A LETTER FROM THE CHAIRPERSON

Greetings Delegates!
My name is Ayman Hashmi and it is my distinct honour to welcome you all to
the second edition of Cotton Girls Model United Nations. This year, I will be
serving as your Chairperson for the United Nations Environmental Program
which will shape the entire conference as a whole from the perspective of
change and most importantly ACKNOWLEGEMENT. The reason Im
emphasizing upon the word acknowledgement is due to the main fact that no
matter how many initiatives we may set up or how many conventions and
additional protocols that may be set up with regard to the preservation of the
environment, we are still to adhere pertinent issues such as climate change,
sustainable development and increase in sea-level not only from a socioeconomic basis, but most importantly on a POLITICAL one. We are yet to
ACKNOWLEDGE that our priorities incline towards the environment much
before any other major issue that we face today, be it territorial claims, threat to
sovereignty or economic disparity. It is your role as a delegate representing your
respective country to develop a keen sense of analysis with regard to how your
respective country as chosen to adhere to climate change with regard to its
political sphere and to analyze just how far your respective world leaders are
willing to act by advocating certain measures that may sometimes compromise
their own personal motives. For the sake of convenience, I will be elaborating
more before the commencement of the first formal session on what is expected
of delegates throughout the 2 days of the conference.
Your agendas however, are incredibly easy but at the same time broad and
ambiguous to research upon. During your time at the UNEP, you will be
discussing the RISING LEVEL OF CO2 EMISSIONS along with the
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE UPON THE MARINE ECOSYSTEM.
This will require delegates, immensely agog upon the topic to research in depth
with immense levels of intricacy upon the topics and deliver the main reasons as
to why our leaders simply acknowledge climate change but fail to implement
any sort of change within their respective nations. Further, I urge all delegates
to follow their respective foreign policies unwaveringly. With that said, I look
to an absolutely brilliant conference throughout these 3 days and look forward
to seeing you all researched and ready. The Executive Board would like to
further advise all delegates, not to focus upon the conference as an opportunity
to merely just receive a placement and further strengthen your MUN record, but
to actually take something forward and shape your future mindset as an
advocate for climate change.
Ayman Hashmi, Chairperson

EXECUTIVE BOARD:
Chairperson: Ayman Hashmi
Vice-Chairperson: Dhruv Jatti
Rapporteur: Zamya Mujawar

INTRODUCTION:
The committee this year will function under a standard UN mandate along with
adopting the UNA-USA rules of procedure. No form of documentation or
verbal contract initiated within the committee will be binding upon any member
state of the UN present or absent in the committee. The use of internet is strictly
prohibited. Delegates will be allowed to use laptops and tablets as a reference to
their research and matter without using the internet. Logistic members will be
instructed to strictly monitor delegates in order to advocate the above mentioned
policies.
Contacting the EB personally and unnecessarily prior to the conference is
discouraged. For any more details or queries feel free to contact the email ID or
the number given below and we will be sure to get back to you as soon as
possible. Also, the Executive Board would like to urge all delegates to add
themselves to the UNEP: CGMUN Facebook group in order to stay aware of
all details regarding position paper submission and other necessities. Extensions
for the submission of position papers can be requested via email ONLY.

Deadline for submission of Position Papers: 23rd August, 2016

Email: cgmun2016.unep@gmail.com
Contact Number: +918105190792 / +919538048190

AGEDNA 1: DISCUSSING THE IMPACTS CAUSED DUE TO

RISING LEVELS OF CO2 EMISSIONS
Ancient air bubbles trapped in ice enable us to step back in time and see what
Earth's atmosphere, and climate, were like in the distant past. They tell us that
levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere are higher than they have been
at any time in the past 400,000 years. During ice ages, CO2 levels were around
200 parts per million (ppm), and during the warmer interglacial periods, they
hovered around 280 ppm (see fluctuations in the graph). In
2013, CO2 levels surpassed 400 ppm for the first time in recorded history.
This recent relentless rise in CO2 shows a remarkably constant relationship with
fossil-fuel burning, and can be well accounted for based on the simple premise
that about 60 percent of fossil-fuel emissions stay in the air.
Today, we stand on the threshold of a new geologic era, which some term the
"Anthropocene", one where the climate is very different to the one our ancestors
knew.
If fossil-fuel burning continues at a business-as-usual rate, such that humanity
exhausts the reserves over the next few centuries, CO2 will continue to rise to
levels of order of 1500 ppm. The atmosphere would then not return to preindustrial levels even tens of thousands of years into the future. This graph not
only conveys the scientific measurements, but it also underscores the fact that
humans have a great capacity to change the climate and planet.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Human Sources

