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Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

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Page 1: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director
Page 2: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme!

My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director on this

2nd edition of MUNSALLE Conference. I am currently studying Electrical Engineering at

Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología – UTEC and attending to an internship at Red

de Energía del Perú in the Digital Transformation Division. I am interested in every topic

which is related to technology, sports, but more importantly, most of the topics that

concern the Peruvian political system. Thus, I like to think about and discuss solutions

to the conflicts and problems that Peru faces to the date. Take in consideration that each

conflict has consequences that affect our future: our lives, our environment, and the lives

of other people.

My MUN experience - as a delegate - started in 2013, with the La Salle Lima Delegation,

at the Bolmunpaz 2013. Since that year until my last high school year, I participated in

several MUN conferences, both national (such as LiMUN, VMMUN) and international

(such as CAENU, Bolmunpaz). Also, I had the honor to be part of the organizing team of

LASMUN 2015 with the role of Under-Secretary-General. To finish with my MUN

experience, in the period 2017-2018, I participated as coach of La Salle Lima Delegation

along with Ian Guimaray. We constantly guided new participants through the

development of necessary skills to outstand in the MUN atmosphere and, of course, we

helped old delegates to master those skills.

The committee will focus on debating all the policies that have been proposed and

implemented regarding Environmental Care and Sustainability; the impact of taken

actions would be discussed, an analysis of the real benefit regarding the implemented

indicators will be done; future actions to obtain the desired panorama for all our

ecosystems will be proposed. There is plenty of framework for each Member State to

stand up and give a viable – technically speaking – solution, minding the international

peace and security of the Committee and all of its Member States. Thus, my colleagues

and I expect delegates to establish an intense negotiation and propose technical-viable

and innovative solutions to the topic at hand. I expect to observe compromise and

negotiation in order to reach diplomatic agreements.

See you on October 4th, 5th and 6th!

Renato Sakanishi

United Nations Environment Programme

Page 3: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

1https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/background_on_unep_presentation.pdf 2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Environment_Programme 3https://www.unenvironment.org/es/node/18409

Introduction to the Committee

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established in 1972 in order

to facilitate a voice for the environment within the United Nations. Its main aims are to

work as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and

sustainable development of the global environment1.

The headquarters were established in Kenya’s capital: Nairobi. The headquarters hosted

a staff of 300, including 100 professionals in a variety of fields, and with a five-year fund

of more than US$100 million2.

Furthermore, UNEP is organized as it follows3:

Communication Division delivers UN Environment’s core messages to

governments and citizens, stakeholders and partners, including the media,

through the full range of digital and traditional channels.

Corporate Services Division safeguards UN Environment’s corporate interests

by providing it with tools and plans for efficient and effective management and by

managing its exposure to risk.

Economy Division provides solutions for economic decision-makers and helps

change the business environment by offering platforms for dialogue and

cooperation, innovative policy options, pilot projects and creative market

mechanisms.

Ecosystems Division supports countries in conserving, restoring and

sustainably managing their terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, the

biodiversity they contain and the products and services they provide for human

well-being and prosperity.

Governance Affairs Office assists Member States, major groups and relevant

stakeholders, such as the private sector, to engage with UN Environment's work.

Law Division leads the international community in the progressive development

of environmental law through the promotion of capacities, transparency and

accountability in judiciaries, legislatures and policy making institutions.

Policy and Programme Division consolidates the policy, programme,

monitoring, gender and social safeguards functions of UN Environment as well

as its engagement with the United Nations system and key global processes such

as the 2030 Agenda. The Division ensures coherence and coordination at the

strategic, policy and programmatic levels.

Science Division provides timely, scientifically credible, policy-relevant

environmental assessments, data and information for decision-making and action

planning for sustainable development.

This programme has come into particular importance in the last decades due to the

Climate Change aftermath, the impact of weapons to the environment, as well resource’s

efficiency.

Page 4: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

History around the Topic

In the following lines, key events attached to the history of the U.S. Environmental

Movement are listed. The main purpose of presenting this piece of information is to

spread the harsh timeline that happened in order to make some outstanding efforts.

“June 30, 1948: The Postwar Period

The first piece of legislation to lay down federal regulation of water quality, the

Federal Water Pollution Control Act, is passed by Congress. This act, known as

the FWPCA, will go through amendments in 1956, 1965, and 1972 to broaden

the government’s authority in water pollution control.

October 30-31, 1948

In Donora, PA, 20 people die and over 600 go to the hospital after sulfur dioxide

emissions from a nearby steel and wire plant descend in the form of smog, made

worse by a temperature inversion that trapped the sulfuric poison in the valley of

the town. The incident will lead to the first U.S. conference on air pollution in 1950,

sponsored by the Public Health Service.

