. Climate Change
As we move further into 2014, it is more critical than ever for countries to reach a consensus on steps
toward the Cancun Agreements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). These agreements have set 2100 as the goal year for climate initiatives. This is because by
2100, global temperature is expected to increase at twice the rate of the last 100 years—should
greenhouse gas production remain at the status quo. If this happens there will be no way to return the
climate to something close to the climate of 2014. The November 2013 UN Climate Change Conference
in Warsaw generated new decisions that will help cut emissions from deforestation. Even though these
efforts were a needed step forward, the UNEP would like to see further resolutions passed on the topic
in preparation for the 2015 Paris meeting of the UNFCCC. The ultimate objective of the climate
negotiations will be to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will
limit human interference with the climate system.
As it stands, the impacts of climate change will cause significant issues earlier than 2100. One problem
that will manifest itself by 2050 is a rise in global sea level. It is speculated that with a 2.5°C increase in
global temperature by 2050, the sea level will rise 350 millimeters or about 14 inches. This will greatly
affect coastlines and island nations. Sea level rise is influenced by the amount of CO2 circulating in the
atmosphere and oceans. Circulation of atmospheric CO2 impacts the melting of the polar icecaps,
thawing of permafrost, and retreat of glaciers by holding heat close to the Earth’s surface. This heat
energy would normally escape the earth’s atmosphere, but more CO2 in the atmosphere translates to
more heat energy stored. Increased levels of CO2 in the ocean also effect ocean acidity. Increasing the
acidity of the ocean results in the loss of species diversity in the oceans which effects countries that rely
on the ocean for food and ecotourism.
Countries that are most susceptible to climate change are usually the least likely to be able to adapt.
While it is unclear what the effect of climate change will be on specific regions as a whole, we do know
some countries are at higher risks of losing resources to climate change. Low lying island countries are
very susceptible to sea level rise as well as an increase in violent weather. The 2013 Warsaw Climate
Change Conference established an international agreement to help vulnerable populations obtain better
protection against damage caused by extreme weather and sea level rise. Detailed work for this
mechanism still needs to be done and requires the cooperation of countries during this session.
The UNEP recognizes that throughout the course of the Earth’s history it has gone through various cycles
of heating and cooling. Greenhouse gases when located in the troposphere serve a vital role in
regulating the planet’s climate. Human influence in the global climate cycle began during the industrial
revolution and has lead to an increase in the amount of greenhouse gases at an extremely rapid speed.
This increase has caused the most dramatic change in the composition of the atmosphere for the past
650,000 years. Unless emissions are reduced, the global climate will continue to warm at an alarming
rate for the foreseeable future.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that the data of global warming has at
least a nine out of ten chance of being caused by human activity through the emission of greenhouse
gases. The IPCC concluded that if atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases double compared to
pre-industrial levels it would likely cause an average warming of around 3°C. This increase in
temperature will cause sea level rise due to thermal expansion and the melting of glaciers and sea ice.
It is also likely that heat waves will cause longer duration and increased intensity of droughts, especially
in the tropics and subtropics of the Mediterranean, southern Africa, and parts of southern Asia.
Climate change is a complex global issue and needs a complex global solution. There are various
thoughts on how to reduce the effects of climate change. Energy efficiency improvements, innovation
and technology, carbon budgeting and rationing, reducing deforestation, increasing reforestation,
putting a price on carbon, and funding developing nations to move to sustainable sources of energy. A
combination of these options will be needed to stabilize green house gas concentrations in the
atmosphere.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992, the Kyoto Protocol, 1997, the Bali
Action Plan, 2007, the Copenhagen Accord, 2009, and the Durban Platform, 2011 are just some
examples of the work put in by the international community to address the changes needed to conquer
climate change. The decisions made at these meetings need to be real and should be able to be
approved by the administrative body of your specific country after leaving the committee session. It is
too late for countries to make false promises about their climate change strategy. It is understood that
climate change is an issue and changes need to be made to lessen the effects of climate variability in the
not too distant future.
Key Issues to Consider:
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How will your country be directly affected by climate change, what about your major trading
partners?
How much land will you lose due to sea level rise? What is the consequence?
How much green house gases does your country produce?
What do underdeveloped countries need in order to reduce their carbon impact?
Do your policies match with what you will be able to do for your country, if applicable?
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Should a fund be started for countries that will need additional funding from the variable
climate?
Useful Links:
http://unfccc.int/files/press/news_room/press_releases_and_advisories/application/pdf/131123_pr_cl
osing_cop19.pdf
http://www.un.org/climatechange/the-negotiations/
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf
http://www.unep.org/pdf/A_Global_Green_New_Deal_Policy_Brief.pdf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/drowning-nations-sea-level-rise_n_1783931.html
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/spms3.html
2. The Volcano in the Breadbasket
The current estimate for the world human population is 7,154,313,987 and UN projections expect it to
grow to 8.3 billion by 2030. Food security is always a pressing matter for countries and individual
citizens alike. The human population is not going to stop growing in the near future and it is increasingly
difficult for the world to produce enough food to feed its population. Food security is a highly important
issue and a lack thereof could potentially lead to violence on a regional and global scale.
