United Nations Environmental Program UNEP

Study Guide
2015
28 – 31 May
United Nations Environmental Program
UNEP
Chair: Hamza Naeem
CO-Chair: Jacelyn Yap
http://pimun.epanu.org/
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The present Study Guide has been compiled for the delegates of the United Nations
Environmental Program, Paris International Model United Nations (PIMUN) and contains the
basic information for the understanding of the topic, namely “Approaches in Achieving
Resilience to Climate Changes and Weather Extremes in Populated Areas”
Table of Contents:
UNEP Committee
introductionn……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Error! Bookmark not
defined.
Introduction of
Chairs……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Error! Bookmark
not defined.
Topic A: Approaches in Achieving Resilience to Climate Changes and Weather Extremes in
Populated Areas…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
I.
Background and Histroy……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
II. Key Concepts and Definitions………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6
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Climate Change..................................................................................................................................6
Global Warming.................................................................................................................................7
Millenium Development Goals: Goal 7.............................................................................................7
Urbanization.......................................................................................................................................8
III. Current Developments………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9
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The Blue-Green Dream..................................................................................................................11
IV. Key Issues to Concider…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
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Growing Global Population...........................................................................................................12
Rapid Urbanization........................................................................................................................12
Vulnerability...................................................................................................................................13
Post-disaster Rehabillitation and Recovery...................................................................................13
Climate Resilience..........................................................................................................................14
Green Economy..............................................................................................................................14
National Planning..........................................................................................................................14
V.
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15
VI. Questions a Resolution Should Answer……………………………………………………………………………………………16
VII. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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United Nations Environmental Program Committee Introduction
The United Nations Environment program (UNEP) commonly referred to as “the voice”
for the environment in the United Nations. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is
an organization of the United Nations that organizes its environmental activities, in way that it
helps assisting the developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and
practices. It was established by Maurice Strong in June 1972, as a result of the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment. The UNEP headquarters are situated in the Gigiri
neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices.
Recent reformation of the UNEP Governing Council has positioned the body to better fill this role.
During the year 2014, UNEP executed various projects across various precedence categories
varying from climate change to disasters and conflicts in ecosystem. In the United Nations, the
UNEP falls under the umbrella of “Programs and Funds”. Programs and Funds is an entity
governed by independent intergovernmental bodies, who derive most of their monetary funds from
sources other than the UN itself.
Mandate
During the UN conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, June 1972, the
General Assembly came to a conclusion to setup up a committee in order to promote international
environmental cooperation, guide the creation of environmental policies, monitor the global
environment in order to highlight problems, transfer scientific knowledge where needed, assist
developing countries with any further aid they require, and review and approve the annual program
on the allocation of the Environment Fund, which is the main source of funding for UNEP. The
General Assembly adopted resolution 2997 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972 for UNEP.
United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
UNEP headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya. This strategically chosen geographical
location lets the UNEP Secretariat gain a prime understanding of the problematic nature of
environmental concerns of the developing nations. UNEP’s mandate has been re-examined and
revised numerous times since its birth. The most substantial of these changes to the mandate come
from Agenda 21, approved in 1992 by the UN Conference on Environment and Development
(Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of
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the United Nations Environment Program, adopted by the UNEP Governing Council in its decision
19/1. The agenda 21 (1992) recapitulates tactics for integrating sustainable development into the
twenty-first century, which is important to UNEP’s mandate as it guarantees an environmental
morality associated with social and economic developments worldwide. Despite this particular
adjustment to the mandate, UNEP still lacked clarity as to what role the program played in the
global environmental field; there were few successful operations and the committee was not
strong. This lead to the Nairobi Declaration, which redefined and reinforced UNEP’s role and
mandate, being accepted. One of the most significant outcomes of the Declaration is the
authorization of UNEP’s position as the primary UN body with global environmental authority.
The Declaration expanded UNEP’s mandate, highlighting the advancement of international
cooperation and coordination through sharing scientific knowledge and further developing
international law by ensuring international agreements were fully implemented. Given this
mandate, UNEP’s current 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."
UNEP receives its monetary assistance from a wide variety of sources with few common
ones such as, UN Regular Budget, the Environment Funds, the General Trust Fund, the Technical
Cooperation Trust Funds, Earmarked (Counterpart) Contributions (CPL), other Earmarked
Contributions and Other Trust Funds. Several donors include some individuals and the private
sector which are of great financial assistance.