September 1949

Paul Ehrlich (future author of The Population Bomb) enters the University of

Pennsylvania and studies zoology. He notes the disappearance of butterflies in

New Jersey, which he attributes to the spraying of

dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) during the building of subdivisions. The

shrinking population of butterflies leads Ehrlich to think about potential similar

repercussions in the human population.

October 22, 1951

The Nature Conservancy is established in Washington, D.C. as a nonprofit

organization with the mission to protect ecologically important lands and waters

around the world. Over the next several decades, the Nature Conservancy will

protect more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide.

It will grow to more than 1 million members, and operate more than 100 marine

conservation projects.

November 1953

Heavy smog in New York City exacerbates asthma and other lung conditions,

killing 170-260 people. More New Yorkers will die again in 1962 and 1966 with

more “smog episodes.”

November 20, 1952

The Paley Commission releases Resources for Freedom which details the United

States’ increasing dependence on foreign sources of natural resources and

argues for the necessity to transition to renewable energy. This document was

one of the first to argue both for the dire need for Americans to stop their reliance

on oil and for the potential of solar energy to fulfill that chasm. William Paley, chair

of the presidential commission, establishes Resources for the Future later in

1952, an organization dedicated to independent environmental research.

Page 5: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

February 1953: A Growing Public Awareness

The Silent World by Jacques Cousteau introduces the world to underwater

adventure, and ushers in a new global interest in oceanic life. In 1956, Cousteau’s

documentary film of the same title will win the Academy Award for Best

Documentary Feature.

January 1955

President Eisenhower speaks on the problem of air pollution in his State of the

Union address, and in a Special Message to Congress he calls on the Public

Health Service to study “effective methods of control.”

July 14, 1955

The Air Pollution Control Act passes Congress, becoming the first piece of

legislation to address air pollution. Despite its declaration to combat air

contamination, the act puts regulation largely in the hands of individual states and

gives no means of enforcement to the federal government.

April 1956

The Sierra Club gains national recognition for protesting construction of the Echo

Park Dam in Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. After effective lobbying,

Congress removed the Echo Park Dam from the Colorado River project.

July 9, 1956

An amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 strengthens

the government’s ability to enforce regulations and gives the Federal government

control over individual states’ consent where health is endangered.

1960

Worldwide levels of carbon dioxide will climb above 300 parts per million.

1962

Congress amends the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 to fund a study conducted

by the U.S. Surgeon General to investigate the health effects caused by

automobile exhaust. In the United States alone, there are 74 million cars on the

road.

June 1962: "Silent Spring"

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is published. Acclaimed as the catalyst of the

modern environmental movement, Silent Spring condemns the overuse of

pesticides. Between 1950-1962 the amount of DDT found in human tissue had

tripled.

After the chemical industry denounces Carson’s book as a “gross distortion of

actual facts,” President John F. Kennedy charges his Science Advisory

Committee to review the book’s claims. The Committee reports that the

conclusions in Silent Spring are generally correct, and by 1972 DDT will be

banned in the U.S.

Page 6: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

1963

83 million Americans own personal automobiles. In response to increased

evidence of a link between smog and car emissions, California mandated

crankcase blowby devices that return unburned gases to the combustion

chambers in all cars in 1961. California has begun its reign as a leader in

emissions standards, as this requirement was the first such imperative in the

country.

November 1963

Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall publishes The Quiet Crisis, an early call to

arms on environmental pollution with an introduction by President Kennedy. Udall

will go on to become a pioneer for environmental legislation.

December 1963

The Clear Air Act passes, allocating $95 million for the study and cleanup of air

and water pollution. The act gives the federal government authority to reduce

interstate air pollution, regulate emission standards for stationary pollution

sources, and invest in technologies that will remove sulfur from coal and oil.

October 2, 1965

The Water Quality Act passes, enhancing Federal control over water quality

initially set by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948. These federal

standards will become the baseline for statewide water quality levels.

October 20, 1965

The Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act sets the first federal automobile

emission standards.

October 15 1966

The first legislation regarding Endangered Species passes, authorizing the

Secretary of the Interior to list endangered domestic fish and wildlife and allotting

$15 million a year in the protection of such species.

The first list of Endangered Species – released in 1967 – will include the United

States’ national symbol, the American Bald Eagle.

August 1968: Changing Perspectives

In The Population Bomb, Paul Ehrlich argues that the world’s environmental

problems are caused by overpopulation. At 3.5 billion people, the population of

the world had more than doubled in the past half century. Despite the fact that his

dire predictions of catastrophe will never come to pass, Ehrlich’s apocalyptic

warnings play a pivotal role in bringing the issues of family planning,

contraception and legalized abortion to the forefront of domestic and international

politics.

