Committee: IPCC

Topic: Combating Wildfires Worsened by Climate Change

Theme of the Conference

Esteemed Delegates,
Throughout the years, the nations of the world have faced a unanimous problem: natural
disasters. Leaders and scientists put their minds to work to protect their societies and find
measures of damage prevention. Recent developments in this field show that our species are
facing an international crisis of the planet’s climate changing. This change has proven to result in
the many natural disasters we face: wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, et cetera. As you prepare for
this committee, your job is to put yourself in the shoes of these leaders to see these disasters on
both a national and global scale. You must practice diplomacy in the face of debate and
disagreement, and you must push for what is best for your nation. Keep in mind that you are here
to work together as a team. In order to create solutions to appease every party in question, you
must behave rationally and keep an open mind to those around you. Diplomacy is not an option
but a skill of life to be learned with practice. We are delighted to be able to host you during times
as challenging as these and look forward to watching you develop solutions as the world’s young
leaders.

Rationale

Wildfires are one of the greatest threats to human life and infrastructure caused by a
mitigatable natural disaster in the world today. Moreover, and unlike other natural disasters like
hurricanes or earthquakes, they have the potential to affect nearly every corner of the globe when
the right conditions are met. These exact conditions have increasingly begun to befall the nations
of the world over the past 20 some odd years as global warming continues marching towards 3
degrees past pre-industrial levels. It is common knowledge that Climate scientists have warned
surpassing this threshold would mean the world entering into a feedback loop of virtually
unstoppable and irreversible changes from, in addition to a plethora of other complications, the
complete destruction of all coral reefs, irreparable damages to coastal communities due to sea
level rise, and, most pertinent to this debate, exponentially worsening wildfire all over the world.
Hotter climates create drier vegetation and longer periods out of the year which harbor
the ideal temperatures for fires to start and spread. Not only are wildfires worsened by climate
change, however, but they actively contribute to the release of immense amounts of CO2 into the
atmosphere. Fires burning in the state of California alone released over 91 million tons of CO2
into the atmosphere in 2020 (Alberts, Elizabeth, par. ______). This number is dwarfed by the
amount released by automobiles in all of the US that year (around 1.5 billion tons), but it is
nowhere near an insignificant one (“Greenhouse Gas Emissions… par. _______) Even though
the US and Australia have had historically bad wildfire seasons in recent years, the majority of
this issue lies with developing and underdeveloped nations in Latin America and Africa.
While accidents related to human activity or natural occurrences like lightning strikes are
the primary reasons wildfires start in underdeveloped nations, most of the fires blazing in the
world at any given time are actually started as an undesired consequence of deliberate activities.
One of the most notorious of these is the aptly named slash-and-burn agriculture technique,
which is where farmers clear out an entire patch of forest before burning the remaining plant
debris to make an arable plot of land. Its widespread use by subsistence farmers in
underdeveloped nations is attributed to its effectiveness and inexpensiveness, but with this
method there is a high risk that the burn will get out of control and spread to the neighboring
forest. Once a forest fire started either by accident or haphazard slash-and-burn practices gains
enough momentum to turn into a wildfire, it becomes increasingly hard to manage and suppress.
This is especially true for underdeveloped nations where these practices are most prolific to
begin with. Although the concentration of this issue is indeed in underdeveloped nations, there is
much that developed nations in this committee have to offer in its addressing... namely taking
domestic climate action and encouraging unilateral climate legislation for the benefit of all.
Some scientists argue that even treaties such as the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims
through binding, collaborative and transparent climate action to limit global warming at “well
below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and to “pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to
1.5°C above pre-industrial levels” won’t be enough to stop the majority of the ecological damage
to be caused global warming (PARIS AGREEMENT, par. 21). Gaining a sufficient
understanding of the nature and effects of climate change is imperative to this debate, as it has a
heavy impact on the intensity and frequency of wildfires around the world.

Background of the Topic

Forest fires are naturally occurring, and in most cases beneficial to their ecosystems as
they create dead matter that decomposes and makes nutrient-rich soil. However, with the current
rate that they occur, the environment simply cannot keep up with the amount of burning. In 1908,
the U.S. Forest Service was authorized to spend whatever they needed to combat forest fires by
the Forest Fires Emergency Act (“...Fire Prevention and Control”). The later establishment of the
national park system necessitated a forest management service, and with that came fire
management (“...Fire Suppression”). Then, Smokey the Bear was born in 1944 by the Forest
Service, becoming the face of mitigating forest fires and spreading nationwide awareness
(USDA). However, since his creation, researchers have seen an increase in free-burning fires
(Joyce). Since controlled burns are no longer permitted in national forests, outside fires have free
reign and are raging harder than ever. These fires are egged on by the constant rise of
temperatures across the country, lessening precipitation, and longer heat waves and droughts.
This phenomenon is not exclusive to the U.S, however, and is continuously occurring around the
world.

