United Nations Environmental Program

Building international cooperation to overcome the climate crisis

Introduction to the committee:

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), often named UN Environment, was established
in 1972 in order to guide and coordinate environmental activities of the UN. .The United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading environmental authority in the United Nations
system. UNEP uses its expertise to strengthen environmental standards and practices while helping
implement ecological obligations at the country, regional, and global levels. UNEP’s mission is to
provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing,
and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future
generations. The organisation also has encouraged participation by the private sector to promote the
sustainable use of the world’s natural resources.Its main goals were coordinating organisations
activities regarding environment, and assisting developing countries in making environmental
policies.

Introduction to agenda:

The term "climatic crisis" commonly denotes a scenario or timeframe characterised by

significant and potentially disastrous alterations in the Earth's climate. These alterations are
frequently linked to phenomena like global warming, escalated emissions of greenhouse
gases, and other elements that give rise to challenges and disturbances related to the
climate.The nations in the Middle East, particularly those where Arabic is predominantly
spoken, face some of the highest levels of vulnerability to the escalating effects of climate
change caused by human activities.

These consequences encompass increased temperatures, reduced rainfall, prolonged

periods of drought, heightened sandstorms and floods, as well as rising sea levels,countries
across the Gulf region and the wider Middle East are highly vulnerable to extreme heat
borne out of climate change, with poorer populations being particularly at risk in the decades
ahead.Here are several crucial elements needed to foster international collaboration in
addressing the urgent climate crisis. These include a worldwide agreement, financial
backing, sharing of technology, openness and responsibility, cooperation among local
governments, participation from businesses, raising public awareness and engagement,
scientific teamwork, involvement of non-governmental organisations and civil society.

Subtopics:

Problems faced due to climate changes and solutions to overcome.

 1. Hotter tempratures:Implement heat actions,develop urban green spaces to reduce
urban heat effect.Green cover and open spaces provide natural cooling of air and
surfaces, and support water management in urban areas

2. Droughts: Planting more trees will improve the quality of the environment and
increase the success of precipitation. It can reverse an area’s drought and arid
conditions if the trees are maintained well until maturity,harvesting rainwater is an
easy solution to droughts and can be easily employed at home. With rainwater
harvesting, homes can store the water they get from rain and then use it in dry
conditions rather than exhausting present water bodies like rivers. Switch to
renewable sources like wind and solar, which have little to no effect on the
environment and will not result in droughts.

3. Health issues: By enhancing vector control and immunisation programs, public health
systems can be strengthened, heat action plans can be put into
place, and disease transmission can be stopped.

4. Sea-level rise: Construction of sea walls, use of beaches as barriers,installing

stormwater pumps and elevating roadways above sea level By sucking up the
floodwater and releasing it back into the ocean, pumps can hasten the process of
moving water out of the streets. Natural infrastructure construction Restoration of
natural infrastructure by coastal towns can serve as a safeguard against storms and
coastal flooding.

5. Food security:Promote environmentally friendly agricultural methods, create crop

varieties that can withstand heat and drought, and make infrastructure investments
for food distribution and storage.

● Implementing the Paris Agreement

The paris agreement is an international treaty with the goal of “holding the increase in
the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing
efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”.It was adopted
by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4
November 2016
Based on the greatest known evidence, the Paris Agreement's implementation calls
for social and economic change. The Paris Agreement is based on a five-year cycle of
countries taking more aggressive climate action, or "ratcheting up." Nationally determined
contributions (NDCs), or national climate action plans, have been submitted by nations since
2020. Every NDC after that is supposed to demonstrate a progressively greater level of
ambition than the one before it.The Paris Agreement and the accomplishment of its
long-term objectives are largely dependent on nationally determined contributions, or NDCs.
Each nation's attempts to lower national emissions and prepare for the effects of climate
change are embodied in its NDC.

