Download II. Definition of Key Terms

GEMUN 2016
Environment Commission
The Impact of Climate Change on the Pacific Region
Chair: Luca Boletto
[email protected]
Index
I.
Introduction
II.
Definition of Key Terms
III.
Background Information
IV.
UN Involvement
V.
Bibliography
I.
Introduction
The Pacific Region is the part of the world that is either in or near the Pacific Ocean. Since
that the Pacific Ocean extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Southern Ocean and therefore
covers 41% of the world’s overall water surface, the Pacific Region is very large. The Pacific
Region includes: Oceania, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the American West Coast
and Latin America’s West Coast.
The equator splits the Pacific Ocean into the Northern and Southern Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Ocean
Since the early fifteen hundreds, the Pacific Region has particularly interested Europe. In
1513 the Portuguese made the first European exploration. Since then, many areas in the
Pacific Region became European colonies and by 1900 almost all of the Pacific Island became
part of European empires. For example, Tahiti became a French colony in 1842 and the
Solomon Islands became British colonies in 1893. European powers were interested in the
Pacific Region because it was rich of primary resources and its’ colonization gave them a
great political consensus and prestige. At the beginning of the 20th century, Japan created its
empire in the Pacific Ocean and consequently became the leading country in the area.
However, after the Second World War most states belonging to the Pacific Region gained
independence.
The Pacific Region has always been known for its natural beauty, however it is severely its
nature is in great danger now. Various factors are causing the Pacific Region to endure
violent climate changes that affect both flora and fauna.
II.
Definition of Key Terms
1) El Nino Southern Oscillation:
The El Nino Southern Oscillation is an irregular climate change caused by the changing in the
Pacific Ocean’s temperature. The El Nino Southern Oscillation consists in two phases: El
Nino and La Nina. The main difference between the two is that El Nino is considered the
warming phase of the ocean while La Nina is the cooling phase. In addition, usually the El
Nino phase is accompanied by a period of high air pressure while El Nina is accompanied by a
period of low air pressure that usually means bad weather. The process is measured by the
Southern Oscillation Index and by the Equatorial Southern Oscillation Index. Basically, if the
coefficients are too high or too low, floods and other natural disasters will be reported
worldwide. For this reason it is of fundamental importance that the levels are maintained
within average.
2) The Greenhouse Effect:
The Greenhouse Effect is the process that causes the Earth to excessively heat up. The Sun’s
radiation is partially reflected by the Earth’s atmosphere and is in part absorbed by our
planet’s surface. The solar radiation that enters the Earth’s atmosphere and is absorbed by
the surface is now converted into heat energy, causing infrared radiation to travel back up to
the atmosphere. Now, this radiation is in part reflected back to Earth’s surface and in part
travels through the atmosphere and back into space. Due to the Ozone Hole and therefore
lack of atmospheric protection, more and more solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth’s
surface causing temperatures to significantly increase and therefore directly damaging the
world’s flora and fauna. The increase in the Earth’s temperature leads to other phenomena
such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation to occur. In the Pacific Region, mostly aquatic
species suffer of changes in temperature.
3) The Ozone Hole:
Since the 1970s people have realized that the total volume of ozone in the Earth’s stratosphere
is constantly decreasing. Now, mainly due to pollution, there is a very low amount of
stratospheric ozone around the Earth’s poles. This region is commonly referred to as the
Ozone Hole. The Ozone Hole is caused by the destruction of ozone by atomic halogens that
are present in many industrial manufactured products. The harmful compounds are brought
up to the stratosphere by winds and will then start damaging stratospheric ozone. In addition,
the Ozone Hole is a worldwide threat for many reasons. First of all, due to the fact that ozone
impedes UVB light waves to enter the Earth’s atmosphere, we are now no longer fully
protected from the harmful ultra-violet waves. In fact, since the Ozone Hole has been created,
illnesses such as cancer and cataracts have became much more common. The Ozone Hole has
a very strong relationship with global warming and therefore the melting of the two poles.
