Committee: UNEP

Topic 1: United Nations Environmental Program(UNEP)

Country: People’s Republic of China

I. Topic Background:

The topic of climate change and renewable energy grows bigger in our hands day by

day. Climate change and Global warming have gone so far that Jakarta a city on the world's

most populous island Java will be completely underwater by 2050. Jakarta isn't the only

one, many cities around the world like Shang Hai, New York City, and Mumbai are also

dealing with rising sea levels. These cities are some of the world's most vital cities and if

we were to lose them we would lose not only a vital trade hub but a vital bank that holds

memories for many people around the world. That is why UNEP is here to help with

solving these issues. UNEP strengthens environmental standards and practices and

implements environmental laws at the country, regional, and global levels. UNEP’s mission

is to “encourage partnership and to provide leadership by inspiring, informing, and

enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of

future generations.” The world is currently focusing on lowering the levels of greenhouse

gases and by doing so lowering climate change. We have seen a 7 percent decrease in

global greenhouse gases since 1990 and a 20 percent decrease since 2005. That is a change

for the good but we can't let it stop here. We must continue this trend and lower levels of

global greenhouse gases to keep our beautiful planet alive.

 The division of UNEP that focuses on renewable energy is Climate Change, UNEP,

and Resource Efficiency/Sustainable Consumption. Climate Change UNEP helps countries

incorporate climate change responses by providing adaptation, mitigation, technology, and

finance leadership. It also focuses on easing the transition to low-carbon societies,

improving the understanding of climate science, and raising public awareness. Resource

Efficiency/Sustainable Consumption, and Production UNEP focuses on efforts to ensure

that natural resources are produced, processed, and consumed in a more environmentally

friendly manner.

UNEP was founded in 1972 following the UN Conference on the Human

Environment. It was founded to monitor the environment, inform policy-making with

science, and coordinate responses to the world’s environmental challenges. The UN

Conference on the Human Environment was the first conference to make the environment a

major issue. It placed environmental concerns at the front of international concerns. It led

to the creation of UNEP as a program that coordinated global efforts to promote

sustainability and safeguard the natural environment. UNEP has helped many countries

that have been impacted by crises such as Lebanon, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and

many others. These countries have suffered from natural disasters such as droughts,

earthquakes, flooding, and cyclones. UNEP has also worked with many governments

around the world to help with greenhouse gas emissions. UNEP also encourages the

transition to low- and zero-carbon emissions in key sectors such as energy, agriculture,

buildings, forestry, industry and transport

 Some historical events that have severely worsened the environmental state of the

world include events like India’s Bhopal Cyanide Gas Leak, The Chernobyl Nuclear

Disaster, The Deepwater Oil Spill, and the Amazon Wildfires. All of these events caused a

setback in the goal that UNEP strives to accomplish. These all worsen the situation with

climate change and continue to show why we should focus on switching to renewable

energy.

Many factors prevent the accomplishment of UNEP’s goals such as climate change,

and pollution. Greenhouse gas emissions have doubled since 1980 raising average global

temperatures by 0.7 degrees Celsius. Global warming affects all environments but it

especially affects coral reefs mountains and polar ecosystems. The increases in climate

change may threaten 1 in 6 species at the global level. Changes in land and sun use have

contributed to the loss of millions of hectares of forest most of which go towards

agricultural purposes. Pollution is the main driver of biodiversity change as it has

devastating effects on freshwater and marine habitats. Plants and insect numbers dwindle

due to the excessive use of pesticides. Marine plastic pollution has increased tenfold since

1980 and has caused 5 trash islands to have formed in the oceans. The largest of the islands

is bigger than France, Spain, and Germany.

I. Past UN Action

The UN has taken several steps to resolve the issue that UNEP was made to solve.

Some notable examples are the UN Conference on the Human Environment, The Earth

Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Millenium Summit, and the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development. The UN Conference on the Human Environment created the

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the first UN program to solely focus

on the environment. The Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro helped Governments rethink

economic development and find ways to stop polluting the environment and depleting its

natural resources. The Millennium Summit established the 8 Millennium Development

Goals which stated many goals people strive to achieve such as eradicating world hunger.

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development established the United

Nations Environment Assembly which is the highest-level decision-making body on the

environment.

