United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2016 “Climate change can bring us together, if we have the wisdom to prevent it from driving us apart.” —Margaret Beckett, Former British Foreign Secretary Contents Contents ........................................................................................................................... 1 Letter from the Director ................................................................................................... 4 Mandate ........................................................................................................................... 6 Background ...................................................................................................................... 8 A Bird’s-Eye View of the UNFCCC ....................................................................... 8 The Paris Climate Agreement ............................................................................... 10 Topics for Discussion ..................................................................................................... 13 An Equity-Based Approach: Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities ................................................................................................... 13 Alliances .............................................................................................................. 15 Climate Finance ................................................................................................... 17 Positions ......................................................................................................................... 19 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 23 Letter from the Director Dear Delegates, My name is Julia Greensfelder, and I am pleased to be your director for the 2016 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) meeting at WUMUNS XIII. I am currently a member of the Class of 2021 at Washington University in St. Louis and am majoring in International and Area Studies with a focus on climate security. During my Junior year at WashU, I had the opportunity to take a class through which I learned about the UNFCCC and the Paris Climate Accord. As part of the class, I was able to attend the 2019 iteration of the UNFCCC conference in Madrid, Spain where I experienced all that I learned first-hand. I hope to be able to integrate some of the niche knowledge that I gained from this experience into this committee and to share it with all of you. Since joining Model United Nations in my first year at WashU, I have been involved with the organization in a multitude of ways, but WUMUNS remains one of my favorite events. Climate change is the great magnifier of the 21st century; it will make or break the current global order and is an existential threat to much of humankind. Irreversible damage has already occurred. Lives have been lost and property has been destroyed. The existence of entire countries, populations, and a multitude of public goods is at risk. While climate change does not impact every person nor country in the same way, as a collective action issue, it must be mitigated by every person and every government. I commend each and every one of you for choosing to engage in such a difficult, yet timely topic at this conference. You are being presented with an impossible challenge: utilize a document, the Paris Agreement, to address climate change in a way that is best-suited for your country, keeping in mind that climate change is a global threat that you cannot solve alone. Like any international body, the committee functions best when you work together to achieve your goals. Because you are situated within blocs, some alliances have already been formed. However, if blocs do not collaborate, stalemate will persevere and action will not occur. 4 I encourage you to be creative in how you make use of your global position and respective alliances. All UN documents up until May 16, 2016 (the start date of this meeting) are fair game to use. I suggest exploring the documents cited in the bibliography at the bottom and this pocket guide to familiarize yourself with topics. You may use scientific studies that have been published since this meeting, however, I request that you do not utilize any political documentation you can find on this process that was published after May 16, 2016. The purpose of this committee is to ponder and explore these tough questions. As such, you will address and discuss issues of race and imperialism -- I will not tolerate xenophobia or racism of any kind in this committee. I expect engagement with all topics to be conducted with respect and maturity. I am excited to see how you approach this crucial step of the Paris Climate Accord. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. Sincerely, Julia Greensfelder 5 Mandate Welcome delegates, Congratulations on your selection as diplomatic representatives by your respective countries, or parties as we refer to them. My name is Ms. Laurence Tubiana, acting on behalf of the President of the Conference of the Parties (COP) at its twenty-first session, and I have just opened the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) and welcomed all Parties and observers to this session. You are all negotiators at this meeting in Bonn, Germany, spanning from 16 - 26 May, 2020. The Paris Agreement has been opened up for signature and you need 55 countries which represent at least 55% of global emissions to sign the Agreement in order for it to be entered into force. However, the Accord has only been ratified by 17 parties representing 0.04% of global emissions thus far. Your job is to utilize this meeting of global leaders to forward your political agenda; for many of you, it will be to ensure that the Paris Agreement as it is is ratified and entered into force, and for some, there will be a twist. You are all here because you represent the best and the brightest of your home countries. There is no one more well suited to ensure that this agreement that we have spent countless hours negotiating together is ratified. The future of global warming is in your hands; what we accomplish this week will determine the severity of the consequences of climate change for centuries to come. The fate of humankind is in your hands. As leaders of your respective countries, it is your job to ensure that the Paris Climate Agreement, an agreement which required years of negotiation and compromise, is 6 ratified by at least 55 parties representing 55% of global emissions in order for it to be entered into force. To clarify, the Paris Accord has already been negotiated. The Paris Agreement opened for signature (the ratification process) on 22 April 2016 – Earth Day – at UN Headquarters in New York and must be ratified before COP 22 (the next time we will meet) which will begin on November 7, 2016.1 The Paris Agreement represents tensions that occur within the international arena and climate negotiations specifically. Should the Agreement focus on mitigation or adaptation? Should wealthy developed countries be responsible for providing funds to aid developing countries with less wealth? What about nations existing within countries that do not receive the aid they need to survive and thrive? Should funding be contingent upon specific action? If so, can that be done in a way which does not manifest as neo- colonialism? Or, do some countries benefit from neo-colonialism and, in turn, hope that it does manifest in that way? How do you even define a developing versus a developed country? The UNFCCC already did that, yet China still abides by developing country rules. What can an agreement actually do? Can you enforce it internally within your country? How do you hold other governments accountable? If you do not work together, you will fail. If you do not ensure that the needs of your country are met, you might find yourself underwater by the turn of the century. This process will test your ability to balance your own agenda and that of the globe. You will need to understand which alliances are most important, and you might even need to do a little bit of math to ensure you meet the 55% GHG emission threshold before deciding which alliances to forego. Do not lose sight of your goals and why you are here. It is up to you to save our planet and to preserve the future of your country. Onward, Laurence Tubiana 1 https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/what-is-the-paris-agreement 7 Background A Bird’s-Eye View of the UNFCCC The Paris Climate Accord was produced under the umbrella group the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which serves as the basis for the international response to climate change. The UNFCCC operates as a treaty and has binding requirements for all Parties. This includes the Conference of the Party (COP) meeting which occurs in November/December and the Subsidiary Body (SB) meeting which occurs in May/June. COP tends to be more high-profile, addresses larger-scale issues, and has clear, political themes. SB meetings are designed to be a process through which Parties can work out details and kinks that remain after the closing of a COP. To be clear, this committee is modeled after a SB meeting. The Kyoto Protocol was the original treaty which operationalized the UNFCCC by setting forth emissions