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Model United
Nations Climate
Conference Et spil udarbejdet i et samarbejde mellem FN-forbundets
skoletjeneste og DanMUN
Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Preparations for the Conference ...................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Why is climate important? .............................................................................................................. 3
1.3 Climate in a historical context ......................................................................................................... 4
1.4 Limitations to the conference .......................................................................................................... 4
2. The Scenario ......................................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ............................... 4
2.2 The Conference of Parties (COP) .................................................................................................... 5
2.3 The Kyoto Protocol ......................................................................................................................... 5
2.4 Post Kyoto - what to do after 2012? ................................................................................................ 5
3. The three agenda issues......................................................................................................................... 6
3.1 Issue 1: Financing of a Climate Fund .............................................................................................. 6
3.2 Issue 2: Countries to set reduction emission targets........................................................................ 7
3.3 Issue 3: Technology Transfer .......................................................................................................... 7
4. Groups and strategic alliances............................................................................................................... 8
4.1 Group of 77 (G77) and China.......................................................................................................... 8
4.2 The European Union ....................................................................................................................... 9
5. Final words .......................................................................................................................................... 10
page 2 of 1 0 1. Introduction
The Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change hereby welcomes
you to the Model United Nations Climate Conference (MUNCC). MUNCC will give the participants
an opportunity to experience what it is like to participate in international climate treaty negotiations. During four hours, participants will take on the role as a diplomat for one of the countries involved in
the current negotiations regarding a new climate treaty. The idea is to debate, consult and negotiate in
order to come up with a statement that addresses some of the critical issues in the climate change
debate. 1.1 Preparations for the Conference
During the four hours participants will be debating on the following 3 critical issues: Issue 1)
Financing of a climate fund Issue 2)
Countries to set emission reduction targets Issue 3)
Technology transfer For each of these 3 issues, there will be different choices for a statement. The country representatives
can read the country’s policy on these 3 issues in the country’s position paper (which is an essay that
specifies what your country thinks of the topic being discussed). The ultimate goal of the participants
will be to get everyone to agree on a statement that satisfies (opfylder) most of their policy interests in
the topic being discussed. The position paper that each participant will get is a simplified overview of
a country’s position that has been fitted into the context of the MUNCC. Not all of the position papers
necessarily reflect the countries current positions. The dress code is an important part of the simulation. Hence, students should attend the session with proper business attire, meaning - if possible - changing jeans and sneakers for suits and jackets (it is only one day and it is fun!). 1.2 Why is climate important?
Climate change is a problem that is undoubtedly (utvivlsomt) global in nature. This is so because
greenhouse gases (drivhusgasser) stay for a long time in the atmosphere, meaning that emissions
(udledninger) anywhere on the globe affect the whole world. Human emissions of greenhouse gases
are primarily created by the production and use of energy by individuals, businesses, governments and
from agriculture (landbrug). The actions of individual nations cannot determine the composition (sammensætning) of the world’s
atmosphere. Therefore global action is necessary and this starts with the states, many of which are
present at this simulation. page 3 of 1 0 1.3 Climate in a historical context
In the late 1980s, because of increasing awareness (øget viden) on international environmental issues,
there was a shift in the climate change debate - it moved from the scientific to the political arena.
People were becoming concerned about the possible connection between human greenhouse gas
emission and global warming. A report was published in 1990 that highlighted the link between human
greenhouse gas emission and global warming. This report was highly influential (indflydelsesrig). It
received international attention and prompted states to create the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 9 May 1992. In 2008 the UNFCCC had been ratified
(ratificeret) by 191 nations, including the European Union (EU). This scale of ratification gives the
Convention almost worldwide membership making it one of the most universally supported
international agreements. 1.4 Limitations to the conference
The MUNCC is set to take 4 hours whereas the real climate treaty has been negotiated upon for years.
Participants will get an idea on how it is to be involved in international negotiations and especially on
why it is so difficult to reach an international agreement. But it will never be possible to simulate the
real negotiations that took place in Copenhagen in 2009. 2. The Scenario
MUNCC simulates the climate negotiations during the Conference Of Parties 15 (COP15) that took
place in Copenhagen, Denmark by the end of 2009. Below you will find a short summary of some of
the information that will be necessary for you, when discussing climate change. 2.1 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC is an international treaty, produced in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The treaty is legally nonbinding (juridisk ikke-bindende) with no limits on greenhouse gas emissions for nation states and no
enforcement provisions (håndhævelsesmuligheder). The ultimate aim of the Convention is stated in article 2. It roughly states that the aim of the
Convention is to prevent “dangerous” human interference (indblanding) with the climate system. This
should be achieved in a time-frame (tidsramme) that will allow ecosystems (økosystemer) to adapt
(tilpasse) naturally to climate change. This goal has to be ensured by the countries that have ratified
the UNFCCC. They are called parties to the convention. In order to achieve the objective of the Convention, governments agreed on three principles that should
be taken into consideration when debating climate change. Equity (retfærdighedsprincippet): This principles states that the countries that have emitted
(udledt) most of the greenhouse gases should be the first to act to reduce emissions.