I. Country Policy

The Federal Republic of China has invested significant resources in its transition to

a green economy including many studies and articles like China’s Green Long March,

Modelling China’s Green Economy 2010-2050, and Measuring China’s Environmental

Industry. In China's Green Long March UNEP and the Chinese Ministry of Environmental

Protection assessed the progress the Federal Republic of China has made towards a green

economy and they found that the Federal Republic of China has made significant

improvements in solar PV, wind, bioenergy, cement and environmental industries over the

last decade. Modeling China’s Green Economy 2010-2050 stated the benefits of switching

to a green economy such as how it would be beneficial for economic growth, climate

change mitigation, and improved standards of living. It also provided policies for

prioritizing the Federal Republic of China's green economy. In Measuring China’s

Environmental Industry they identified the feasibility of applying the international

Environmental Goods and Services Sector(EGSS) accounting framework in China. The

Federal Republic of China is making efforts towards boasting a green economy. In 2015

China joined PAGE and is currently a graduating country. In Jiangsu Province, China has

contributed to SDG 4 (Quality Education), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 8 (Decent

Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 12 (Sustainable

Consumption and Production), 13 (Climate Action) and 17 (Partnerships for Goals). The

Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China (MEE) and the

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) to step up joint efforts to address the triple planetary crisis of climate

change, nature and biodiversity loss and pollution and waste. The Federal Republic of

China currently emits 27 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions but we also

currently make up 28.4 percent of the global manufacturing output. All our money goes

into making the products that the West loves.

I. Proposed Solutions

The Federal Republic of China plans to implement the ASTS(Advanced Sustainable

Technological Solutions) resolution. Our resolution overall will lower the amounts of greenhouse

gasses we emit and it will aim to create advanced technology that can help us in this situation and

other situations to come. We will refer to advanced forms of technology that can help us lower our

greenhouse gas emissions. For example, we plan to create more factories and change already

existing factories to use more renewable sources of power. We would use advanced forms of

technology like nuclear power to change these factories so that they can reduce greenhouse gasses.

For example, they could work on creating more carbon-neutral products and the factory could be

powered by a nuclear reactor. The solutions that we find will also be sustainable as they will be as
close to carbon neutral as we can get. We realize that producing so many things requires some

carbon to be emitted but we want to get it as close to nothing as possible. We plan to do this by

replacing the fossil fuels that so many factories use with other forms of energy such as

wind-powered and solar energy, Nuclear energy can also be an option since it will generate 8000

times more energy than traditional fossil fuels. We already have 21 nuclear reactors under

construction that will generate more than 21 gigawatts of energy. We are targeting 70 gigawatts by

2025. We plan to create new ways to reduce carbon emissions through technological

advancements. We recognize that many countries such as Germany have taken a step back in their

plans for renewable energy and are switching to coal-powered plants but we the Federal Republic

of China plan to continue in our mission to use more renewable energy. Though we may currently

use a lot of fossil fuels we are slowly shifting to more renewable sources of energy. We will use

our prowess in nuclear energy and other forms of renewable energy and put it to use within

factories. We have already invested 546 billion dollars towards renewable energy in 2022 and by

implementing our ASTS plan we plan to invest another 300 billion dollars towards renewable

energy. The Federal Republic of China also requests funds from the United States of America since

there is an imbalance as we export much more than the U.S.A. imports. The precise statistics are

that the U.S.A. exports to us products worth about 154 billion dollars while we export to their

products worth about 536.3 billion dollars. The funds collected from the U.S. would mostly go

towards our plans for renewable energy and in general just cleaning up our environment.

I. Questions to Consider

Some way to incentivize big countries to invest in renewable energy is to show them the

benefits of investing in renewable energy. Nuclear power generates 8,000 times the power normal

coal would. It also eliminates the greenhouse gasses that coal emits. Another way to incentivize
big countries to invest in renewable energy is by showing them how it could potentially make them

money. Investing in renewable energy is an economically wise move because many countries all

over the world are already realizing and shifting towards more renewable energy sources. After all,

when fossil fuels run out we won't have an energy source if we don't invest in renewable energy.

Then they have control over all the countries that didn't switch to renewable energy. The countries

with renewable energy will have to help the countries who rely on fossil fuels and that earns the

countries a favor. A favor that could be very beneficial to them. It also could earn more money as

renewable energy will be used almost everywhere soon and getting into the "game" early on could

help the countries have the upper hand later on.

