Final convention text
Climate change, brought on by human intervention, specifically during the Anthropocene period, is a phenomenon with which our society is engaged in an ongoing battle. The impacts brought on by climate change are many, are dangerous and threaten not only our environment, for example our oceans, but, ironically, humanity as well, and our well being.
This Cop, located here in Copenhagen, a city willing to go to great lengths to protect the environment, has several goals in mind to discuss and hopefully agree on. They include the question of CO2 emission reduction, settling the debate about immigration due to climate change, and the promotion of the use of renewable resources as a replacement for our primary, polluting ones.
We would like to thank all the countries in attendance, China, Brazil, USA, and the oil producing nations. We also welcome the presence and participation of several different international associations and organizations, the United Nations, the Alliance of small pacific islands, Oxfam, and the indigenous peoples. This intergovernmental debate also recognizes civil society as a crucial actor.
Resolution 1: reduction of CO2 emissions through carbon neutrality
2020 has proven to be a year full of changes and has redefined our way of living, thinking, and consuming. With the worldwide pandemic, carbon emissions exceptionally decreased, a staggering 8.8 % decrease was observed in CO2 emissions in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. This massive decrease in our carbon footprint not only exposes the central role of human activity on CO2 emissions, but also highlights the potential and scale of the possible change our societies can inflict on emissions.
With carbon emissions being the main cause of global climate change, and the planet's average surface temperature rising about 2.05 degrees Fahrenheit (1.14 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, it is essential to try to find compromises in our daily CO2 emissions.
Carbon neutrality, with hundreds of countries already pledging to obtain this neutrality, aims to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon dioxide emissions with removal or simply eliminating carbon dioxide emissions altogether. This carbon neutrality has a dual approach with the possibility of reduction as well as compensation, and could therefore be a highly productive approach to discuss in this COP convention.
We are aware of the challenge of cutting CO2 emissions and the economic effects. For example, sub-Saharan Africa as a result of reducing their CO2 emissions, saw the number of people living in poverty double. However, data compiled by the World Resources Institute shows that since 2000, 21 developping countries have reduced annual emissions while simultaneously growing their economies, indicating that the decoupling of economic growth with emissions is possible. Furthermore, the low cardon index found that several G20 countries have reduced their economies’ carbon intensity while maintaining GDP growth, including countries classified as ‘developing’, such as China, India, South Africa and Mexico. These exciting statistics lay the possible tone of change in global carbon emissions, and hopefully insight a new dynamic amongst the debates in this year’s COP LFJM 2020.
Encourage the transition to renewable energies by 50% in 2100.
Incite a participation of nations in “sustainable development collaboration” programs with big scale corporations, financing a collaboration between local experts and their research and development funds in exchange for yearly reports on the progress, expliciting the use of the funds for technological advancement, making the industries more efficient and less polluting on the long term,
Highlight the importance of partnerships between nations for a more optimal management of resources and industries.
Resolution 2: Environmental migration
Since 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been forecasting that strong human migrations would be a major consequence of climate change and the rise of the level of sea waters.
We understand today that these warnings were truthful as 25 million of people on earth are forced to move every year due to natural catastrophes mainly caused by climate change.
The situation is critical in many different locations around the world for populations who slowly see the day where they will be forced to leave their houses come closer. This is the case for the inhabitants of Beijing who observe the Gobi desert grow by 10000km² per year becoming a bigger menace to their lives by day. Similarly, in the Arctic circle, the melting of the far north’s permafrost will drive local populations to leave their homelands.
Acknowledging that the rise in sea levels is mainly due to the melting of land ice, caused by the continuous increase in temperatures. This corroborates the urgency of dealing with global warming as part of this discussion.
Noting with concern that the world will have 150–200 million climate change refugees by 2050
Urges the construction of sea walls, storm water pumps and upgrading sewage systems to slow down the rise of sea levels with the financial support of the greater financial powers
- Creation of a UN financing commission
- Certain regions can propose projects needing finance
- International commissions choose projects to send to the UN and a team of experts will validate, or not, the project
Recognising that countries directly impacted by migration are the ones that contribute the least in gas emissions and should therefore receive important financial and humanitarian support from the more responsible countries.
Calls for good emergency planning and adaptation policies which mitigate the wet and dry extremes of our changing climate that will reduce pressures on migration
Resolution 3: working towards the SDG 11
The promotion of new strategies to work towards the accomplishment of the eleventh SDG: sustainable cities and communities.
Noting with deep concern that fossil and non-renewable energies are highly polluting and typically found in specific regions of the world, making it difficult to extract and access. For example, oil drilling could require stripping Canada’s boreal forest with specific technologies, the act itself leading to several dangerous natural disasters.
However, mentioning that access to renewable energies, such as solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric power, biomass energy, geothermal energy, tidal and and wave energy.
Stressing that climate change is not stopping and will only get worse
Recognizing that changing traditions and infrastructure is difficult and will take time
Keeping in mind the possibility of conflicts over fossil fuel resources regarding their dependency on such industries
Concerned about reports from the Center for Biological Diversity which state that globally 15 percent or more of man made carbon dioxide is derived from cars, trucks, airplanes, ships and other modes of transportation
Cognizant of the level of dependency placed on petroleum and furthermore acknowledging that approximately 96% of transportation fuel is in the form of petroleum
Referring to the fact that only with international unity can climate change can be reversed by developing green transportation and other countermeasures
- Recommends member states to set a limitation of use of natural gas,.
- Recommends all countries to encourage popularization of transportation that run on more efficient or zero emissions
- Calls for member states to incentivise the use of green technologies for commercial and consumer purposes 11/11
Convention text voted on December 2d, 2020.