Conclusion
The development of UNEP’s Governing Council to a full plenary establishes the universal impact
of environmental issues. In the coming year, UNEP promises to be deeply involved with
environmental issues across the UN system. Its constant success, however, will be subject
to international commitment to the environment and sufficient funding for the environment at large
as well as the body.
Introduction of Chairs
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Chair - Hamza Naeem
It is undeniably an absolutely heart-warming pleasure to welcome you to the United Nations
Environment Program at this fourth edition of Paris International Model United Nations 2015.
I am Hamza Naeem, a recent graduate of the National University of Sciences and
Technology, Pakistan. I have completed my four years of bachelors in Electrical Engineering,
majoring in Power Systems. I am currently operational at this French Multinational GDF Suez in
the capacity of a Trainee Engineer. I have been a very active member of the Model United Nations
circuit in the course of past 6-7 years. I have been part 11 Model United Nations since 2006 and
have won various awards as a Delegate as well as a Committee Director.
I am truly honoured to serve as the Committee Chair for UNEP at this fourth edition of
Paris International Model United Nations, since it is one of the most prestigious Model United
Nations across Europe. As a committee and a group of relentlessly hard-working individuals,
UNEP at PIMUN’15 shall undoubtedly become one of the most exhilarating and thoughtprovoking experiences of our lives.
The importance of the expression of your opinion, principally in the realms of foreign
policy and global diplomacy carries immense value, irrespective of the level of diversity and the
number of individuals that may be present to witness your opinion. The Model United Nations
platform is not just restricted to representing countries, participating in rhetoric and socializing,
the objective essentially is to step forward and comprehend the complexities of decision-making
and bilateral policy structures.
The success of this conference will not be defined by how much voice an individual raised,
but the extent of knowledge and the level of understanding he established of as to why global
leadership take certain enigmatic decisions, which may in fact be an essential step towards the
survival and sovereignty of a Nation.
Within UNEP, each individual is expected to be well-prepared, not just for their own progress and
benefit, but for that of the entire committee. If each delegation is able to prepare themselves to
become the true ambassadors of their allotted countries, not only will the entire gathering benefit
from the vast knowledge flowing through the committee, but each individual shall be able to take
a leap forward in becoming a more informed citizen of the global populace. Each of you, as
delegates, is responsible for the success or failure of this conference; let us not find faults in each
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other, but seek to explore the positive aspects of the delegations that sit amongst us and of the
platform that has been created for us.
Let us congregate to make the PIMUN’15 experience worthwhile.
Co-Chair - Jacelyn Yap
Jacelyn is currently in her final year at NUS High School in Singapore. Her academic
interests include science, politics, and geography. She is particularly interested in sustainable
development and cyber warfare. Her passion for Model United Nations (MUN) has led her to
participate frequently, both as chair and delegate, from beginner councils to continual and multicabinet crises. Just early this year, she chaired at the Iran Hostage Crisis of Yale-NUS College
Asia-Pacific MUN, one of the largest MUNs in Asia. In total, she has 6 MUNs to Chair at this
year.
In her spare time, she enjoys making art, and reading (especially books by Agatha Christie
and Paulo Coelho). At PIMUN, she wishes to inspire and be inspired, through fruitful discussions
and acquainting herself with everyone participating. She believes that PIMUN will be a dynamic
and vibrant event where delegates can engage in academically rigorous debate over topics of
interest. She would like to wish delegates all the best for their preparations, and hope that they are
excited about PIMUN. If any delegates have questions regarding the topics, or MUNs in general,
do feel free to contact her at [email protected].
Topic A
Approaches in Achieving Resilience to Climate Changes
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and Weather Extremes in Populated Areas
I.
History
Background
The Industrial Revolution had paved the way for unprecedented economic and population
growth across the globe. Abundance and economic potential of coal and fossil fuels resulted in
over-reliance and exploitation of these resources, and the advent of consequences including global
warming and environmental pollution. Shortly after the Industrial Revolution, scientists began to
discover the effects of heightened greenhouse gas concentrations on the environment, forecasting
worsening weather extremes. The issue of climate change has been brought to the UN numerous
times, resulting in various agreements and establishment of specialized organizations and events,
such as UNEP, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Rio+20. However, there has been a lack of support
for international agreements (eg. Montreal Protocol, Kyoto Protocol) especially by key
stakeholders, such as USA and China, who are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases in the
world (5.38 billion tons and 10.33 billion tons of carbon dioxide respectively, in 2013). Noncompliance from the international community has significantly hampered progress in dealing with
climate change and weather extremes (CCWE).
