Chairperson: Annsh H Gharrat
Vice Chairperson: Varada Sabale
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
Dear esteemed delegates and special guests,
We are your chairs Annsh H Gharrat and Varada Sabale. It is our honor to serve
you as chairs of the committee United Nations Environment Programme. Over the
next few days, we anticipate thought-provoking debates, negotiations, and
resolutions that will shape the future of our world. As delegates of UNEP, you hold
immense responsibility for addressing complex global issues and finding viable
solutions. Your expertise, diverse perspectives, and diplomatic skills will be
instrumental in shaping the outcomes of our sessions. We must foster an
environment of mutual respect, open-mindedness, and constructive engagement.
We encourage each of you to embrace the spirit of collaboration and diplomacy
during our sessions. Seek common ground, explore innovative ideas, and engage in
meaningful discussions that will contribute to the development of comprehensive
resolutions. Remember, your commitment to finding fair solutions, signifies your
commitment to addressing pressing challenges. As students who all started our
MUN career as hesitant delegates, we understand that MUN can be daunting for
some of you. Here is our advice: Model United Nations is all about research,
confidence, and collaboration. With the knowledge gained from our background
guide and your independent research, you will be able to come up with a wide
range of innovative ideas. And through collaboration, ideas from you and others
will form a realistic solution. As chairs, we will do our best to make this
conference as meaningful as possible while you work to solve a current global
issue.
If you have any questions regarding the conference, please do not hesitate to
contact us.
Lastly, thank you for your participation and commitment to the principles of the
United Nations.
Welcome to UNEP, and we wish you a successful and rewarding experience.
Sincerely,
Annsh H Gharrat [Chairperson]
Varada Sabale [Vice Chairperson]
About UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global
authority on the environment.
UNEP’s mission is to inspire, inform, and enable nations and peoples to improve
their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
For over 50 years, UNEP has worked with governments, civil society, the private
sector and UN entities to address humanity’s most pressing environmental
challenges - from restoring the ozone layer to protecting the world's seas and
promoting a green, inclusive economy.
UNEP is driving transformational change by drilling down on the root causes of
the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss and
pollution.
UNEP’s work is focused on helping countries transition to low-carbon and
resource-efficient economies, strengthening environmental governance and law,
safeguarding ecosystems, and providing evidence-based data to inform policy
decisions.
Through cutting-edge science, coordination and advocacy, UNEP supports its 193
Member States to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and live in harmony
with nature.
What is the triple planetary crisis?
The triple planetary crisis refers to three interrelated problems: climate
change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Each of these problems is a
crisis with its own causes and effects, but all three converge and feed on
each other. All three affect human rights, and more intensely impact
people in vulnerable conditions.
The Climate Crisis
The United Nations considers climate change to be humanity's most urgent
problem and the greatest threat to human rights.
Climate change, which involves long-term changes to the planet's temperatures and
weather patterns, can completely alter ecosystems. Although changes in climate
can occur due to the natural patterns of the planet, what we are facing is caused by
human activities. Since the Industrial Revolution, there has been an accelerated
change in the planet's average temperatures. One of the primary causes of that
change is the exploitation and use of fossil fuels.
The climate crisis, then, refers to the consequences of climate change caused by
human activities, which include: an increase in the intensity and severity of natural
events such as droughts, fires, and storms; rising sea levels and the melting of the
poles; changes in the hydrological and climatic cycles that affect biodiversity; and
impacts on the enjoyment of human rights.
The pollution and waste crisis
The dominant economic system, dependent on consumption, implies the generation
of high levels of pollution and waste that have a great impact on human and
ecosystem health.
Air pollution is the leading cause of disease and premature death worldwide. The
World Health Organization estimates that 7 million people die prematurely each
year because of poor air quality. Air degradation is caused by emissions from
factories, transportation, and forest fires. Those who lack access to less harmful
technologies for cooking or keeping warm also breathe polluted air in their homes.
Air pollution is related to climate change, as many of the emissions also warm the
planet.
Pollution caused by plastics and micro plastics is another global concern, as it
directly affects biodiversity. An increasing number of studies are finding that
plastics are affecting the health of people and other living things. They take
centuries to decompose, and are derived from petroleum, a fossil fuel.
And we can’t forget pollution caused by extractive activities which, in addition to
generating greenhouse gas emissions and leaving in their wake chemicals that are
toxic to health, degrade freshwater sources and large tracts of land.
The Biodiversity Loss Crisis
Biodiversity loss refers to the decrease and disappearance of biological diversity:
flora, fauna, and ecosystems.
This crisis is caused by the two previous crises, in addition to the overexploitation
of resources and changes in land use—which cause overfishing, illegal hunting and
trafficking, and deforestation—and the introduction of non-native and invasive
species. This loss also implies the decline of many of the species on which we
depend. Its impacts extend to affect food supplies and access to fresh water.
One example is the Amazon, the world's largest tropical forest and a global climate
stabilizer. It is home to 10 percent of the planet's known biodiversity and is the
ancestral home of more than 470 indigenous and traditional peoples. The Amazon
is endangered by colonization, deforestation, and extractive activities, among other
threats. The situation is so serious that the point of no return for the Amazon, in
which deforestation levels cancel out its capacity for regeneration, is no longer a
future scenario.
UN Protocols and Conventions related to the agenda
1. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
(1992):
2. Kyoto Protocol (1997)
3. Paris Agreement (2015)
4. Glasgow Climate Pact (2021)
5. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (1992)
6. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora) (1973)
7. Paris Agreement on Pollution (Agenda 2030)
8. The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992)