In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirmed the right of everyone to an adequate
amount of food. Despite this, access to adequate food in developing countries relies heavily on their
access to natural resources, especially water. Water is extremely important for growing food as well as
non-food crops. While there is enough water on a global scale to grow adequate crops, there are large
areas around the world that have absolute water scarcity. This lack of water to grow crops affects
billions of people and causes many to suffer from hunger.
In 2013, the rising cost of food drove 44 million people into poverty. These people joined the 870
million people already in poverty because of food. The majority of these people live in developing
countries. The rising prices of food in developing countries are a major threat to food security because
the people spend between 50 to 80 percent of their income on food.
Agriculture contributes to climate change because of greenhouse gas emission produced. This is caused
in part by the deforestation that is necessary in order to have area to grow the crops. The green house
gases affect the planet’s water cycle which leads to further uncertainties about the global food
production. The water used in agriculture can also cause wide-scale changes in the surrounding
ecosystems. In the United States, the cost of ecosystem damage from agricultural water is $9-20 billion
per year. This damage is caused by the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and improper utilization of water
resources. The UN predicts that South Asia and Southern Africa will be the most vulnerable regions to
climate change-related food shortages by 2030.
The majority of the world’s food is produced in three main areas which are commonly referred to as the
‘breadbaskets’. The largest area is located in the central United States. The second and third largest are
located in China and in India. The majority of China’s agriculture is in the southeastern part of the
country. Almost all of India’s rural territory is cultivated for agriculture. The breadbasket located in the
United States produces approximately thirty five percent of the world’s supply of corn and soybeans.
This is important because a large portion of this goes to feeding livestock around the world. The major
importers of United States corn are Japan which imported 7.4 million tons in 2013 and South Korea
which imported 2 million metric tons.
Yellowstone National Park is located in Wyoming and contains the Yellowstone Caldera which is an
active supervolcano. This volcano has a history of erupting every 600,000 years. It has been 640,000
years since the last eruption. Scientists suspect that within the next one hundred years the volcano will
have a major eruption. However in 2013 there was an increased amount of seismic activity in the region
which leads some to the belief that the volcano could erupt sooner than expected. However, the level
of seismic activity and ground distortion currently being observed still remains within historical norms.
Whenever the volcano erupts it will cause massive destruction and loss of life to the United States and
Canada from the eruption as well as the amount of volcanic ash that will cover the surrounding area. It
is not possible to predict where exactly all the volcanic ash will spread but it will be large enough to
cover a large portion of the United States and lower part of Canada. The volcano has enough magma to
destroy the entire continental United States.
The is no accurate way for scientists to predict when a volcano will erupt in the long term but it is likely
that in the days leading up to the eruption scientists will be able to predict the time frame of eruption
and the size of the affected area. This time frame should allow for the citizens of the United States and
Canada living in the area to be evacuated and relocated.
When the volcano erupts a large portion, if not all of the food grown in the region of the Midwestern
United States will be lost. The land used to grow the food could also be lost from a blanket of volcanic
ash. This will not only be a huge problem for the United States, but also for the global market. The lack
of food produced by the United States will cause food prices to greatly increase. The matter also brings
into question the stability of other agriculturally rich regions. The effects of natural disasters and the
methods used for producing food should be examined to determine the best way to help lower the
chance of agricultural land loss.
There needs to be a plan to address the scarcity of food currently existing in the world and a way for
limited water resources to be better used for agriculture. There also needs to be a plan for a new ways
to generate enough food to feed the growing population if the agricultural crops produced by the
United States dropped by 50 percent because of the volcano erupting. The seven options for improving
food security and the Global Green New Deal released by the UNEP will be helpful to review for the
committee and generate new solutions to the complex issue of food security in an unstable global
environment.
Key Issues to Consider:
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Are other areas where large portions of the world’s food supply are produced in the same level
of danger?
Are there ways to predict and evacuate the area if the volcano erupts?
What would be the direct effects of the loss of habitable land in the US and Canada?
How will this affect the price that your citizens pay for food?
What new alternatives can be used to produce food to replace the food lost?
Should there be global regulation for food quality standards?
Useful Links:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131218-yellowstone-supervolcano-eruptionmagma-reservoir/
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/index.html
http://www.grida.no/files/publications/FoodCrisis_lores.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/apr/14/food-price-inflation-world-bank-warning
http://www.earthmountainview.com/yellowstone/yellowstone-news.htm
http://www.wfp.org/hunger/causes
http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/newsroom/wfp238358.pdf
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/food_security.shtml