Sensitive to even slight changes, the climate system has changed drastically in the past few
decades, as compared to before industrialization. Noticeable environmental degradation prompted
public discourse and scientific interest. To deepen the then-scarce scientific understanding of
climate science, various programmes and organizations were established such as the International
Global Atmospheric Research Program. Government concern and political interest may have
spurred the creation of national government agencies dealing with climate and environmental
policies, such as the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. However, climate
change was deemed less pressing than then-current issues such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and
Cold War. It was only from the 1970s that climate change began to gain traction, where the first
UN Environment Conference occurred. However, climate change still lacked global prioritization,
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as the international community was focused on other environment affairs, such as pollution and
whaling. By 1990, the Montreal Protocol had been ratified, thereby phasing out substances that
deplete the ozone layer - hailed as the epitome of international cooperation, it was ratified by all
197 UN Members by 2012. Towards the end of the century, the world saw its population reach 6
billion and its warmest year (1998), and efforts to tackle climate change increased significantly 2 comprehensive assessment reports from IPCC, the Earth Summit, the ratification of the Kyoto
Protocol, and growing public opinion over the evident warming of Polar Regions.
Climate change may influence weather patterns and environment conditions, thereby causing
weather extremes and environmental degradation. These are more frequent and severe in the 21st
Century, after the accumulation of greenhouse gases, pollutants, and environmental degradation
from the 20th Century. With the exponential growth of the human population, especially in poorly
developed regions, more people are at risk of CCWE and lack the capacity to withstand resultant
shocks or build sustainable communities.
II.
Key Concepts and Definitions
Climate change
From the mid-20th Century onwards, global and regional climate patterns have been
involving, moving towards warmer, hostile, and extreme conditions. Though it was mainly
controlled by biotic, geographic, and tectonic forces in the past, scientists agree that climate change
today is largely attributed to anthropogenic factors. Physical evidence include global records of
past temperatures, glacier inventories and ice cores, loss of continental and oceanic ice, and
dendroclimatology. Human influences stem from greenhouse gas production due to exploitation
of fossil fuels and coal, and erosion of the earth's capacity to naturally mitigate climate change including deforestation and ozone depletion.
Global warming
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Referring to the detriments of climate change, global warming focuses on the impacts that
worsening climate change has on societies, public health, and environment. Key aspects can be
categorized as follows:
1. Rising sea levels due to thermal expansion and the melting of ice formations (ice caps and
glaciers) and ice sheets. Melting occurs more rapidly at the Antarctic, which is in considerably
proximity with countries in North America and Europe, thereby posing a greater threat to these
societies.
2. Wildfires and heat waves, which seem to be amplified by global temperature increase. Heat
waves and prolonged dry weather may lead to wildfires, especially where meditative measures like
controlled burning. In exceptionally hot summers, wildfires tend to be more extensive and threaten
infrastructure and human lives.
3. Droughts and famine in countries prone to desertification and arid weather conditions. Further
worsened by poor governance and food insecurity, droughts and famine also disproportionately
harm the rural poor and those dependent on the agriculture industry.
4. Extreme weather events are generally severe and unseasonal, including tropical cyclones, certain
natural disasters, and extreme temperatures.
Millennium Development Goals: Goal 7
Goal 7 seeks to achieve environmental sustainability, and comprises of 4 targets, as follows:
1. Integrating sustainable development into national policymaking to prevent further exploitation
of ecological resources and reverse its detriments,
2. Reducing the loss and increasing the protection of biodiversity,
3. Increase the sustainable access of the people to safe drinking water supplies and basic hygiene
and sanitation,
4. Improve the lives of slum dwellers.
Worsening CCWE has direct impacts on achieving this Goal, and indirect impacts of
efforts to achieve the other MDGs as well. Due to the overlapping and multi-facet aspects of the
MDGs and CCWE, efforts to tackle one would inherently contribute to solving the other as well.