Contemporary Evidence

Wildfires in recent years have been detrimental to communities and livelihoods in

countries across developmental classifications, and will continue to get worse if action is not
taken. During Australia’s Black Summer fire season, roughly 46 million acres were burned…
2.7% of the country’s total landmass (par. _______).
 Prior to the summer of 2019-20, bushfires burned 2% or less of the
nation’s temperate broadleaved forests. But over the black summer, 21% burned.

For example, the infamous Australian wildfires of 2020 were disastrous in their results: more
than 46 million acres of land burnt, with thousands of homes lost (CDP). These bushfires were
part of an irregularly long season caused by drought, high winds, and rapidly rising temperatures.
Scientists estimate that more than a billion animals perished in the fires. Australia isn’t alone in
its situation, though, as wildfires continue to ravage across the world.

Directive

Delegates should strive to recognize the impact of climate change-induced natural

disasters in their countries, as well as those around them. Delegates should also identify the
causes of said disasters, and discuss strategies of reducing their effects. Each delegate should
present the most urgent problems of their country regarding climate change and its
consequences. They should also strive to offer solutions for the future, while providing courses
of actions that their country has already taken. While debating, delegates should take the
following questions into consideration:
1. What strategies to combat and/or prevent wildfires have worked for their country?
2. How can eco-friendly restrictions be put on industries of primary export that may be at
fault for ecological damage?
3. What methods can be used to spread information about the subject throughout the
country, and educate/encourage citizens to be active participants in the offered solutions?
4. Is it within your delegation’s best interest to work towards collaborating with other
nations on larger-scale climate action to address the root cause of wildfires?
5. What unilateral mitigation strategies can be implemented in order to prevent a repeat of
the 2020 fire season? What existing strategies can be improved upon/bolstered? What
new strategies can you think of and then advocate for?
Resources for Delegates

- https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#t:adv;d:2020-09-15;l:street;@-91.7,26.1,4z
- https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_1995
- https://www.climatechangepost.com/sweden/forest-fires/
- https://www.euronews.com/2019/08/29/should-we-worry-more-about-the-wildfires-in-afr
ica-or-in-the-amazon

Delegations

1. Angola - Possibly the nation most overtaken with red on satellite images of Central
Africa during the 2020 wildfire season, Angola’s multitude of other issues unfortunately
tends to put its fire response lower on its list of priorities. Much like many other African
nations, slash and burn clearance tactics are oftentimes to blame for starting these blazes.
a. https://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2019/08/28/fires-destroy-vast-areas-in-boli
via-angola-and-congo-basin
b. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2020/both-angola-and-the-democrat
ic-republic-of-the-congo-experiencing-high-numbers-of
c. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49471644

2. Argentina - Wildfires have been burning at a constant rate for years in Argentina, but
(much like many of the delegations present for this debate), the 2020 fire season was
particularly bad. Increasing temperatures and excess dry plant matter fueled more intense
flames, but possibly more frightening than tht is the fact that many of these fires are
believed to have been started deliberately for agriculture or real estate.
a. https://globalvoices.org/2020/10/16/devastating-fires-rage-in-argentina-as-econo
mic-interests-become-key-suspect/
b. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/30/argentina-delta-fires-rage-
out-of-control-parana-river
 c. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-environment/argentinas-wetlands-un
der-assault-by-worst-fires-in-more-than-a-decade-idUSKBN25T35V

3. Australia - Once what was a season for bushfires becomes longer and deadlier every
year. Rising temperatures in an already blazing area and drought allow these fires to cross
the dry land quickly. Protests have erupted over the government’s reluctance to respond.
a. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/01/australia/australia-fires-explainer-intl-hnk-scli/i
ndex.html
b. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/explainer-what-are-the-un
derlying-causes-of-australias-shocking-bushfire-season

4. Brazil - Though the Amazon and the Pantanal have been wildly burning for over a year,
President Bolsonaro denies the impact of climate change on the Brazilian ecosystem. He
rejected a proposed $20 million G7 grant for firefighting, instead pushing to open
protected lands to mining and agribusiness. Brazilian farmers think it is their right to burn
land, and see efforts to put out the fire as “colonialist.”
a. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49479470
b. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-brazil-wildfires-surge.html
c. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/world/americas/brazil-amazon-rainforest-fir
e.html