Since the Industrial Revolution, human sources of carbon dioxide emissions
have been growing. Human activities such as the burning of oil, coal and gas, as
well as deforestation are the primary cause of the increased carbon dioxide
concentrations in the atmosphere.
87 percent of all human-produced carbon dioxide emissions come from the
burning of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil. The remainder results from
the clearing of forests and other land use changes (9%), as well as some
industrial processes such as cement manufacturing (4%).

Fossil fuel combustion/use

The largest human source of carbon dioxide emissions is from the combustion
of fossil fuels. This produces 87% of human carbon dioxide emissions. Burning
these fuels releases energy which is most commonly turned into heat, electricity
or power for transportation. Some examples of where they are used are in power
plants, cars, planes and industrial facilities. In 2011, fossil fuel use created 33.2
billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.
The 3 types of fossil fuels that are used the most are coal, natural gas and oil.
Coal is responsible for 43% of carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion,
36% is produced by oil and 20% from natural gas.
Coal is the most carbon intensive fossil fuel. For every tonne of coal burned,
approximately 2.5 tonnes of CO2e are produced. Of all the different types of
fossil fuels, coal produces the most carbon dioxide. Because of this and it's high
rate of use, coal is the largest fossil fuel source of carbon dioxide emissions.
Coal represents one-third of fossil fuels' share of world total primary energy
supply but is responsible for 43% of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel
use.
Anything involving fossil fuels has a carbon dioxide emission ticket attached.
So for example, burning these fuels releases energy but carbon dioxide also gets
produced as a by product. This is because almost all the carbon that is stored in
fossil fuels gets transformed to carbon dioxide during this process.
The three main economic sectors that use fossil fuels are: electricity/heat,
transportation and industry. The first two sectors, electricity/heat and
transportation, produced nearly two-thirds of global carbon dioxide emissions in
2010.

Electricity/Heat sector
Electricity and heat generation is the economic sector that produces the largest
amount of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. This sector produced 41% of
fossil fuel related carbon dioxide emissions in 2010. Around the world, this
sector relies heavily on coal, the most carbon-intensive of fossil fuels,
explaining this sector giant carbon footprint.

Almost all industrialized nations get the majority of their electricity from the
combustion of fossil fuels (around 60-90%). Only Canada and France are the
exception. Depending on the energy mix of your local power company you
probably will find that the electricity that you use at home and at work has a
considerable impact on greenhouse gas emissions.
Below is a chart for percentage of electrical energy produced by fossil fuel
combustion for major industrialized nations, for the complete list of all nations.

Transportation sector
The transportation sector is the second largest source of anthropogenic carbon
dioxide emissions. Transporting goods and people around the world produced
22% of fossil fuel related carbon dioxide emissions in 2010. This sector is very
energy intensive and it uses petroleum based fuels (gasoline, diesel, kerosene,
etc.) almost exclusively to meet those needs. Since the 1990s, transport related
emissions have grown rapidly, increasing by 45% in less than 2 decades.
Road transport accounts for 72% of this sector's carbon dioxide emissions.
Automobiles, freight and light-duty trucks are the main sources of emissions for
the whole transport sector and emissions from these three have steadily grown
since 1990. Apart from road vehicles, the other important sources of emissions
for this sector are marine shipping and global aviation.
Marine shipping produces 14% of all transport carbon dioxide emissions. While
there are a lot less ships than road vehicles used in the transportation sector,
ships burn the dirtiest fuel on the market, a fuel that is so unrefined that it can be
solid enough to be walked across at room temperature. Because of this, marine
shipping is responsible for over 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide
emissions. This is more than the annual emissions of several industrialized
countries (Germany, South Korea, Canada, UK, etc.) and this sector continues
to grow rapidly.
Global aviation accounts for 11% of all transport carbon dioxide emissions.
International flights create about 62% of these emissions with domestic flights
representing the remaining 38%. Over the last 10 years, aviation has been one
of the fastest growing sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Aviation is also the
most carbon-intensive form of transportation, so it's growth comes with a heavy
impact on climate change.