Historically, industrialised countries have emitted most of the greenhouse gases. Industrialised
countries also have greater resources to tackle the issue. At the same time developing countries
are more vulnerable (sårbare) to climate change and have fewer resources to respond to them. page 4 of 1 0 Precaution (forsigtighedsprincippet): This principle recognises that although there are many
uncertainties associated with climate change, waiting for certainty before taking action could
make it impossible to avoid serious climate change impacts (indvirkninger). Sustainable development (bæredygtighedsprincippet): This principle recognises that
development and climate change are intrinsically interlinked (uløseligt forbundne). Economic
growth and development are essential ingredients of successful policies to tackle this issue.
Policies and measures dealing with climate change should be cost-effective, delivering global
benefits at the lowest possible cost. Yet, an addition to the treaty, the Kyoto Protocol includes more powerful and legally binding measures
(juridisk bindende forpligtelser). 2.2 The Conference of Parties (COP)
COP is the highest decision-making authority of the Convention. All countries that are Parties to the
Convention are members of the COP, and each has equal status. One of the main responsibilities of the
COP is to keep the international efforts to address climate change on track. The parties have been
meeting annually (årligt) in the COP since 1995 to review (efterse) the implementation of the
Convention and assess (evaluere) the effects of the measures taken by the parties. The COP can also
adopt decisions (vedtage beslutninger) to further develop the Convention’s rules, and negotiate
substantive new commitments. 2.3 The Kyoto Protocol
The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets (bindende mål) for 37
industrialised countries for reducing greenhouse gas emissions; these amounts to an average of 5
percent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012. The Kyoto Protocol was signed and
ratified by 184 parties with one notable exception of the United States. The major distinction between
the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged (opfordrede) industrialised
countries to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions, the Protocol commits (forpligter) them to do. The world is far behind carbon dioxide emissions targets set by the Kyoto Protocol. Global carbon
dioxide emissions have risen 19 percent since 1990 - 2007. It is very unlikely (usandsynligt) that the
37 industrialised countries and the EU can meet their commitments (forpligtelser) as set by the Kyoto
Protocol. The rise has been driven by surging (fremstormende) emissions from China (73 percent increase) and
India (88 percent increase) as well as the United States (20 percent increase) and Japan (15 percent
increase). Europe's emissions, have climbed by 3 percent over the period. Despite rapid growth in
India and China, per capita emissions still lag far behind those of Europe and the US. The average
Chinese citizen emits less than one-sixth than that of the average American. 2.4 Post Kyoto - what to do after 2012?
It is widely recognized that the Kyoto Protocol alone will not meet the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC namely to prevent “dangerous” human interference with the climate system. The first reduction
commitments set in the Kyoto Protocol are far from being ambitious enough and the commitments end
page 5 of 1 0 in 2012. Which form should the next commitments take? 3. The three agenda issues
At today’s simulation of the COP15 participants will be discussing the following three issues. The key
objective (mål) of all participants present today is to try to form a common statement dealing with, if
possible, all three issues, while ensuring that the statement reflects their own country’s policy on these
issues. 3.1 Issue 1: Financing of a Climate Fund
The finance debate is a complex issue. Yet one of the most important exercises is to agree upon how to
ensure financing for both adaptation (tilpasning) to and mitigation (afbødning) of climate changes.
Many developing countries are already facing the effects of climate change with flooding and droughts
(oversvømmelser og tørker) and especially small island states are more vulnerable (sårbare) to
flooding. Developing countries and especially small island states are also less able to finance
adaptation and mitigation themselves. Many developing countries argue that the industrialised countries are responsible for the climate
changes and say the industrialised world should pay for the developing countries efforts to cope
(håndtere) with and adapt to climate change. Yet, the industrialised countries are reluctant to agree to
this since many of the developing countries have fast growing economies with very high CO2
emissions. Estimates rank China as number one when it comes to emissions of greenhouse gasses. Different financing proposals have been presented and there are consensus (enighed) that a financial
mechanism is needed in order to support technology and finance, especially in developing countries.
