United Nations Environment

Programme (UNEP)
“ Discussing the adverse effects of climate change in the aftermath of
depletion of water resources, contamination of oceans, lack of renewable
energy and the exhausting forest cover with special emphasis on relevant
SDG’s”.
Dear Delegates ,
The Executive Board of UNEP welcomes you to the CHRIST DOC
MUN 2018 . We hope you have started the basic research, and have got an idea about the
agenda at hand. Even though the ambit of the committee allows for a broader scope of
debate, still keeping in mind the final outcome document, it is advisable to keep the verbatim
of the committee within the mandate itself.
The study guide aims at providing you with a basic understanding of the agenda and helps
you to take your research down the correct avenue. This is supposed to be neither the
beginning nor the end of your research on the agendas at hand; it’s merely supposed to direct
and complement it. Also note that we expect you to think for yourself. The committee
success depends a lot on the innovative skills and out of the box thinking of the delegates;
and hence we want everyone to come up with a proper analysis and interpretation of your
research and the facts so that we are able to set up a well-directed committee and no delegate
is forced to merely read the research out. A sound knowledge on the agenda at hand and
being well-versed with your foreign policy are the qualities in a delegate the Executive board
will be looking for. We look forward to a very successful committee with a proper learning
experience for the delegates, especially the ones with lesser experience. . Feel free to contact
and clarify doubts in the course of research.
Regards,
The Executive Board
Aditya Kumar (Executive Director)
abhinav.aditya11@gmail.com (+91-9038596242)
Kreshanu Koul (Dep. Executive Director)
kreshanu@gmail.com
Ria Cherian (Substantive Director)

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)

The United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) is the leading global
environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent
implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the
United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, it works through its divisions as well as its regional, liaison
and out-posted offices and a growing network of collaborating centres of excellence. It also
hosts several environmental conventions, secretariats and inter-agency coordinating
bodies. UN Environment is led by the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director.
UNEP categorises its work into seven broad thematic areas:
Climate change
Disasters and conflicts
Ecosystem management
Environmental governance
Chemicals and waste
Resource efficiency
Environment under review
Environmental, social and economic sustainability framework
The Environmental, social and economic sustainability framework improves business
practices of the UN Environment by integrating standardized and structured sustainability
measures across all of its work. This Framework sets minimum safeguard standards for UN
Environment and its implementing/executing partners and enables UN Environment to
anticipate and manage associated environmental, social and economic issues in a holistic
manner.
The Framework serves five broad purposes:
 Getting ready for the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
of the UN 2030 Agenda through closer engagement with UN entities and partners
tostrengthen development aid by routinely integrating the environmental, social and
economic dimensions related to its activities.
Sets safeguard standards for the operations confirming accountability of UN
Environment to member states, and funders.
Enables UN Environment to minimize potential risks and harm while enhancing the
capabilities and credibility of UN Environment with strengthened partnerships.
Allows UN Environment to identify the full life-cycle costs of its operational choices and
to operate more sustainably while improving efficiency over time.
Enables UN Environment to respond more promptly and effectively to emerging
environmental, social and economic issues as an attractive and trusted
implementing/executing partner.

Funding Partners
Member States
Each and every country is a donor, and each and every country is a recipient. Governments
are the core of funding because UN Environment is governed by the 193 member states who
have given themselves a universal responsibility to provide sufficient resources to fund the
programme and budget that they approve. Altogether, 188 countries made a voluntary
contribution to the Environment Fund in the period 1973-2017. The top 15 contributors to the
Environment Fund provided up to 90% of the total income from the Fund.
Multilateral Entities and UN Partners
UN Environment works together with the European Commission, an important partner which
provides support for actions at global and regional level. Areas of common interest include
environmental governance, resource efficiency and green economy, sound management of
chemicals and waste, ecosystems services and natural capital, as well as the science-policy
interface.
UN Environment also works in partnership with the Global Environment Facility(GEF) and
the Green Climate Fund(GCF) in funding environmental projects and activities that are
aligned with its Programme of Work and Medium-Term Strategy.
Foundations and High Net-Worth Individuals
Foundations are playing an important role in development work with potentially $120 trillion
in investment funds that are seeking opportunities to invest. This is an area rich with potential
for UN Environment. The objective of engaging with this sector is to identify high-value
partnerships that that can be developed in order to secure the highest returns with the cleanest
fit between the agendas so that long-term transformative partnerships for change are set in
place. This would include both direct funding for UN Environment and support to areas and
organisations who replicate and support the implementation of our programme.
Private Sector
Private sector actors, be they multinational corporations, state-owned enterprises or small and
medium scale companies, all have stake in better environmental governance and deploy
significant resources in this area. While the governments strengthen policies and regulatory
frameworks, the private sector is critical for implementing them, promoting innovation,
creating new green jobs, and fostering sustainable economic development.
In this context, UN Environment is elevating its level of engagement with the private sector
by building partnerships, including supporting public-private partnerships and collaboration,
that contribute to the implementation of the organisation’s mandate, engage private sector in
the work of the governing bodies, help private sector green their own businesses as well as
promote sharing of data, learning and best practices.