Hence, it may be beneficial to expand existing initiatives tackling either issue, to develop it in a
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more holistic and extensive measure that can build climate resilience and adaptive capacities to
weather extremes.
Urbanization
Globalization, development, and increased mobility have led to heightened urbanization
and growth of urban areas. As of 2014, Northern America is the most urbanized region, with 82%
of its people living in urban areas, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean at 80%, and
Europe at 73%. In contrast, only 40% and 48% of the people in Africa and Asia live in urban areas,
with the rest remaining in rural areas. Regardless of current percentages, all regions are expected
to urbanize further in the coming decades. Notably, Africa and Asia have the fastest rates of
urbanization in the world, and are projected to become 56% and 64% urban, respectively, by 2050.
III.
Current Developments
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"Global Warming is unequivocal, human influence has been the dominant cause since the mid20th century [...]"
- United Nations, 2014
With a world population of over 7 billion, and all-time highs for temperature and
greenhouse gas levels, the international community is increasingly pressured to deal with the
worsening effects of CCWE. In recent years, the world has witnessed 5 times as many natural
disasters than the 1970s - which climate scientists have attributed to climate change. The world
population is projected to increase further, bringing hosts of problems with it - including
vulnerability to CCWE. High population density - be in urban or rural areas - strains resource
availability and reduces the protection each person has against economic and environmental risk.
Those who are disproportionately harmed include the rural poor and areas prone to natural
hazards (eg. Hurricane or flood prone cities). Developing countries that face high population
growth, such India and Bangladesh, face higher urgency in mitigating the harms associated with
CCWE. Rwanda, with a growing economy and one of the highest population densities in Africa,
has implemented the Rwanda National Strategy on Climate Change and Low Carbon
Development. Released in 2011, the document serves as a guideline to for holistic climate
resilience capacity building, through long-term and short-term actions. Through mainstreaming
and integrating climate change and green growth into national development planning and the
various sectors of the economy, Rwanda hopes to achieve climate resilience and low carbon
development. Disaster Risk Reduction is just one of the strategic key objectives, which also
includes sustainable urban redevelopment and the preservation of biological and ecosystem
services. The broad goals of the Strategy are as follows:
1. Economic growth that is climate resilient and low carbon, hence sustainable in the long run,
2. Development of isolated existing initiatives and opportunities that creates a centralized and
unified approach towards climate resilience,
3. Building detailed sectorial studies and implementation plans around a framework that integrates
and mainstreams factors associated with climate change and resilience,
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4. Local capacity building for obtaining international climate funds for implementation of national
initiatives,
5. Develop the local Climate Centre to better obtain and analyze regional climate data and models.
Rwanda has attributed the attainment of success to 1. Senior government leadership, 2.
Data, scientific, and economic analysis, 3. Stakeholder engagement and 4. Consensus building.
However, it is uncertain how successful this framework is, but critics have expressed hope that
Rwanda will be able to improve its climate resilience in the long run.
Unlike Rwanda, many countries are still falling behind, burdened with domestic problems
and unable to allocate resources to build climate resilience. Romania has a shortage of financial
and human resource for climate change activities, attributed to their economy in transition, despite
facing weather extremes in recent years. Their economy is heavily impacted, as Agriculture forms
a significant proportion of their Gross Domestic Product (6%) and employs about 30% of their
workforce. This industry is harmed as crop yields are compromised due to changes in precipitation
and temperature, vegetation periods, and environmental instability. As such low adaptation and
mechanization of Romania's agriculture industry may prove disastrous as climate change worsens
over time. As such, the disparity among nations with regards to climate resilience capacity is
worrying, especially for countries with high environmental risks. Not only do these countries put
their economic and social stability at risk, and the international community is burdened with
providing aid and protecting their economies from any ripple effects. Hence, it should be in every
country's best interest to invest in climate resilience and collective capacity building, especially in
safeguarding areas of high population density.
However, CCWE is often perceived as a 'distant' issue, one that is solely the responsibility
of the country. Every country has its unique circumstances and requirements with regards to
population growth, urbanization, and environmental sustainability. As such, it may be the
prerogative of each country to ensure the risk mitigation and adequate policy making to guard
against CCWE.