The Parties have thus decided upon establishing a climate fund and the questions to be discussed today
are: How should such a climate fund be financed? A) A climate fund should be financed through already existing development aid (eksisterende
udviklingsbistand) from the industrialised countries to developing countries – which is up to 0,7% of
GDP (bruttonationalprodukt). B) A climate fund should be financed through an integrated scheme (ordning) where all countries pay
an amount into a fund based on their GDP, population and greenhouse gas emission. Least developed
countries and small island developing states will be exempted (undtaget) from paying to the fund. The
fund would amount to $10 billion (milliarder) a year. C) The climate fund should be financed through new funding from industrialised countries, up to 1%
of their GDP. page 6 of 1 0 3.2 Issue 2: Countries to set reduction emission targets
There is consensus among Members of the UNFCCC that it is essential to reduce emissions
(udledning) of greenhouse gasses in order to avoid devastating (ødelæggende) climate changes. The
United Nations Climate Panel has clearly stated that even a slight increase in average temperatures
(mindre stigning i gennemsnitstemperaturer) will have a huge impact on farmers around the globe, as
seasons shift, crops (afgrøder) fail and storms and droughts (tørker) destroy fields. It is therefore very
important for everyone; both developing and industrialised countries, to work towards a solution that
helps turn the current scenario around. In spite of the consensus among Members of the UNFCCC to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses,
it is not all countries who are ready to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gasses, due to the fact that
a reduction can create an uneven playing field if some countries do not set targets. However there are also several economic advantages from engaging in the development of green
technologies. Not only will the environment prosper (trives), but green technology can create new
jobs, attract investments and help nations reduce their expenses, by lowering energy costs. The
questions to be discussed today are: Which Members of the UNFCCC should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions? A) All Members of the UNFCCC should reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The least developed
countries and small island states are exempted from reduction targets. B) Industrialised countries should have reduction targets. Developing countries should set a peak year
for their emission of greenhouse gasses within the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol (2012)
(udviklingslandene må i en række år fortsætte deres udledning, men skal fastsætte et år for, hvornår de
skal starte med at reducere deres udledning). The least developed countries and small island states are
exempted from peak year targets. C) Only the industrialised countries should reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 3.3 Issue 3: Technology Transfer
One of the big problems for developing countries is the access to environmental friendly technology
that would promote a more sustainable environment (bæredygtigt miljø). Yet, the main dilemma is the
patents on green technology, which prevents developing countries to use the technology to get a more
sustainable development. The industrialised countries have spent a lot of money on the research on green technology, and would
therefore like to earn that money back. Also, it leads to a risk of stopping further research, if money
cannot be earned on it. The question that will be discussed today is: To what extend will Members of the UNFCCC secure access for developing countries to technology
that can promote a sustainable development? A) The patents on green technologies will not be suspended in order to ensure access for developing
page 7 of 1 0 countries. B) The patents on green technologies will not be suspended, but the Members of UNFCCC will work
towards easier access for developing countries to green technologies. C) All Member countries should have equal access to green technologies in order to secure a
sustainable development for all and patents on green technologies should be dissolved. 4. Groups and strategic alliances
There are a number of alliances and strategic groups within the negotiations on a new climate policy.
Some of the groups are of a regional character whereas others have convergent (sammenfaldende)
interest. The groups are formed in order for their voices to gain more weight. The member states
themselves have their own agenda and their own policy interest and should only form a common
statement with the other members of its group if this is in line with its own position on the subject. The
individual member state can also act on its own. During MUNCC the countries have been split into the
following 3 groups: 4.1 Group of 77 (G77) and China
The G77 and China mainly consists of developing countries generally working through the G77 and
China to establish (etablere) common negotiating positions. It has over 130 members. However,
because the G77 and China is a diverse (forskelligartet) group with differing interests on climate
change issues, individual developing countries also intervene (griber ind) in debates. The individual
members of G77 and China can also negotiate with member states from other groups. The G77 and China stresses that urgent action is needed now to fully implement the commitments
under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, especially those on financing for adaptation (tilpasning)
and technology transfer. Regarding issue 1 on financing of a climate fund: ● The G77 and China argues that industrialised countries must take the lead in addressing the
implementation gap, since the effective implementation by developed countries of their
commitments related to financing also affects the extent (omfanget) to which developing
countries can respond to the challenge of climate change.