Innovative Funding Mechanisms
UN Environment plans to invest in continued exploration of new and innovative funding
mechanisms. The funds generated will complement the organisation’s the core funding. Related
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Targets linked to the environment:
 Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable
drinking water for all
Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping
and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of
untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
Target 6.4: By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and
ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and
substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
Target 6.5: By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels,
including through trans-boundary cooperation as appropriate
Target 6.6: By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains,
forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
Target 6.a: By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to
developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes,
including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment,
recycling and reuse technologies
Target 6.b: Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving
water and sanitation management.
SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Targets linked to the environment:
Target 7.1: By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy
services
Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global
energy mix
Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
Target 7.a: By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean
energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and
advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy
infrastructure and clean energy technology
 Target 7.b: By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying
modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least
developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing
countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support.
SDG 13:Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Targets linked to the environment:
Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and
natural disasters in all countries
Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and
planning
Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity
on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
Target 13.a: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly
$100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing
countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on
implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its
capitalization as soon as possible
Target 13.b: Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-
related planning and management in least developed countries and small island
developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized
communitieS. SDG 14:Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine
resources forsustainable development.
Targets linked to the environment:
Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in
particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution
Target 14.2: By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to
avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take
action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
 Target 14.3: Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through
enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels
Target 14.4: By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement
science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time
feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by
their biological characteristics
Target 14.5: By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas,
consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific
information
Target 14.6: By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to
overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported
and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that
appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least
developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries
subsidies negotiation
Target 14.7: By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States
and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including
through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism
Target 14.a: Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer
marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to
improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the
development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and
least developed countries
Target 14.b: Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and
markets
Target 14.c: Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources
by implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal
framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources.
SDG 15:Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt
biodiversity loss
Targets linked to the environment:
Target 15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of
terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests,
wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
Target 15.2: By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all
types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase
afforestation and reforestation globally
Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including
land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land
degradation-neutral world
Target 15.4: By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their
biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for
sustainable development
Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural
habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of
threatened species
Target 15.6: Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the
utilisation of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as
internationally agreed
Target 15.7: Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of
flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products
Target 15.8: By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly
reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or
eradicate the priority species
Target 15.9: By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local
planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
 Target 15.a: Mobilise and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to
conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems
Target 15.b: Mobilise significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance
sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries
to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation
Target 15.c: Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of
protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue
sustainable livelihood opportunities.
Circular relationship between climate change and sustainable development
The full cycle of cause and effect between climate change and sustainable development
outlines an integrated assessment modelling (IAM) framework (IPCC 2001a). Each socio-
economic development path (driven by the forces of population, economy, technology, and
governance) gives rise to different levels of greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions
accumulate in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse gas concentrations and disturbing
the natural balance between incident solar radiation and energy re-radiated from the earth.
Such changes give rise to the enhanced greenhouse effect that increases radiative forcing of
the climate system. The resultant changes in climate will persist well into the future, and
impose stresses on the human and natural systems. Such impacts will ultimately have effects
on socio-economic development paths, thus completing the cycle. The development paths
also have direct effects on the natural systems, in the form of non-climate stresses such as
changes in land use leading to deforestation and land degradation.
To summarise, the climate and sustainable development domains interact in a dynamic cycle,
characterised by significant time delays. Both impacts and emissions, for example, are linked
in complex ways to underlying socio-economic and technological development paths.
Adaptation reduces the impact of climate stresses on human and natural systems, while
mitigation lowers potential greenhouse gas emissions. Development paths strongly affect the
capacity to both adapt to and mitigate climate change in any region. In this way adaptation
and mitigation strategies are dynamically connected with changes in the climate system and
the prospects for ecosystem adaptation, food production, and long-term economic
development.
Thus climate change impacts are part of the larger question of how complex social,
economic, and environmental sub-systems interact and shape prospects for sustainable
development. There are multiple links. Economic development affects ecosystem balance
and, in turn, is affected by the state of the ecosystem. Poverty can be both a result and a cause
of environmental degradation. Material- and energy-intensive life styles and continued high
levels of consumption supported by non-renewable resources, as well as rapid population
growth are not likely to be consistent with sustainable development paths. Similarly, extreme
socio-economic inequality within communities and between nations may undermine the
social cohesion that would promote sustainability and make policy responses more effective.
At the same time, socio-economic and technology policy decisions made for non-climate-
related reasons have significant implications for climate policy and climate change impacts,
as well as for other environmental issues. In addition, critical impact thresholds, and
vulnerability to climate change impacts, are directly connected to environmental, social and
economic conditions, and institutional capacity.