The Blue-Green Dream
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When discussing climate change and resilience, the Blue-Green Dream (BGD) is inevitably
raised. A project under the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's Climate Knowledge
and Innovation Community, the BGD seeks to "enhance the synergy of urban blue (water) and
green (vegetated) systems and provide effective, multifunctional Blue Green solutions to support
urban adaptation to future climatic changes" (Blue-Green Dream, http://bgd.org.uk). On the basis
of complementarity through combining water and green spaces management in urban spaces, BGD
works through active stakeholder engagement and consensus building. Its stakeholders include
academic centers, industrial partners, relevant small and medium enterprises, non-governmental
organizations, and participating cities.
The proposed paradigm of integrating blue assets and green infrastructure into a synergetic
whole aims to maximize ecosystem services and build local adaptive capacity to climate change,
while minimizing climate footprint and unsustainable consumption. The synergies between goods
and services arising from the natural environment may result in multifunctional benefits. It
promotes mitigation of disaster risk and weather extreme risk, improved quality of air and living,
urban health, and biodiversity enhancement. This integrated approach creates opportunities for
businesses and professional activities.
However, it is of relatively small scale and has not be expanded in terms of coverage of
initiatives, funding/investments, and global stakeholder engagement. As a predominantly
European initiative, it is inconclusive whether its approaches may be applicable, relevant, or
beneficial to the rest of the world. This is due to the different factors, challenges, situation, and
resource availability of other nations with regards to climate change. Also, Blue-Green
technologies and upgrading of blue-green assets have not been adequately mainstreamed into the
global economy or national development, which may thus, hinders its contributions to climate
resilience capacity building. In spite of this, it has yielded considerable traction thus far, hence
opening the possibility of expansion and adoption by other countries.
IV.
Key Issues
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Though considered irreversible, climate change may be slowed down, should the relevant
aspects be dealt with adequately through collective and sustained effort by the international
community. Some of these are in the section as follows.
Growing global population
A study by the UN and University of Washington extrapolates that the global human
population would skyrocket from the current estimate of 7 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050 and over
11 billion by 2100. In light of globalization and increased transnational and rural-urban mobility,
population density is growing, especially in urban centers. The congregation of people in a limited
land area is potentially dangerous, as any disaster of extreme event would disproportionately harm
the people - especially for countries prone to weather extremes, such as Australia. Disease
transmission, which may be facilitated by the degradation attributed to climate change, may
increase in such communities as well - if adaptive capacity building has been insufficient to ensure
public health and treatment of disease-harboring sources. Also, a high population density strains
national resources, such as water and energy supplies, leading to unsustainable usage and
susceptibility to fluctuations in resource availability and environmental changes.
Rapid urbanization
The implications of rapid urbanization and growth of urban areas are multi-fold and
complex. They include high population density, consumerism, waste production, and
development. On the environmental side, current development trends indicate further carbon and
fuel usage, and production of greenhouse gases. Most urban areas can be considered as ‘high
carbon cities’, which leave a significant carbon footprint and contribute heavily to climate change.
Ultimately, having densely populated communities mean that any crisis - natural disaster or
weather extreme - will impact a greater number of people and economic sectors. Given the
increased frequency of such crises, cities face a growing risk should the status quo remain.
Vulnerability
Vulnerability to CCWE can be broadly categorized into economic vulnerability and
geographic vulnerability. The former includes the lack of investments or resources for capacity
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building and infrastructure for adequate adaptivity and response to CCWE. This is common in
countries lacking good governance or robust economies, which are likely to face international
scrutiny hence, are unable to access climate funds for capacity building. The latter includes
regional risk of natural disasters and environmental degradation, partially attributed to geologic
processes that may be amplified by anthropogenic factors. For example, with the increase in
natural disasters, countries that have always been vulnerable to natural disasters face an even high
frequency of them, such as Philippines. Some factors that contribute to a country's underlying
vulnerability include low adaptive capability, high population density and poverty rates, overreliance on non-renewable energy sources and sectors that contribute the degradation of land and
water bodies.
Post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery
Rehabilitation has been defined by UN’s Disaster Reduction Unit as taking “decisions and
actions after a disaster with a view to restoring or improving the pre-disaster living conditions of
the stricken community, while encouraging and facilitating necessary adjustments to reduce
disaster risk”. (Assessments for Disaster Response & Early Recovery) Thus, it is necessary for
rehabilitation to focus on both short term relief and long term change, together with improvements
that empower the local community. Currently, there is no standard international framework for
disaster rehabilitation, and developing countries usually suffer while waiting for international aid
to trickle in slowly. In the meantime, casualties can pile up and recovery rates plummet drastically
- racking up huge social and economic costs. Thus, speed and capacity is imperative in any
framework for disaster relief. As climate change and weather extremes worsen, the likelihood of
resultant disasters increase as well, making post-disaster rehabilitation a crucial aspect of
international collaboration.