Page 7: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

Fall 1968

Stewart Brand publishes The Whole Earth Catalog, which lists a variety of

products helpful for self-sustainable living.

Stewart Brand will help lead a “back-to-the-land” movement that encourages

people to return to organic living. “Rural communes” spring up, consisting largely

of liberal, educated college students who try to live independently off the land.

While the communes ultimately will not last, the experiment reflects an emerging

recognition of environmental issues in the popular culture.

October 2, 1968

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act provides a system that identifies and adds rivers

across the United States to a protected list. By 1989, over 1,385 miles of rivers

will be protected in Alaska alone.

On this same day, Congress passes the National Trails System Act, authorizing

a similar set of proceedings to protect U.S. trails.

December 24, 1968

The crew of Apollo 8 takes the first photograph of the Earth from space. The

photograph, named “Earthrise,” will become the iconic image of the

environmental movement.

January 28, 1969

The Santa Barbara oil well blowout spills over 200,000 gallons of oil into the

ocean for 11 days straight. Due to the destruction and extreme pollution of the

California coastline, the spill leads directly to reforms in the energy industry.

June 22, 1969

Ohio’s Cuyahoga River appears to burst into flames when oil and chemicals

floating on the surface alight and cause flames over five stories high.

December 1969

Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, hires 25-year-old Denis Hayes

to direct a national “teach-in” about environmental issues. Hayes recruits a

handful of young college graduates to come to Washington, D.C. and begins

planning what will become the first Earth Day.

January 1, 1970

Congress passes the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), requiring every

federal agency to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for any

legislation.

The Act’s passage is due in large part to the public outcry that resulted from the

Santa Barbara oil spill the year before.

Page 8: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

January 14, 1970

General Motors' president Edward Cole promises “pollution free” cars by 1980,

citing the removal of lead from gasoline and the addition of catalytic converters

as means to stop deadly emissions.

January 22, 1970

In recognition of the growing media attention given to the approaching Earth Day,

President Richard Nixon stresses the importance of environmental issues in his

State of the Union Address.

January - March 1970

In the months leading up to Earth Day, advertisements amplify the direness of

the environmental problems facing the world, reading: “It can be the beginning of

the end of pollution. Or the beginning of the end.”

Some opponents condemn the movement to organize a national Earth Day as an

unpatriotic deflection from the war in Vietnam. Others point out the fact that April

22, 1970 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin, and warn

Americans that Earth Day could be a clever communist plot.

April 22, 1970: Earth Day

The first national Earth Day. Co-chaired by Congressman Pete McCloskey and

coordinated by Denis Hayes, the first Earth Day takes the form of a nationwide

protest against environmental ignorance. An estimated 20 million people

participate across the country, in what will ultimately be the largest demonstration

ever in American history.

June 1970

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is established to provide

citizens with the tools to draft environmental laws and lobby for their passage.

July 9, 1970

President Nixon works with Congress to establish the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA), a new Federal agency primarily responsible for United States

environmental policy. In its first year of operation, the agency will employ over

4,000 Americans.

The EPA will be responsible for the passage of environmental legislation,

ecological programs, and research.

October 2, 1970

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is created

to monitor and improve the conditions of the oceans. NOAA enforces the

sustainable use of resources of coastal and marine ecosystems and supplies

environmental information to the public.

Page 9: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

November 1970

During the election cycle after Earth Day, Denis Hayes organizes a movement to

unseat “The Dirty Dozen” - a list of 12 members of Congress with infamous

records on environmental policy. The movement will successfully remove seven

of the incumbents, and earn the environmental movement significant political

clout in the legislature.

October 18, 1972: A Wave of Legislation

The Clean Water Act (CWA) becomes the primary legislation governing water

pollution in the country. The goal of the CWA is to eliminate toxic substances in

water and to uphold surface water to a national standard of cleanliness. The act,

an amendment to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, bestows

enforcement authority on the EPA and restructures previous water quality

regulations.

October 21, 1972

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) protects all marine mammals from

importation, exportation, hunting, capture, or any form of harassment, thus

encouraging natural resource management in the United States.

Two days later, on October 23, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)

protects all marine mammals from importation, exportation, hunting, capture, or

any form of harassment, thus encouraging natural resource management in the

United States.

October 27, 1972

The Coastal Zone Management Act mandates coastal states to develop

management plans to offset the negative impact of humans on coastal areas.