Economic, social and environmental risks arising from climate change
First, global warming poses a significant potential threat to the future economic wellbeing of
large numbers of human beings. In its simplest form, the economic efficiency viewpoint will
seek to maximise the net benefits (or outputs of goods and services) from the use of the
global resource represented by the atmosphere. Broadly speaking, this implies that the stock
of atmospheric assets, which provide a sink function for GHGs needs to be maintained at an
optimum level. As indicated in Example 1 below, this target level is defined at the point
where the marginal GHG abatement costs are equal to the marginal avoided damages. The
underlying principles are based on optimality and the economically efficient use of a scarce
resource, i.e., the global atmosphere. Second, climate change could also undermine social
welfare and equity in an unprecedented manner. In particular, more attention needs to be paid
to the vulnerability of social values and institutions, which are already stressed due to rapid
technological changes (Adger 1999). Especially within developing countries, erosion of
social capital is undermining the basic glue that binds communities together – e.g., the rules
and arrangements that align individual behaviour with collective goals (Banuri et al. 1994).
Existing international mechanisms and systems to deal with transnational and global
problems are fragile, and unlikely to be able to cope with worsening climate change impacts.
Furthermore, both intra- and inter-generational equity are likely to be worsened (IPCC
1996a). Existing evidence clearly demonstrates that poorer nations and disadvantaged groups
within nations are especially vulnerable to disasters (Clarke and Munasinghe 1995; Banuri
1998). Climate change is likely to result in inequities due to the uneven distribution of the
costs of damage, as well as of necessary adaptation and mitigation efforts – such differential
effects could occur both among and within countries. Although relevant information is
unavailable, on global scale phenomena like climate change, some historical evidence based
on large scale disasters like El Nino provide useful insights. Two catastrophic famines or
holocausts during the late nineteenth century, killed tens of millions in the developing world.
Recent research indicates that they were the outcome of negative synergies between adverse
global environmental factors (i.e., the El-Nino droughts of 1876-78 and 1898-1901), and the
inadequate response of socio-economic systems (i.e., vulnerability of tropical farming
forcibly integrated into world commodity markets). In the eighteenth century, the quality of
life in countries like Brazil, China, and India were at least on par with European standards.
However, colonial dictates and rapid expansion of world trade, re-oriented production in
developing countries to service distant European markets. By the time the El-Nino droughts
struck in the nineteenth century, the domination of commodity and financial markets by
Britain, forced developing country small holders to export at ever deteriorating terms of
trade. This process undermined local food security, impoverished large populations, and
culminated in holocausts on an unprecedented scale – identified as one major cause of the
present state of underdevelopment in the third world. From a sustainomics perspective, the
corollary is clear, based on the precautionary principle (see next section).
The future vulnerability of developing country food production systems to a combination of
climate change impacts and accelerated globalisation of commodity and financial markets,
poses significant risks to the survival of billions, especially in the poorest nations. Inequitable
distributions are not only ethically unappealing, but also may be unsustainable in the long run
(Burton 1997). For example, a future scenario that restricts per capita carbon emissions in the
South to 0.5 tons per year while permitting a corresponding level in the North of over three
tons per year will not facilitate the cooperation of developing countries, and therefore is
unlikely to be durable. More generally, inequity could undermine social cohesion and
exacerbate conflicts over scarce resources. Third, the environmental viewpoint draws
attention to the fact that increasing anthropogenic emissions and accumulations of GHGs
might significantly perturb a critical global subsystem – the atmosphere (UNFCCC 1993).
Environmental sustainability will depend on several factors, including: · climate change
intensity (e.g., magnitude and frequency of shocks); · system vulnerability (e.g., extent of
impact damage); and · system resilience (i.e., ability to recover from impacts). Changes in the
global climate (e.g., mean temperature, precipitation, etc.) could also threaten the stability of
a range of critical, interlinked physical, ecological and social systems and subsystems.
EXAMPLES ANALYSING THE LINKAGES BETWEEN
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CLIMATE CHANGE
The climate change problem fits in quite readily within the broad conceptual framework of
sustainomics. For a variety of reasons , decision makers are beginning to show more interest
in the assessment of how serious a threat climate change poses to the future basis for
improving human welfare (Munasinghe 2000; Munasinghe and Swart 2000). Typically,
increased GHG emissions and other unsustainable practices are likely to undermine the
security of nations and communities, through economic, social and environmental
impoverishment, as well as inequitable distribution of adverse impacts – with undesirable
consequences such as large numbers of ‘environmental’ refugees.
Thus, human-induced climate change is a global environmental problem that will have
impacts at the local, regional and (potentially) global levels. Successfully limiting the pace
and extent of the harmful effects of climate change will require international cooperation.
GHG concentrations should “be stabilised at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a
time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that
food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a
sustainable manner” (Article 2, UNFCCC 1993).
Local-project scale: Hydroelectric power
The procedures for conventional environmental and social assessment at the project/local
level (which are now well accepted world-wide), may be readily adapted to assess the
environmental and social effects of micro-level activities (World Bank 1998). The OECD
(1994) has pioneered the ‘Pressure-State-Response’ framework to trace socio-economic
environment linkages. This P-S-R approach begins with the pressure (e.g., population
growth), then seeks to determine the state of the environment (e.g., ambient pollutant
concentration), and ends by identifying the policy response (e.g., pollution taxes). The focus
here is on local pressures, but bearing in mind that climate change impacts would eventually
exacerbate the local impacts – the examples are useful because the same analytical techniques
may be applied to deal with the impacts of both local and global environmental drivers on
key sustainable development indicators.