Climate resilience
This is ability to recover from environmental shocks due to climate change and maintain
the integrity of socioeconomic functions and general wellbeing of the society. It may be actor13
based or system based, and includes preventive strategies, recovery and rehabilitative measures,
and reduction of risks and vulnerabilities. Due to generally worsening climate conditions, climate
resilience may require the coloration of various state and non-state actors. Efforts may utilize
monitoring system, climate/disaster-adapted infrastructure, and rapid warning and emergency
response systems. However, for such systems to be effectively implemented there may be a need
to incentivize the private sector and consumers, or integrate climate resilience into building codes
and national policies.
Green economy
The working definition of the green economy by UNEP is "one that results in improved
human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and
ecological scarcities." In its simplest expression, a green economy can be thought of as one which
is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive." The green economy recognizes the
importance of mainstreaming climate into all sectors of the economy. It plays a significant role in
sustainable development of the rolling aspects: the agricultural sector, city development,
ecosystem services, green jobs, industrial activities, water usage. Reduction of current
environmentally degrading practices could expedite a transition to a green economy, especially in
developing countries.
National planning
For an effective and sustained approach in building climate resilience, it is necessary to
integrate climate resilience goals into national development agendas. This may be improved
through focused stakeholder engagement, for consensus building and provision of critical
feedback. Adequate national planning would ensure that climate resilience is achieved, while
maintaining or improving the wellbeing of the people and state, and balancing other needs of the
country - including food and energy security, cost of living, and provision of human rights.
V.
Conclusion
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In conclusion, with the growing severity of climate change and increased frequency of weather
extremes, it is necessary for countries to convene and come to a consensus on building climate
resilience. Past initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol and Montreal Protocol have tried to prevent
or reverse climate change, but we see it accelerating today.
Climate change, global warming, sustainable development, and urbanization, must be taken
into consideration when developing frameworks for climate resilience capacity building. However,
some drawbacks are evident, such as difficulties in transitioning towards a green economy and
mainstreaming climate change into the relevant sectors. The growing global population and
population density, economic and geographic vulnerabilities, and financial constraints, must be
addressed in the frameworks and any resultant activity as well.
However, projects such as the Blue-Green Dream are promising, as well as the frameworks
created by individual nations. A possible way forward would be the integration and collaborative
efforts by the international community in unifying this approach to create a sustained global effort
to build climate resilience and mitigate weather extremes.
VI.
Questions a Resolution Should Answer
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How can the global green economy be developed to boost climate change resilience of the
international community?

How can key sectors be incentivized to mainstream climate resilience into their industrial
activities?

What collaborative efforts and multi-lateral partnerships can be developed among countries
to create a more collective effort in tackling CCWE?

How should climate change be mainstreamed into key sectors of the economy through
policymaking?

Which non-governmental organizations and non-state actors can work together with state
actors in developing climate resilience? And how should they do so?

How can the green economy be tailored to match the socioeconomic needs for every
country yet building climate resilience?

How can countries reduce their risks and vulnerabilities to CCWE in the long run?

What kinds of research and development are necessary and how can they be encouraged?

Are urbanization reforms necessary in building climate resilience? If so, what kinds of
reform?

Should CCWE be a part of the Post-2015 Sustainability Goals? If so, how should it be as
such?
VII.
Bibliography
Rwanda National Strategy on Climate Change and Low Carbon Development
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Sustainable Development Youth Convention, NUS High School
Assessments for Disaster Response & Early Recovery, United Nation Global Disaster Alert and
Coordination System
Blue Green Dream Project, European Institute of Innovation and Technology's Climate
Knowledge and Innovation Community
A Brief History of Climate Change, 2013, BBC News
Fifth Assessment Report, 2014, IPCC 28th Session
Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002, United Nations
Human Cause of Global Warming is Near Certainty, 2014, UN News Centre
Eight ways climate change is making the world more dangerous, 2014, The Guardian
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