5. Canada - Environmental destruction is heavily managed under the Canadian

government, including wildfires. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, many provinces
have seen their rates of fires decrease significantly, almost tenfold. However, due to
conditions such as lightning striking dry areas and unpredictable warm winds, fires are
expected to double over the next century.
a. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status/about-bcws/wildfire-re
sponse/fire-characteristics/causes
 b. https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/the-leading-cause-of-wildfires-in-canada-humans
-scientist-says-1.2889588
c. https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/report

6. Democratic Republic of the Congo - Widespread use of slash and burn to clear land for
agricultural use lead to the inciting of well over 100,000 fires of considerable magnitude
burning during the peak of the 2019 fire season. The DRC has been criticized in the past
for its nonchalant approach to dealing with its wildfires and its limited outreach to other
nations for aid.
a. https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2019-06-14#:~:text=J
une%2014%2C%202019%20%2D%20Fires%20in,Central%20Africa%20in%20J
une%202019.&text=Fires%20were%20most%20dense%20in,fire%20alerts%20in
%20that%20week.
b. https://news.globallandscapesforum.org/38534/how-much-should-we-worry-abou
t-the-congo-basin-fires/
c. https://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2019/08/28/fires-destroy-vast-areas-in-boli
via-angola-and-congo-basin

7. France - Deadly fires recently erupted across the south of France, spurred by the extreme
heat and dry weather. President Macron, along with many scientists, deem these to be the
effects of climate change. France has been very active in the mitigation of climate
change, creating plans for their own country to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
a. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40712886
b. https://frenchly.us/what-is-france-actually-doing-to-fight-climate-change/
c. https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/climate-plan

8. Greece - While people continue to travel to and populate the islands and coasts of
Greece, carbon emissions and greenhouse gases rise, trapping more and more heat in the
atmosphere. This rise of temperature has led to a drastic decrease in rainfall over the past
 half-century, along with an increase in the lengths of heat waves, dry spells and droughts.
This sweltering weather allows for fires to spread dangerously fast across the country.
a. https://www.climatechangepost.com/greece/climate-change/
b. https://www.euronews.com/2015/10/22/climate-change-in-greece-more-visible-th
an-we-think---negative-future-ahead

9. India - Of India’s 641,000 some odd kilometers of forest, 2/3rds are listed as vulnerable
to wildfires. Its vastness makes it difficult for the Federal government to enforce
preventative fire laws, making around 95% of India’s ever worsening wildfires caused by
human activity.
a. https://india.mongabay.com/2020/01/most-forest-fires-in-india-on-account-of-hu
man-activity/
b. https://theecologist.org/2020/sep/11/forest-fires-india
c. https://www.geospatialworld.net/blogs/forest-fires-from-space-looking-at-lockdo
wn-in-india/

10. Indonesia - Excessive land-clearing for development of agricultural ground has created
large swaths of Indonesia that are prone to spreading fire. Though the government has
signed a prohibition on deforestation, many claim that it’s for show, as parties find
loopholes that allow them to continue their destruction.
a. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/09/18/wildfires-indonesia-have-rav
aged-acres-palm-oil-farmers-are-blame/
b. https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/indonesia-forest-clearing-ban-is-made-perm
anent-but-labeled-propaganda/

11. Italy - Rising temperatures, drought, lessening amounts of precipitation all mixed with
extreme heat waves have led to more than 11,000 fires occurring in Italy each year. The
government has moved to put policies in place to combat this issue, along with climate
 change as a whole: taxes on plane flights and plastics, and instituting a curriculum about
climate change in schools across the nation.
a. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/cf-e-cra092120.php
b. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/italy-climate-change-lessons
-school-environment-global-warming-children-a9187216.html
c. https://www.climatechangepost.com/italy/forest-fires/

12. Mexico - Many of the most devastating wildfires in Latin America are started in order to
clear the land for agricultural use, and Mexico is no exception to this. Of the nearly 5,600
fires that scorched Mexican soil in 2020, nearly half were to make room for crops like
corn and sugarcane. Not only is this detrimental to the nation’s ecosystems, but wildfires
are major air pollutants that can affect residents of metropolitan areas hundreds of miles
away.
a. https://wildfiretoday.com/tag/mexico/
b. https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/wildfires-burning-around-mexico
-city-are-so-intense-smoke-can-be-seen-from-outer-space/330830
c. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/09/28/global-warming-fir
es-and-crime-in-mexico-and-beyond/#:~:text=From%20January%201%20through
%20September,period%20burned%20down%2043%2C308%20hectares.