Sustainable development and climate change are two important and interlinked challenges
facing humankind, in the 21st century. Therefore, they merit careful joint analysis. In this
context, many relevant findings emerged from the IPCC TAR process, as documented in the
three working group reports, special reports, and other documents like the guidance paper on
development, equity and sustainability and proceedings of two expert meetings on climate
change and sustainable development. While no universally acceptable practical definition of
SD exists as yet, the concept has evolved to encompass three major points of view: economic,
social and environmental. Each viewpoint corresponds to a domain or system, which has its
own distinct driving forces and objectives. The economic system is geared mainly towards
improving human welfare (primarily through increases in the consumption of goods and
services). The environmental domain focuses on protection of the integrity and resilience of
ecological systems. The social system seeks to enrich human relationships and achieve
individual and group aspirations.
There is no single overarching framework for sustainable development, but sustainomics
attempts to describe ‘a trans-disciplinary, integrative, balanced, heuristic and practical meta-
framework for making development more sustainable’. Comprehensiveness is an important
requirement because both sustainable development and climate change involve every aspect
of human activity, including complex interactions among socioeconomic, ecological and
physical systems. The scope of analysis needs to extend from the global to the local scale,
cover time spans extending to centuries (for example, in the case of climate change), and deal
with problems of uncertainty, irreversibility, and non-linearity. The approach must not only
integrate the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, as
well as related methodologies and paradigms in a consistent manner, but also provide
balanced treatment of all these elements. Balance is also needed in the relative emphasis
placed on traditional development versus sustainability. No single discipline could cope with
the multiplicity of issues involved, and therefore a trans-disciplinary framework is required
which would address the many facets, from concept to actual practice.
Impacts of Climate Change in various sectors
Agriculture and Food Security
Climate Change is projected to have significant impacts on conditions affecting agriculture,
including temperature, precipitation and glacial run off. It affects agriculture in more ways
than one. It can affect crop yield as well as the types of crops that can be grown in certain
areas, by impacting agricultural inputs such as water for irrigation, amounts of solar radiation
that affect plant growth, as well as the prevalence of pests.
Rise in temperatures caused by increasing greenhouse gases is likely to affect crops
differently from region to region. For example, moderate warming (increase of 1 to 3 o C in
mean temperature) is expected to benefit crop yields in temperate regions, while in lower
latitudes especially seasonally dry tropics, even moderate temperature increases (1 to 2 o C )
are likely to have negative impacts for major cereal crops. Warming of more than 3 o C is
expected to have negative effect on production in all regions. The Third Assessment Report
of the IPCC, 2001 concluded that climate change would hit the poorest countries severely in
terms of reducing the agricultural products. The Report claimed that crop yield would be
reduced in most tropical and sub-tropical regions due to decreased water availability, and
new or changed insect/pest incidence. In South Asia losses of many regional staples, such as
rice, millet and maize could top 10 per cent by 2030.
As a result of climate change the amount of arable land in high-latitude region is likely to
increase by reduction of the amount of frozen lands. At the same time arable land along the
coast lines are bound to be reduced as a result of rising sea level. Erosion, submergence of
shorelines, salinity of the water table due to the increased sea levels, could mainly affect
agriculture through inundation of low lying lands.
Agriculture is important for food security in two ways: it provides the food and also the
primary source of livelihood for 38.7 percent of the world’s total workforce. In Asia and the
Pacific, this share accounts for approximately 50 per cent and in sub-Saharan Africa, nearly
two-thirds (63 per cent) of the working population still make their living from agriculture. If
agricultural production in the low-income developing countries of Asia and Africa is
adversely affected by climate change, the livelihoods of large numbers of the rural poor will
be put at risk and their vulnerability to food insecurity will be manifold.
Water Stress and Water Insecurity
Lack of access to water is a perturbing issue, particularly in developing countries. At present
a whopping 1.1 billion people around the world lack access to water and 2.6 billion people
are without sanitation. Climate change is expected to exacerbate current stresses on water
resources. By 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to
increased water stress due to climate change.
Spreading water scarcity is contributing to food insecurity and heightened competitions for
water both within and between countries. As the world population expands and the
consumption of water spirals upwards, water problems are bound to intensify. By 2025, 40
per cent of the world’s population, more than 3 billion in all, may be living in countries
experiencing water stress or chronic water scarcity.
Increase in temperature due to climate change has been widespread over the globe. Warming
has resulted in decline in mountain glaciers and snow cover in both hemispheres and this is
projected to accelerate throughout the 21st century. This will in turn lead to reducing water
availability, hydropower potential, and would change the seasonal flow of rivers in regions
supplied by melt water from major mountain ranges (e.g. Hindu-Kush, Himalaya, Andes)
where more than one-sixth of the world population currently lives. By 2050s freshwater
availability in Central, South, East and South-East Asia, particularly in large river basins, is
projected to decrease.
A warmer climate will accelerate the hydrologic cycle, altering rainfall, magnitude and
timing of run-off. Available research suggests a significant future increase in heavy rainfall
events in many regions, while in some regions the mean rainfall is projected to decrease. The
frequency of severe floods in large river basins has increased during the 20th century and it is
likely that up to 20 per cent of the world population will live in areas where river flood
potential could increase by the 2080s.