Industrial sector
The industrial sector is the third largest source of man-made carbon dioxide
emissions. This sector produced 20% of fossil fuel related carbon dioxide
emissions in 2010. The industrial sector consists of manufacturing, construction,
mining, and agriculture. Manufacturing is the largest of the 4 and can be broken
down into 5 main categories: paper, food, petroleum refineries, chemicals, and
metal/mineral products. These categories account for the vast majority of the
fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions by this sector.
Manufacturing and industrial processes all combine to produce large amounts of
each type of greenhouse gas but specifically large amounts of CO2. This is
because many manufacturing facilities directly use fossil fuels to create heat and
steam needed at various stages of production. For example factories in the
cement industry, have to heat up limestone to 1450C to turn it into cement,
which is done by burning fossil fuels to create the required heat.

QARMA: (QUESTIONS A RESOLUTION MUST ANSWER)

Can the current situation with regard to CO2 emissions be considered
merely an outcome of privatization, especially in the industrial sector?
How far can we assess the problem of carbon emissions from a political
perspective?
Is the rise in carbon emissions a direct product of the aloofness and
failure of our policy makers?
Are there any alternatives which the international community can adopt if
the entire scheme on preservation and conservation fails?
How far has the Corporate Social Responsibility of companies helped in
reducing carbon emissions?
Is it even remotely viable to generate a close to accurate depiction of the
relative rate of change with regard to the rate of climate change and
environmental degradation?
Has the failure of some world leaders to acknowledge global warming
and climate change rendered the international community complacent?

AGENDA 2: DISCUSSING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE

CHANGE ON THE MARINE ECOSYSTEM
The marine environment is already registering the impacts of climate change.
The current increase in global temperature of 0.7C since pre-industrial times is
disrupting life in the oceans, from the tropics to the poles.
Marine species affected by climate change include plankton - which forms the
basis of marine food chains - corals, fish, polar bears, walruses, seals, sea lions,
penguins, and seabirds.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a further rise of
between 1.4C and 5.8C by the end of the century. Climate change could
therefore well be the knock-out punch for many species which are already under
stress from overfishing and habitat loss.

Altered lifestyles
Rising temperatures can directly affect the metabolism, life cycle, and
behaviour
of
marine
species.
For many species, temperature serves as a cue for reproduction. Clearly,
changes in sea temperature could affect their successful breeding.
The number of male and female offspring is determined by temperature for
marine turtles, as well as some fish and copepods (tiny shrimp-like animals on
which many other marine animals feed). Changing climate could therefore skew
sex ratios and threaten population survival.

Rising sea levels

Global sea levels may rise by as much as 69cm during the next 100 years due to
melting of glaciers and polar ice, and thermal expansion of warmer water.
Rising water levels will have serious impacts on marine ecosystems. The
amount of light reaching offshore plants and algae dependent on photosynthesis
could be reduced, while coastal habitats are already being flooded.
Rapid sea level rise will likely be the greatest climate change challenge
to mangrove ecosystems, which require stable sea levels for long-term survival.

Decreased Mixing
Vertical mixing in the ocean is important for many reasons, including
transporting nutrients from deep to shallow waters, and surface water rich in
oxygen into deeper waters. In some areas, changes to ocean temperature profiles
induced by climate change are causing a reduction in the amount of mixing, and
for example, reducing oxygen levels at depth.

Acidic oceans
After absorbing a large proportion of the carbon dioxide released by human
activities, the oceans are becoming acidic. If it werent for the oceans, the level
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be much higher.
The effect could be that fish, squid, and other gilled marine animals may find it
harder to "breathe", as the dissolved oxygen essential for their life becomes
difficult to extract as water becomes more acidic. And shellfish, crabs, lobsters,
and corals may find it more difficult to build their calcium carbonate shells. In
some areas, calcium carbonate shells may even start to dissolve.