13. Madagascar - Unrelenting use of slash and burn tactics by the peasant coupled with
commercial logging in Madagascar for hundreds of years due to lack of economic
opportunity has led to the destruction of 90% of the nation’s forests. This has been
ruinous for the plethora of ecosystems and species native to the island nation, many of
which are found nowhere else in the world.
a. https://serval.unil.ch/resource/serval:BIB_60D05E1F39D5.P001/REF.pdf
b. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/07/partner-content-fighti
ng-the-threat-of-forest-fires/
 c. https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/in-madagascars-dry-forests-covid-19-sparks-
an-intense-early-fire-season/

14. North Korea - Satellites capturing fires internationally have picked up an increase in the
burning across North Korea. Slash-and-burn destruction of forested areas to make room
for farmland is a result of the famine and lack of resources within the country. This
cleared land is a fire hazard, especially when combined with the insufficient safety of
low-hanging telephone wires.
a. https://lcluc.umd.edu/hotspot/deforestation-north-korea
b. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/83593/fires-in-north-korea

15. Paraguay - Experienced eye opening wildfires during October of 2020 which raged
through the nation’s forests. This is made all the more alarming when considering that
Paraguay’s forests are the second largest in Latin America behind the Amazon in Brazil.
a. https://greenisthenewblack.com/paraguay-fire-deforestation-gran-chaco/
b. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/8/28/paraguay-battles-fires-in-protected-we
tland-region
c. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/02/paraguay-wildfires-drought-heat

16. Poland - Like many European nations, Poland’s wildfire data has gotten alarmingly
worse in just the past few years. A horrible fire ripped through Białowieża Forest in
Spring of 2019. Poland also recorded the highest number of fires in EU countries in that
same year.
a. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52392231
b. https://gfmc.online/iffn/country/pl/pl_5.html

17. South Korea - A recent wildfire in the Gangwon Province left thousands homeless.
Some speculate that the destruction of the ecosystem could be to blame. However, over
 the past couple of years, South Korean forests have been growing back under various
policies.
a. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321496830_The_fall_and_rise_of_Sout
h_Korea%27s_forests
b. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47824306

18. Spain - Recently, a state emergency has been declared in Spain regarding the climate
crisis. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez recently spoke on new efforts to focus on
eliminating carbon emissions and reducing damage from natural disasters. This does not
change the fact, though, that Spain is very at risk of fires due to dry weather, a damaged
ecosystem, and plenty of dead biomass.
a. https://www.climatechangepost.com/spain/forest-fires/
b. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/the-prime-minister-of-spain-on-climate
-change-taxes-and-more/
c. https://apnews.com/article/1e946085841af1e942659d4154d75d03

19. Sweden - In 2018, an extraordinarily bad heat wave across all of Scandinavia caused the
hottest May and July temperatures ever recorded by the country. This created the perfect
conditions for the worst forest fire season in the country’s history, which caused $100
million worth of damage to infrastructure and homes.
a. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2018/07/24/495869.htm
b. thelocal.se/20180717/sweden-battles-most-serious-wildfire-situation-of-modern-ti
mes-heres-what-you-need-to-know

20. Thailand - Forest fires beginning in March of 2020 laid waste to Northern Thailand,
having a particularly devastating impact on wildlife in the region. The government of
Thailand often uses its indigenous communities as a scapegoat for the origin of the
flames.
 a. https://www.wwf.or.th/en/?uNewsID=362337#:~:text=As%20of%20the%2012th,i
n%20the%20North%20of%20Thailand.&text=With%20a%20total%20of%20159
%2C490,all%20fires%20in%20the%20country.
b. https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/1919944/what-to-do-about
-forest-fires-
c. https://earth.org/forest-fires-have-devastated-northern-thailand/

21. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - The UK permits controlled burns for
heather overgrowths, called muir burns. However, with rising temperatures and drought
these burns can get out of control quickly. Britain experienced a deadly heatwave recently
amidst the COVID crisis.
a. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-britain-braces-record-breaking-high-temperatures.
html
b. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47389480

22. United States of America - Lightning strikes are listed as the most common cause of
wildfires in the United States. Large contributors to the spread of fires across the country
include dry, drought-affected areas, flammable litter and pollution, and nationwide
record-breaking temperatures.
a. https://abc7.com/what-causes-wildfires-cal-fire-california-ca/6381945/
b. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a29623250/california-fi
res/

23. Venezuela - International attention was directed towards Venezuela when the oil reserves
of OPEC’s only Latin American member became threatened by unchecked and
unrelenting wildfires in 2020. Poor attention to wildfire mitigation has made Venezuela
particularly vulnerable and, like many other nations, wildfires there are only worsening
by the year.
 a. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-oil-wildfires/wildfires-pose-heighte
ned-risk-to-venezuelan-crude-output-idUSKBN22D5QT
b. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1043891/number-wildfires-venezuela/
c. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/huge-forest-fires-in-venezuela-create-havoc

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fossil-fuel-emissions/#:~:text=The%20fires%20have%20already%20generated,annual%2
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