Increasing floods poses challenges to society, physical infrastructure and water quality.
Rising temperatures will further affect the physical, chemical and biological properties of
fresh water lakes and rivers, with predominantly adverse impacts on many individual fresh
water species, community composition and water quality. In coastal areas, sea level rise will
exacerbate water resource constraints due to increased salinization of groundwater supplies.
Rise in Sea Levels
Nearly 70 % of Earth’s surface comprises of water in the form of seas and oceans. Sea level
rise under warming is inevitable. Sea level rise is both due to thermal expansion as well as
melting of ice sheets. Thermal expansion would continue for many centuries even after GHG
concentrations have stabilized causing an eventual sea level rise much larger than projected
for the 21st century. If warming in excess of 1.9 to 4.6°C above pre-industrial level be
sustained over many centuries then the final rise in sea level due to melting polar ice could be
several meters, because it will be in addition to that of rise of sea level due to thermal
expansion. The present scenario clearly indicates that the sea level will definitely rise.
Satellite observations available since the early 1990s show that since 1993, sea level has been
rising at a rate of around 3 mm per year, significantly higher than the average during the
previous half-century. IPCC predicts that sea levels could rise rapidly with accelerated ice
sheet disintegration. Global temperature increases of 3–4°C could result in 330 million
people being permanently or temporarily displaced through flooding. Warming seas will also
fuel more intense tropical storms. With over 344 million people currently exposed to tropical
cyclones, more intensive storms could have devastating consequences for a large group of
countries. The 1 billion people currently living in urban slums on fragile hillsides or flood-
prone river banks face acute vulnerabilities. People living in the Ganges Delta and lower
Manhattan share the flood risks associated with rising sea levels.
Ecosystems and Bio-diversity
Climate Change has the potential to cause immense biodiversity loss, affecting both
individual species and their ecosystems that support economic growth and human well-being.
It is difficult to predict the overall result of climate changes on animal and plant kingdom.
Devastating effects on the native habitats of many animals and plants due to global warming
is likely to drive a considerable number of today’s known animal and plant species to
extinction. Mass extinctions of the Earth’s flora and fauna have occurred before also but
those were driven by natural factors. However, the projected extinctions of flora and fauna in
the future will be human driven i.e. due to adverse impact of human activities. The growth of
human populations around the world, along with attendant pollution and loss of habitat, has
set the stage for mass extinctions and large scale alterations in the flora and fauna.
According to International World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and National Wildlife Federation in
the United States species from the tropics to the poles are at risk. Many species may be
unable to move to new areas quickly enough to survive changes that rising temperatures will
bring to their historic habitats. WWF asserted that one-fifth of the world’s most vulnerable
natural areas may be facing a “catastrophic” loss of species. Another survey in 2004 of 5,743
amphibian species indicated that one in every three species was in danger of extinction due to
global warming.
Studies predict that global warming will also lead to extinction of insects in the tropical zone
by the end of the century while insects in the temperate zones and the poles could experience
a dramatic increase in numbers. It will also have catastrophic impact on the marine
ecosystems. They will be affected not only by an increase in sea temperature and changes in
ocean circulation, but also by ocean acidification, as the concentration of dissolved carbon
dioxide (carbonic acid) rises. This is expected to negatively affect shell forming organisms,
corals and their dependent ecosystems. Accelerated warming of the atmosphere will also alter
the flora and fauna around the world.
Climate Change and Health
Climate change poses a host of threats to the survival of mankind. The debilitating impact of
climate change has broadened the sphere of discourse much beyond the traditional concern
like environment or development. The far reaching consequences of climate change has
forced policymakers and planners to look at every possible aspect of human survival.
Arguably, it has catastrophic effects on human health. Each year, about 800,000 people die
from causes attributable to air pollution, 1.8 million from diarrhoea resulting from lack of
access to clean water supply, sanitation, and poor hygiene, 3.5 million from malnutrition and
approximately 60,000 in natural disasters. A warmer and more variable climate would result
in higher levels of some air pollutants, increased transmission of diseases through unclean
water and through contaminated food.
Climate change has a direct impact on human health. For example, the warmer the climate
the likelihood of its impact on human health becomes worse. Available studies suggest that
there will be an increase in health problems. It is anticipated that there will be an increase in
the number of deaths due to greater frequency and severity of heat waves and other extreme
weather events.
Lack of freshwater during droughts and contamination of freshwater supplies during floods
compromise hygiene, thus increasing rates of diarrhoeal disease. Endemic morbidity and
mortality due to diarrhoeal disease primarily associated with floods and droughts are
expected to rise in East, South and South-East Asia due to projected changes in hydrological
cycle.
Climate change is a major factor in the spread of infectious diseases. Diseases, confined to
one specific geographic region spread to other areas. The World Health Organization (WHO)
in their studies have indicated that due to rising temperatures, malaria cases are now being
reported for the first time from countries like Nepal and Bhutan. It has also been predicted
that an additional 220-400 million people could be exposed to malaria- a disease that claims
around 1 million lives annually. Dengue fever is already in evidence at higher levels of
elevation in Latin America and parts of East Asia. Climate change could further expand the
reach of the disease. Studies suggest that climate change may swell the population at risk of
malaria in Africa by 90 million.