Effects
Marine apple mammals have evolved to live in the ocean, but the effects of
climate change are rapidly altering their habitat. The climate change for arctic
marine mammals by studying the difference in their habitat, distribution,
abundance, movement and migration, body conditions, behaviour, and their
sensitivity. The climate change is drastically changing, so it is hard for some
arctic marine mammals to adapt to the new conditions as quickly as needed, so
the arctic marine mammals are being studied to see what happens to them due to
the high stress they are put in due to the rapidly changing climate change. These
climate changes put the arctic marine mammals in immense pressure and stress,
due to this many species who cannot adapt begin to slowly die off due to the
extra stress.
As levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase they trap heat which
causes an overall warming of the planet. During the last century, the global
average land and sea surface temperature has increased dramatically. Warming
has reached down to about 700 meters and more (per a study which finds that
30% of the ocean warming, over the past decade, has occurred in the deeper
oceans below 700 meters). Many marine mammal species require specific
temperature ranges in which they must live. The warming of the ocean will
cause changes in the species migration or area that they inhibit.

Outcomes
For more than a decade, the Aquariums Marine Conservation Action
Fund has provided support and collaboration to small-scale, high-need
projects around the world that link local communities, protect highly
vulnerable species and habitats, and promote sustainable use of oceans.
Through small grants to scientists and grassroots organizations, we have
been able to respond to time-sensitive and high-priority marine conservation
needs. MCAF support helps catalyze groundbreaking conservation, rescue,
and rehabilitation work in remote corners of the world, with a particular
focus on developing funding that can have a disproportionate impact.
From saving river dolphins in Pakistan to creating a marine
mammal stranding network in Iran to protecting manta rays in Peru and Sri
Lanka, MCAF-supported projects have proven effective on a small scale to
solve indigenous problems that have wide-scale implications for ocean and
marine animal health. Future work will increase our focus on building the
capacity of grantees, including developing a network of MCAF Fellows that
fosters mentoring and professional growth, leverages additional funding
sources to increase the sustainability of projects, and develops enduring
relationships to increase long-term impactswith a particular focus on the
development of junior scientists doing pioneering work in developing
countries.
Work by the Aquarium in the Phoenix Islands in the central Pacific Ocean
led to the creation of a Marine Protected Area the size of California.
Aquarium staff were integral and involved in every aspect of establishing the
protected area, including hiring legal expert consultants and drafting
legislation, finding funding for and developing a nongovernmental
organization to sustainably finance the protected area, drafting the
management plan and facilitating management activities, drafting the areas
nomination as a World Heritage Site, and acting as a co-finance partner and
Project Management Group member of a $1 million Global Environment
Grant. The Anderson Cabot Centre for Ocean Life at the New England
Aquarium will continue its research in the area.
The Anderson Cabot Centre for Ocean Life will continue to build capacity
for marine conservation to protect highly vulnerable species and habitats in
the developing world from the impacts of overfishing, habitat loss, and
climate change.

Climate change impacts on marine mammals

The Great Barrier Reef's mammals are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change that alter their habitats and food sources. The dugong, dolphins and
whales of the Great Barrier Reef are ecologically, economically and socially
important.

Whales
There are 15 species of whales that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef at some point
through the year. Most whales migrate north during the Southern Hemisphere
winter months to breed, so their time on the Great Barrier Reef is especially
important to their species' survival.

Dolphins
Dolphins on the Great Barrier Reef mostly inhabit tropical waters. Therefore a
rise in sea temperature may only affect dolphins by increasing their spatial
range. For example, as water temperature rises across the Reef, dolphins will
find more areas to their liking

Dugong
Sea temperatures are likely to increase dugong spatial range. As evidence
suggests sea-grass beds (their food source) will grow further south out of the
Great Barrier Reef. It is likely dugong will be able to live in southern Australian
areas also. They are tolerant of high water temperatures, so while food is
available they will remain in their favoured habitats of the Reef, including
Moreton Bay.

QARMA: (QUESTIONS A RESOLUTION MUST ANSWER)

How far has the community adhered towards acknowledging the
degradation of the marine ecosystem?
Till how far are the pre-existing conventions and their protocols effective
in preserving the aquatic environment as a whole?
How much has the rise in sea-level impacted the current geo-political
sphere of the planet?
Is there a root cause if any as direct determinant towards the degrading
conditions of the marine life?
Is this problem reversible or will there have to be alternative solutions as
whole to substitute the ones implemented?