Countries should research renewable energy because if we are to research more on

renewable energy we will eventually learn more types of renewable energy that might be cheaper

or might be more efficient. For example, before 1987 people didn't know about nuclear power and

thought solar or water power was the best renewable energy source. After discovering nuclear

power they researched more on it and brought it to the place where it is now. If we had ended our

research about renewable energy sources when we found out about solar energy we would have

never discovered a source of energy that generates 8000 times the amount of energy coal

generates. If we continue researching we might just find something more efficient and safer than

nuclear power. We must imagine the possibilities that we can reach for as Albert Einstein said,

"Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." With imagination, possibilities are

endless for nothing but ourselves can stop us.

Citations:
Boudes, Philippe. "United Nations Conference on the Human Environment". Encyclopedia
Britannica, 15 Sep. 2014,
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Accessed 4 October 2023.
UNEP United Nations Environmental Program
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UNEP United Nations Environmental Program
https://www.unep.org/unga/our-position/unep-and-climate-emergency#:~:text=working%20with%
20governments%2C%20civil%20society,combating%20the%20sources%20of%20degradation
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions
UNEP United Nations Environmental Program
https://www.unep.org/technical-highlight/unep-and-china-strengthen-cooperation-tackle-triple-plan
etary-crisis
UN United Nations
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0development,the%20issue%20of%20the%20environment.
UNEP United Nations Environmental Program
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/five-drivers-nature-crisis
CFR Council of Foreign Relations
https://www.cfr.org/timeline/ecological-disasters
UNEP United Nations Environmental Program
https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/disasters-conflicts/where-we-work
UN United Nations
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UN United Nations
https://www.un-page.org/countries/jiangsu-province-china/
UNEP United Nations
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nership-china
UN United Nations
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he%20United%20Nations%20Environment%20Programme,country%2C%20regional%20and%20
global%20levels.

Hooks:
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 3 times the size of France and consists of 1.8 billion pieces of
trash that kill marine animals every day
5 major trash islands are floating around the sea with the biggest one being 3 times the size of
France.
The world’s largest hydroelectric power plant is Three Gorges Dam in China, which has a
capacity of 22.5GW.
Spanning 5,000 hectares of semi-desert in the Chinese province of Qinghai, Gonghe is currently
the world’s largest solar PV plant. The 2,200 MW plant was commissioned in September 2020 by
Huanghe Hydropower Developments. Following Gonghe, the world’s next largest solar power
plants are Sweihan Power Project (938 MW) in the UAE, Yanchi Solar Park (820 MW) in China,
Copper Mountain Solar Facility (816 MW) in the USA, and Datong ‘Front Runner’ (800 MW) in
China. Within the 5 biggest solar plants in the world, china holds 3 of them.

Opening Speech:
Solar Energy is almost 200 years old with it first being discovered in 1839 by Alexandre
Edmond Becquerel. The world has had 200 years to develop and advance solar energy which we
have but yet we still heavily rely on fossil fuels like coal. Just because coal is a little cheaper must
we throw away the future of this planet. This is why the world should advance in sustainable
energy while keeping it efficient. The Federal Republic of China has already started our work on
this. We have the biggest solar plant in the world: The Gonghe Plant. It is a 3182 MW solar PV
power project. The electricity it generates offsets 2,027,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year. Too help
other countries we propose the ASTS plan(Advanced Sustainable Technological Solution). We will
refer to advanced forms of technology that can help us lower our greenhouse gas emissions. We
would use advanced forms of technology like nuclear power to change these factories so that they
can reduce greenhouse gasses. The solutions that we find will also be sustainable as they will be as
close to carbon neutral as we can get. We plan to do this by replacing the fossil fuels that so many
factories use with other forms of energy such as wind-powered, solar and nuclear energy. We also
plan to create new ways to reduce carbon emissions through technological advancements. We will
put funds into researching renewable energy so that we are able to create more efficient, and more
reliable sources of renewable energy. For funding we have already invested 546 billion dollars
towards renewable energy in 2022 and by implementing our ASTS plan we plan to invest another
300 billion dollars towards renewable energy. We also request funding from other countries as this
research and development will only benefit them. We hope that other countries also put resources
and time into the development of renewable energy for our world is dying by the day and it is up to
the people to save it.