Rising temperatures and changing patterns of rainfall are projected to decrease crop yields in
many developing countries, stressing food supplies. This will ultimately translate into wider
prevalence of malnutrition/ under-nutrition. In some African countries, yields from rain-fed
agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 per cent by 2020.
Emission of the Green House Gases have been responsible for the depletion of ozone layer,
which protects the Earth from the harmful direct rays of the sun. Depletion of stratospheric
ozone results in higher exposure to the ultra violet rays of the sun, leading to an increase in
the incidents of skin cancer. It could also lead to an increase in the number of people
suffering from eye diseases such as cataract. It is also thought to cause suppression of the
immune system. The projections by WHO and IPCC suggest that the negative effects of
climate change on health are greater. In addition, the negative effects are concentrated on
poor populations that already have compromised health prospects, thus widening the
inequality gap between the most and the least privileged. The balance of positive and
negative health impacts will vary from one location to another, and will alter over time as
temperatures continue to rise.
Climate Change Mitigation
UN Environment takes a multifaceted approach towards climate change mitigation in its
efforts to help countries move towards climate-resilient and low emissions strategies.
Climate Change Mitigation refers to efforts to reduce or prevent emission of greenhouse
gases. Mitigation can mean using new technologies and renewable energies, making older
equipment more energy efficient, or changing management practices or consumer behaviour.
It can be as complex as a plan for a new city, or as a simple as improvements to a cook stove
design. Efforts underway around the world range from high-tech subway systems to bicycling
paths and walkways.
Climate change is one of the most complex issues facing us today. It involves many
dimensions – science, economics, society, politics and moral and ethical questions – and is a
global problem, felt on local scales, that will be around for decades and centuries to come.
Carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping greenhouse gas that has driven recent global warming,
lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, and the planet (especially the oceans) takes a
while to respond to warming. So even if we stopped emitting all greenhouse gases today,
global warming and climate change will continue to affect future generations. In this way,
humanity is “committed” to some level of climate change.
How much climate change? That will be determined by how our emissions continue and also
exactly how our climate system responds to those emissions. Despite increasing awareness of
climate change, our emissions of greenhouse gases continue on a relentless rise. In 2013, the
daily level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere surpassed 400 parts per million for the first
time in human history. The last time levels were that high was about three to five million
years ago, during the Pliocene era. Because we are already committed to some level of
climate change, responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach:
Reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere
Adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline
Mitigation and adaptation
Solar panels
Mitigation – reducing climate change – involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, either by reducing sources of these gases (for example,
the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat or transport) or enhancing the “sinks” that
accumulate and store these gases (such as the oceans, forests and soil). The goal of mitigation
is to avoid significant human interference with the climate system, and “stabilize greenhouse
gas levels in a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change,
ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed
in a sustainable manner”
Adaptation – adapting to life in a changing climate – involves adjusting to actual or expected
future climate. The goal is to reduce our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate
change (like sea-level encroachment, more intense extreme weather events or food
insecurity). It also encompasses making the most of any potential beneficial opportunities
associated with climate change (for example, longer growing seasons or increased yields in
some regions). Throughout history, people and societies have adjusted to and coped with
changes in climate and extremes with varying degrees of success. Climate change (drought in
particular) has been at least partly responsible for the rise and fall of civilizations. Earth’s
climate has been relatively stable for the past 12,000 years and this stability has been crucial
for the development of our modern civilization and life as we know it. Modern life is tailored
to the stable climate we have become accustomed to. As our climate changes, we will have to
learn to adapt. The faster the climate changes, the harder it could be.
While climate change is a global issue, it is felt on a local scale. Cities and municipalities are
therefore at the frontline of adaptation. In the absence of national or international climate
policy direction, cities and local communities around the world have been focusing on
solving their own climate problems. They are working to build flood defences, plan for
heatwaves and higher temperatures, install water-permeable pavements to better deal with
floods and storm water and improve water storage and use.
According to the 2014 report on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
(page 8) from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, governments
at various levels are also getting better at adaptation. Climate change is starting to be factored
into a variety of development plans: how to manage the increasingly extreme disasters we are
seeing and their associated risks, how to protect coastlines and deal with sea-level
encroachment, how to best manage land and forests, how to deal with and plan for reduced
water availability, how to develop resilient crop varieties and how to protect energy and
public infrastructure.
Suggested Steps for climate change mitigation:
1. Introduction of better flood warning systems
2. Modify homes and businesses to help them withstand floods
3. Construct buildings above flood levels
5. Increase spending on flood defences
6. Protect wetlands and introduce plant trees strategically
7. Restore rivers to their natural courses
8. Introduce water storage areas
9. Improve soil conditions
10. Put up more flood barriers
Note: Delegates are required to research extensively on mitigation steps.
Global Warming
Global warming is here, it's man-made, and it will cause serious problems in the years ahead.
What's more, humanity has dallied so long that avoiding the worst impacts will now require
extremely sharp emissions cuts — and possibly taking carbon out of the air.