Developed nations should lead the way in lending money to less developed and
more vulnerable nations, and for the first time, they should also encourage other
Parties to make voluntary contributions. Since significant reductions in emissions
require large-scale investments, climate finance is necessary for mitigation. As
substantial financial resources are required to adapt to the negative effects and
lessen the impacts of a changing climate, climate finance is equally important for
adaptation. It creates a technological framework to offer broad direction to the
efficiently operating Technology Mechanism. Through its arms for implementation
and policy, the mechanism is speeding up the development and transfer of
technology.
Not all developing nations are equipped to handle the majority of the problems that
climate change has to offer. Consequently, the Paris Agreement asks all developed
countries to increase their support for capacity-building initiatives in developing
countries, with a particular focus on developing countries' capacity-building related to
climate change. The Paris Agreement's objectives require a massive increase in
climate change action, but in the years since it went into effect, low-carbon solutions
and new markets have already emerged. A growing number of nations, areas,
towns, and businesses are setting carbon neutrality goals. Solutions with no carbon
footprint are starting to compete in all economic sectors, accounting for 25% of
emissions. The power and transportation industries are where this trend is most
apparent, and it has opened up a lot of new business options for early adopters.

● Solutions to overcome the climate crisis:

Coal, oil, and gas are by far the most significant contributors to global climate
change, accounting for more than 75% of world greenhouse gas emissions and
almost 90% of total CO2 emissions. The heat of the sun is trapped as greenhouse
gas emissions blanket the Earth. As a result, there is global warming and climate
change. As the concentration of greenhouse gases increases,the Earth's surface
temperature also increases. Wildfires start and spread more rapidly when
temperatures reach higher levels, causing more heat-related illnesses and making
outdoor work more challenging.

Many regions are experiencing more intense and frequent destructive storms. The
warming ocean has an effect on the frequency and extent of tropical storms.
Cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons rely on warm waters in the ocean.Climate
change poses risks to the survival of species on land and in the ocean. These risks
increase as temperatures climb. Exacerbated by climate change, the world is losing
species at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any other time in recorded human
history.Changes in the climate and increases in extreme weather events are among
the reasons behind a global rise in hunger and poor nutrition. Fisheries, crops, and
livestock may be destroyed or become less productive. With the ocean becoming
more acidic, marine resources that feed billions of people are at risk. Changes in
snow and ice cover in many Arctic regions have disrupted food supplies from
herding, hunting, and fishing. Heat stress can diminish water and grasslands for
grazing, causing declining crop yields and affecting livestock.Moreover,climate
change represents the most significant health hazard confronting humanity. Its
repercussions are already detrimentally affecting human well-being, manifesting in
forms such as air pollution, the spread of diseases, extreme weather occurrences,
involuntary migration, stress on mental health, and heightened levels of hunger and
inadequate nutrition in regions where people struggle to cultivate or access an ample
food supply.
Enhancing the health of aquatic ecosystems and implementing better water
management practices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offer safeguards
against climate-related risks.Wetlands such as mangroves, seagrasses, marshes
and swamps are highly effective carbon sinks that absorb and store CO2, helping to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For centuries, our energy needs have been met
by non-renewable sources such as petroleum. Although they have been dependable,
the extraction and utilisation of these resources have led to an increase in
greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and, consequently, the
occurrence of droughts.
A viable solution is transitioning to renewable sources like wind and solar energy,
which have minimal to no impact on the environment and do not lead to droughts.We
need to establish more rigorous government regulations at the local, national,
regional, and global levels. We should enforce strict laws against actions that
contribute to droughts or other harmful environmental consequences. By taking
these measures, we can combat climate change and address the persistent issue of
droughts.It's crucial to teach young people about the importance of protecting and
improving our environment. This means encouraging them to recycle, reuse, and
plant more trees.
Additionally, schools, the media, and businesses should stress the significance of
environmental preservation, making it everyone's duty to help prevent droughts.

● Finance and Funding

Without putting money in the right places, the world won't meet its climate goals. It'll
exceed a global temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius, causing more severe
climate consequences that will jeopardise people's health, jobs, and overall
well-being.
To combat climate change, we need to invest substantial funds in things like new
energy systems and climate-resilient infrastructure. Not taking action on climate
change will be way more costly.
All nations must cut emissions and adapt to climate change, but many developing
countries lack the resources and technology to do so. That's why there's a
consensus that wealthier countries with financial resources and technological
expertise must step up and increase their financial support for climate initiatives in
developing nations, especially those that are the poorest and most vulnerable.
International collaboration is crucial to address the challenge of climate change.
Climate finance plays a crucial role in supporting nations in their efforts to decrease
greenhouse gas emissions, primarily by providing financial support for sustainable
energy sources like wind and solar power. Furthermore, it aids communities in
adapting to the consequences of climate change. For instance, the introduction of
climate-resilient seeds ensures that farmers can continue to produce food and
maintain their livelihoods even in the face of droughts and other extreme weather
conditions.In the Paris Agreement, more affluent nations pledged to offer developing
countries a minimum of $100 billion annually by 2020 to support their efforts in
addressing climate change through mitigation and adaptation. They also committed
to substantially boost financial assistance for adaptation. Although there has been
some headway in pursuing these objectives, they remain insufficiently met. Failing to
fulfil these promises prior to the Glasgow climate talks in late 2021 could severely
hinder the worldwide push for climate action, affecting everyone in the process.