The Ozone Hole is significantly damaging the Pacific Region because it is the factor that leads
to continuous changes in temperature. Therefore, the Ozone Hole is very closely linked to the
El Nina Southern Oscillation.
The Ozone Hole
4) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):
The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization
founded the IPCC in 1988. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assesses
scientific and technical information regarding the phenomena of global warming and overall
climate change. The IPCC is considered to be the world’s governments advisor regarding the
environmental themes. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also focuses in
spreading public awareness, especially through youngsters, regarding the severe consequences
of pollution and global warming. In addition, the IPCC also gives regular reports to the UN
Environmental Commission to address the seriousness of the issue.
III.
Background Information
The Pacific Region is undergoing a period of climate change that can reveal to be extremely
dangerous. This can greatly affect flora, fauna and human beings.
One of the major issues regards the Ozone Hole. In the last few years the Ozone Hole has
spread so much to sometimes reach parts of Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile.
Worries further grew in 2008 when the Ecuadorian Space Agency published a report
containing extremely alarming numbers regarding the number of UV radiation that hit the
Pacific Region. Later on that year the Chilean Space Agency confirmed similar results
causing the World Health Organization (WHO) to discover that the UV index reached a
maximum of 24 in major Pacific cities which is by far above the level 11 that is already
considered very high. The extremely high levels of radiation caused immediate and drastic
consequences to occur. For example, in Chile it was reported that a 10% increase in UVB
radiation lead to a proportionally 56% increase in a specific type of skin cancer called
malignant melanomas. The increase in UV radiation is also causing cortical cataracts to
become always more common in the Pacific Region.
Not only does the ozone hole affect health, it also negatively impacts the agricultural field. For
example, in areas of high UVB radiation it is not possible to grow crops such as rice.
In addition to the disastrous impact of the ozone hole in the Pacific Region, an issue related to
the El Nino Southern Oscillation process also exists. The continuous changes of the ocean’s
temperature greatly affect aquatic species. For example, last year it was reported that less
jack mackerels and sardines were present in the Pacific. The El Nino Southern Oscillation
and the Greenhouse effect cause species to flee elsewhere because they are susceptible to
temperature change. In addition to the relationship between the El Nino Southern Oscillation
process and aquatic species, the irregular climate change also has other considerable effects.
For example, if the temperature leaps are so large between the El Nino and la Nina phase,
natural disasters are most likely to occur worldwide. Many geological disasters have occurred
when the coefficients are too high.
Due to a slight economic growth in the Pacific Region, countries in the area are tending to
expand their industries causing pollution to increase even more. As reported by the World
Health Organization, over 360,000 people have died in the Western Pacific Region due to
urban air pollution. These alarming numbers should provoke the international community to
take important decisions that can better address the issue.
IV.
UN Involvement
The United Nations is very active on the theme of climate change. The United Nations
Environment Programme has been founded in 1972. The organization is responsible to
implement environmental policies and practices. Since 1972, the United Nations Environment
Programme has passed many resolutions regarding the issue of global warming. The UN
organization covers a wide range of issues that include: issues regarding the atmosphere,
issues regarding marine and terrestrial ecosystems etc…
In 1997, after having agreed upon the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, most countries have signed the Kyoto protocol that consisted in reducing
greenhouse gases emissions and set clear objectives regarding the decrease of CO2 emissions.
In 2011 the United Nations Environment Programme has created a plan consisting in heavily
subsidizing countries that implement the cap and trade system or other efficient ways to
correct the negative externalities in pollution.
From November 30 to December 11 the United Nations will hold the Climate Conference in
Paris in order to adjourn them upon where the countries stand after the Kyoto Protocol. This
will be a great opportunity to come to a worldwide agreement on how to decrease pollution.
At the conference, all 160 participating countries will agree upon what economic strategy to
adopt in order to reduce the alarming index of UVB radiation and overall pollution.
V.
Bibliography
http://newsroom.unfccc.int
http://www.who.int/en/
http://www.ipcc.ch
http://www.elnino.noaa.gov
http://www.theozonehole.com