Avoiding drastic warming may mean zeroing out fossil-fuel emissions by 2100
That's the upshot of a major new synthesis report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). It provides a helpful summary of the panel's previous three big
reports on global warming, which dealt with:
1) the physical science of climate change,
2) how bad it could get and
3) how to stop it.
The new report includes a review of the evidence that carbon dioxide from burning coal, gas,
and oil is heating the planet. It notes that some amount of "irreversible" climate disruption is
already locked in, but things can also get much, much worse. Additional global warming
could wreak havoc across the globe, potentially leading to food shortages, the flooding of
major cities, and mass extinctions.
Perhaps the most relevant sections are about how to avoid this fate, something the world's
nations will be discussing over the next year of UN climate talks. To avoid the worst
outcomes, the world would need to act immediately and drastically, reducing emissions 41 to
72 percent below 2010 levels by mid-century. We'd then need to keep cutting and possibly be
taking carbon-dioxide back out of the atmosphere by 2100.
That won't be easy. And the task gets all the harder if countries delay action or if they rule out
certain controversial technologies, like nuclear power or carbon capture for coal plants. Here
are seven key points from the report:
1) Right now, the world is failing badly at its climate goals
The world's nations have pledged to prevent global average temperatures from rising more
than 2° Celsius (or 3.6° Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. If we go too far above that,
the worry goes, we dramatically increase the risks of things like rapid sea-level rise or mass
extinctions or severe damage to our farms and crops. Even if nations follow through on their
climate pledges, we're still on pace for 3°c of global warming Trouble is, on our current
course, it's unlikely that we'll meet that goal. Global average temperatures have already risen
0.85°C since the 19th century, as humans have burned fossil fuels and cleared forests and put
more heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And, the IPCC notes, yearly
greenhouse-gas emissions continue to rise fast (see chart). If emissions keep rising, we're
likely on pace for between 3.7°C and 4.8°C rise in average temperatures by the end of the
century. The World Bank, for one, thinks that would be a total disaster — because "there is
no certainty that adaptation to a 4°C world is possible.".
Now, countries like Europe and the United States, have made various pledges to cut their
emissions in recent years. But even if those pledges pan out, the IPCC estimates, the world
would still be on pace for roughly 3°C of global warming by the end of the century. (There's
a range of possible outcomes, but that's the central estimate.)
2) Hitting those goals will require sharp emissions cuts — and soon
So how can we stay below 2°C of global warming?
The IPCC calculates that annual greenhouse-gas emissions would have to start dropping each
year — until they were 41 percent to 72 percent below 2010 levels by mid-century. Then
emissions would have to keep falling until humans were hardly putting any extra greenhouse
gases by the end of the century. We'd also likely have to pull some carbon-dioxide out of the
atmosphere.
This task sounds extraordinarily difficult — and it is. But the IPCC notes that it becomes
even more difficult the longer we put off cutting emissions, because carbon-dioxide and other
greenhouse gases will keep piling up in the atmosphere in the meantime, and the cuts needed
to stay below the limit become more severe. In fact, if annual emissions in 2030 are still
above today's levels, it becomes all but impossible to stay below that 2°C limit. (And even
3°C would be difficult to avoid.)
3) Cutting emissions will require a massive technological push
A grass covered mock VW electronic beetle car is pictured at the Hannover Messe industrial
trade fair in Hanover, central Germany on April 7, 2014. So how do we cut emissions that
sharply? First, the IPCC says that the world would have to triple or even quadruple the share
of clean energy that it uses by 2050 — and keep scaling it up thereafter. Second, we'd have to
get dramatically more efficient at using energy in our homes, buildings, and cars. If we rule
out technologies like nuclear power, the task becomes much harder. Right now, about 13
percent of the world's energy is "low-carbon"— a little bit of wind and solar power, some
nuclear power plants, a bunch of hydroelectric dams. Those technologies would need to
continue to improve and expand dramatically. That means two things. First, it's tough to rule
out any particular technologies. For instance, some environmentalists are opposed to nuclear
power. But the IPCC estimates that the task of cutting emissions becomes between 4 and 18
percent more expensive if nations shuttered all their nuclear plants. Likewise, the technology
to capture carbon emissions from coal plants and bury it underground is still in its infancy.
But if that technology proves unworkable or limited, the IPCC estimates, then the task of
cutting emissions becomes twice as expensive:
(It's worth noting that there are factors pushing the other way, too: Solar power has become
much, much cheaper since the IPCC drew up its assessment, which makes the overall task of
cutting emissions a bit easier. Second, the IPCC notes that investment in fossil fuels — coal,
oil, and natural gas — would have to decrease by 20 percent in the next few decades. After
all, if renewable energy ramps up, but conventional coal expands even faster, emissions
would rise, not fall. Is this all doable? The IPCC report suggests that it's at least
technologically feasible. Whether it's politically realistic is another matter. The report notes
that countries could start taxing carbon emissions as way of pushing private companies to
redirect their investments. So far, however, those policies have been slow to catch on — in
the United States, a carbon tax is a non-starter in Congress.