● The G77 and China stresses that financing for adaptation to climate change and the impact of
response measures should not be a reallocation (omfordeling) of existing development
financing. Financing should take the form of new funding, as climate change represents a new
challenge.
Regarding issue 2 on countries to set emission reduction targets: ● Since the G77 and China consists of countries that have very different levels of greenhouse gas
emissions they do not as such have a standardised (standardiseret) common position on the
matter. In the G77 and China you can find member states that supports any of the three options
page 8 of 1 0 mentioned above under “issue 2” when it comes to “which Members of the UNFCCC should
reduce their greenhouse gas emissions”.
Regarding issue 3 on technology transfer: ● The G77 and China feels that developing countries should be provided with greater access to
cost-effective, efficient and affordable advanced clean technologies.
● Furthermore, the UN can play an important role through the promotion of an intellectual
property rights (intellektuel ejendomsret) regime that facilitates (faciliterer) the transfer of such
technologies.
● The G77 and China therefore stresses that all member countries should have equal access to
green technologies in order to secure a sustainable development for all and patents on green
technologies should be dissolved.
4.2 The European Union
The group of the European Union consists of 27 countries (in 2009), but also countries that are seeking
to become part of the EU are working closely together with the EU in the negotiations. The member
states of the EU normally issue (udgiver) common statements on international issues. However, the
individual member states of the EU can, as a group or individually, work together with member states
from other groups.
Regarding issue 1 on financing of a climate fund: ● It is the opinion of the EU that all countries except the least developed should contribute
(bidrage) to the financing of the fight against climate change in developing countries on the
basis of a universal, comprehensive (omfattende) and specific contribution key.
● The main principles of contribution should be the ability to pay and the responsibility for
emissions.
● The EU will contribute with its fair share of international public support for actions for
mitigation (afbødning) and adaptation (tilpasning), particularly in the least developed countries.
● Financing mechanisms should as far as possible build on existing - and, if necessary, reformed instruments and institutions.
Regarding issue 2 on countries to set emission reduction targets: ● The EU's objective is to ensure that global average temperature does not increase more than 2°C
above pre-industrial levels. To avoid this, global emissions of greenhouse gases must peak
before 2020 and then greatly decrease by 2050.
● The necessary cuts in global emissions can be achieved only if all countries contribute their fair
share according to their responsibility and capacity.
● The EU has entered into a legally binding commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
by 20% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. If other industrialised countries similarly reduce their
emissions the EU will increase its commitment to 30%.
Regarding issue 3 on technology transfer: page 9 of 1 0 ● The issue on technology transfer is not of primary concern of the EU. However, on the one
hand EU earns a substantial amount of money on patents technology since the EU consists of
industrialised countries that have technological advantages. On the other hand the EU
understands, that developing countries needs new technology in order to effectively combat
climate change.
● The EU therefore believes that patents on green technologies shall not be suspended. The EU
will instead work towards easier access for developing countries to green technologies.
4.3 Umbrella group
The Umbrella Group is a loose coalition (koalition) of non-EU industrialised countries which were
formed following the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. Since this is a rather ‘loose’ group it is not
necessarily convergent (ensartet) in interests. The group is not tied together in any permanent way. The
group only sometimes form common submissions and statements. Previously, from 2002 - 2005 the
group was largely quiet on most issues, especially regarding the Kyoto Protocol. After Australia’s
ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2007, the group now sometimes forms statements regarding the
Protocol. The USA is not part in these statements due to the fact that USA has not ratified the Kyoto
Protocol.
Regarding issue 1 on financing of a climate fund: ● The group is brought together by a common motivation to ensure cost-effectiveness and
flexibility in the Kyoto Protocol system.
● To find the position of your given country on this issue you will have to look in the position
paper.
Regarding issue 2 on countries to set emission reduction targets: ● Although the group is loose in its composition (sammensætning) it has to a much larger extent
than the EU pressed for a debate about developing countries commitments.
● To find the position of your given country on this issue you will have to look in the position
paper.
Regarding issue 3 on technology transfer: ● To find the position of your given country on this issue you will have to look in the position
paper.
During the MUNCC all countries may, if possible, meet in the groups in order to work on a common
strategy for the negotiations on a new climate treaty. However, it is also important that a common
statement is formed with all the member states present at the MUNCC.
5. Final words
The negotiations will take place in accordance with the rules of procedure, which all participants must
read before participating in the session. page 10 of 10