● Private sector engagement

Private sector engagement (PSE) involves a strategic international development

approach in which donor agencies and non-governmental organisations collaborate,
plan, coordinate, and execute initiatives in partnership with the private sector to
achieve increased scope, efficiency, and enduring results
Private investments could have a significant impact on climate change adaptation, as
they are essential for adjusting privately owned assets like buildings and agricultural
land, as well as business operations such as insurance, water management, and
agricultural practices, which are susceptible to the effects of climate change.

● Kyoto protocols:

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997. Owing to a complex ratification
process, it entered into force on 16 February 2005. Currently, there are 192 Parties to the
Kyoto Protocol.
In short, the Kyoto Protocol operationalizes the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change by committing industrialised countries and economies in transition to limit
and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual
targets. The Convention itself only asks those countries to adopt policies and measures on
mitigation and to report periodically.
The Kyoto Protocol is based on the principles and provisions of the Convention and follows
its annex-based structure. It only binds developed countries, and places a heavier burden on
them under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective
capabilities”, because it recognizes that they are largely responsible for the current high
levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere.
In its Annex B, the Kyoto Protocol sets binding emission reduction targets for 37
industrialised countries and economies in transition and the European Union. Overall, these
targets add up to an average 5 per cent emission reduction compared to 1990 levels over
the five year period 2008–2012 (the first commitment period).
The first amendment to the Kyoto Protocol was adopted for a second commitment period,
starting in 2013 and lasting until 2020.
As of 28 October 2020, 147 Parties deposited their instrument of acceptance, therefore the
threshold of 144 instruments of acceptance for entry into force of the Doha Amendment was
achieved. The amendment entered into force on 31 December 2020.

The amendment includes:

1. New commitments for Annex I Parties to the Kyoto Protocol who agreed to take on
commitments in a second commitment period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December
2020;
2. A revised list of GHG to be reported on by Parties in the second commitment period;
and
3. Amendments to several articles of the Kyoto Protocol which specifically referenced
issues pertaining to the first commitment period and which needed to be updated for
the second commitment period.
On 21 December 2012, the amendment was circulated by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, acting in his capacity as Depositary, to all Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in
accordance with Articles 20 and 21 of the Protocol.
During the first commitment period, 37 industrialised countries and economies in transition
and the European Community committed to reduce GHG emissions to an average of five
percent against 1990 levels. During the second commitment period, Parties committed to
reduce GHG emissions by at least 18 percent below 1990 levels in the eight-year period
from 2013 to 2020; however, the composition of Parties in the second commitment period is
different from the first

Relation with SDG:

Sustainable Development Goal 13 urges to take action to combat climate change

and its impacts. Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It
is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities
and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow.

The targets linked to SDG 13 emphasise the incorporation of climate change

measures into national policies, enhancement of education and awareness efforts,
and bolstering institutional capabilities regarding climate change mitigation,
adaptation, reducing impacts, and providing early warnings.

Bibliography:
1.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/climate-change/?utm_source=g
oogle&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsp6pBhCfARIsAD3GZubw-5Q
7Gc_RTLAIvHuQXQnEYt7maA3LQueQVp3zaEbpqwf7PXmfRGYaAtfaEA
Lw_wcB
2.
https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/fastfacts-what-is-climate-chang
e.pdf

3.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/what-is-a-pre-indu
strial-climate-and-why-does-it-matter--58093
4.
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement?gclid=Cjw
KCAjwnOipBhBQEiwACyGLupmaUX1CicmnAwT-Q2oYCH37vK9UFrwAF
ghid_j4CNyHadM7ch7lUhoCmmoQAvD_BwE