4) We'd also likely need to pull carbon out of the atmosphere
Back in its 2007 report on preventing climate change, the IPCC suggested that the world's
emissions would have to peak in 2015 if we wanted to prevent 2°C or more of global
warming. That's obviously not going to happen 2015 is next year, and emissions are expected
to keep rising. So why does the IPCC think we still have a chance this time around? The
panel is putting its hopes in technologies that allow us to pull carbon out of the atmosphere
toward the end of the century. What if, for instance, we grew trees that sucked carbon dioxide
out of the atmosphere. Then we burned those trees for fuel. But instead of letting the carbon
dioxide from those trees go back into the atmosphere when we burned it, we captured the
emissions and pumped them underground? Voilà: That whole process would, in theory, be
"carbon-negative." The problem? The IPCC concedes that the availability of these techniques
is "uncertain" and the technology is currently "limited." So the panel is putting a lot of hope
in an unproven concept to help limit global warming and stay below the 2°C target.
5) Cutting emissions will cost us — but so will global warming
A bulldozer is used to push sand from a discharge pipe into place during a federally funded
shore protection project by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock on May 17, 2013 in Fort Pierce,
Florida. The IPCC estimates that staying below the 2°C target will likely cost us. After all,
we're giving up cheaper fossil fuels and replacing them with pricier electric cars and solar
panels and nuclear plants. Staying below 2°c will cost us — but so will going above it
Economic modeling suggests that this would shave 0.06 percentage points off global
economic growth each year. So instead of growing by, say, 3 percent per year we'd be
growing by 2.94 percent. The world would still get richer over time, but at a somewhat
slower rate. By century's end, a massive clean-energy push would have cost between 3 and
11 percent of global income. That sounds manageable, though it's also assuming all the
necessary technologies work out and that countries start cutting immediately. It also assumes
that countries adopt the most cost-effective emissions policies possible — which is far from a
given.
One question, meanwhile, is how this compares to the costs of not doing anything. The IPCC
notes that it's difficult to assess the costs of unchecked global warming. More extreme
weather and higher sea levels and crop failures were all likely to be quite damaging — but
there wasn't enough research to put a precise dollar figure on it. (The panel suggested that
just 2.5°C of warming would cost between 0.2 and 2 percent of annual income in 2100,
though it noted that this was likely to be a low-ball figure.)
So a lot depends on how much risk we're willing to take on. If we pay less for cutting
emissions, we'll likely pay more in damages from higher temperatures and vice versa. In his
recent book The Climate Casino, Yale economist William Nordhaus suggested that the costs
and benefits were likely to balance out at around 2.5°C of global warming. But others have
come up with higher and lower targets to aim for.
6) Countries will have to start working together for a change
The IPCC notes that all the world's major nations would have to work together to halt global
warming. That's because additional carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere helps heat up the planet
no matter who emits it.So it's not like Europe can cut all of its emissions and the problem is
solved. Everyone else — China, India, the United States, Japan — would have to reduce their
greenhouse gases, too.
7) Even if we cut emissions, we'll still need to adapt to a hotter world
Even if the world cuts emissions drastically and stays below 2°C of warming, the IPCC
notes, we've already locked in some amount of "irreversible" climate change, whose effects
will "continue for centuries." That will mean changes in sea levels, rainfall patterns, extreme
weather, and so on. And countries all over will have to adapt. Some examples:
➢ Africa faces an increased risk of crop failure due to increased heat and drought. Countries
can partly offset these risks through things like better irrigation practices, more loans for
small farmers, providing access to fertilizer and better farming practices, and creating
"early-warning systems" against drought.
➢ Asia needs to worry about increased flooding from heavy storms and tropical cyclones,
among other things. Adaptation might involve early-warning systems and stricter building
codes so that homes can withstand flooding.
➢ North America will face increased wildfires and deadly heat waves. Possible adaptations
include providing "cooling centres" for people who don't have air conditioning during
heat waves. Governments could also stop subsidizing people who live in wildfire-prone
areas.
➢ And the hotter it gets, the harder it gets to adapt. If we get 2°C of global warming, for
instance, the risk of crop failures in Africa due to drought and heat rises to "very high." If
Africa then invests a lot of money in adaptation, it can get that risk back down to
"medium." If, however, we get 4°C of global warming, then Africa's risk of crop failures
becomes "very high" even with high levels of adaptation. There's only so much you can
defend against extremely high heat levels.
Reference links:
https://www.vox.com/2014/4/22/5551004/two-degrees
https://www.vox.com/2014/9/22/6805513/un-climate-talks-in-seven-charts
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/resources.html
https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/climate-change
https://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Impact-of-climate-on-SDGs-technical-report-
CDKN.pdf
https://www.asef.org/images/stories/publications/ebooks/asef-handbook-climate-change-
sustainable-development-goals.pdf
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/ecaRIM_bp1.pdf
http://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2007/wp56_2007.pdf
https://www.undp.org/content/dam/LECB/docs/pubs-reports/undp-Scaling-Up-Climate-
Action-Change-SDGs-English-20161102.pdf
http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/SDGs_13_SYB2015.pdf
http://www.mohanmunasinghe.com/pdf/WILEY-Wires-CC-SD-Oct2010.pdf