October 31, 1972

Dennis Meadows co-authors The Limits to Growth, a study of the interaction

between population, industrial growth, food production and ecosystem limits. In

the book, Meadows demonstrates with clear diagrams and linear models that

Earth’s resources are being steadily used up, and as these resources drop,

human population is expanding exponentially. The Limits to Growth predicts that

by the middle of the 21st century, Earth’s population will no longer be sustainable

and the ecosystem will completely collapse.

December 31, 1972

DDT is banned in the United States, the result of nearly 10 years of legislative

battles. Since Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring first brought DDT into the spotlight

in 1962, the government formed investigative panels and committees to

substantiate the danger of the pesticide. With the ban, the Administrator of the

EPA, William D. Ruckelshaus, stated his conviction that “the continued massive

use of DDT posed unacceptable risks to the environment and potential harm to

human health.”

Page 10: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

October 1973 - March 1974

During the Arab Oil Embargo, energy demands exceed supplies in the United

States for first time. The fuel shortage results from the suspension of oil

shipments to the U.S., with gas prices skyrocketing and the price of a barrel

increasing 400% from $3 to $12 a barrel. The energy crisis fuels immediate

research into alternative energy and creates a new dialogue about energy

security for the United States.

December 28, 1973

Congress passes the Endangered Species Act in order to prevent the extinction

of animals in the United States. This act restructured the 1966 legislation

regarding endangered species and directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

and the NOAA to carry out its stipulations.

June 26, 1974

President Nixon signs the Energy Supply and Environmental Coordination Act,

the first attempt to balance the nation’s energy demands with appropriate

environmental regulations.

June 28, 1974

Chemists Frank Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina claim that

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) can destroy ozone molecules and may erode the

Earth’s protective ozone layer.

A report released two years later by the U.S. Academy of Sciences will provide

further scientific evidence to support the hypothesis of ozone depletion. In 1978

the United States will ban the use of CFCs in aerosol cans, but is not until the

early 1990s that CFCs will begin to be phased out of product production.

August 17, 1974

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA) is

enacted in an effort to monitor forest resources in the United States. The RPA

mandates comprehensive assessments in order to supervise forest supply.

December 12, 1974

The EPA is charged with settling and monitoring water quality standards with the

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), covering every public water system across the

country.

January 3, 1975

The Eastern Wilderness Areas Act protects over 200,000 acres of National

Forests. This legislation is the first to protect lands that were once logged or

previously inhabited.

October 11, 1976

The Toxic Substances Control Act mandates the EPA to control all new and

existing chemical substances being used in the United States. The act controls

Page 11: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and other toxic products, although the

management of existing chemicals are grandfathered and untouched by the act.

October 21, 1976

The EPA is given complete control over hazardous waste in the Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act, which mandates the agency manage all aspects

of toxic waste management.

The following day, National Forest Management Act requires the Secretary of

Agriculture to monitor forestlands and to develop a standard to manage each unit

of the National Forest System.

1977

Architects of Governor Jerry Brown’s Office of Appropriate Technology design

the first energy-conserving, self-ventilating building in Sacramento, the Bateson

Building.

April 18, 1977

In a televised speech, President Jimmy Carter announces his energy plan,

including goals to lower U.S. energy demand, reduce gasoline consumption, cut

the portion of oil imported into the U.S., increase domestic coal production, and

increase the use of solar energy. Carter also proclaims his goal of getting 20% of

the nation’s energy from renewable energy resources by the year 2000 during his

1979 Solar Message to Congress.

August 4, 1977: Carter's Ambitions

President Carter establishes the Department of Energy (DOE), charged with

carrying out a comprehensive national energy plan that reflects the federal

legislation. The DOE takes accountability for long-term research and

technological development, energy regulation, nuclear weapons, and energy

data collection and analysis.

June 15, 1978

The Supreme Court uses the 1973 Endangered Species Act as reason to stop

the construction of the Tellico Dam in the Tennessee Valley Authority vs. Hill

case. The decision upholds the rights of an endangered species over unrestricted

expansion, and reflects growing American opposition to dam construction.

July 1978: Successes and Failures

Reporter Michael H. Brown raises questions that lead to the discovery of long-

term dioxin contamination at Love Canal, a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, NY.

Up to 21,000 tons of toxic waste had been dumped in the canal by the Hooker

Chemical Company from 1942-

1952 and caused significant numbers of birth defects, abnormalities in children,

and miscarriages.

The national media fallout from the Love Canal disaster leads to the

Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, more

Page 12: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

commonly known as the “Superfund” legislation, which mandates the cleanup of

abandoned hazardous waste sites by the parties responsible. Superfund will be

signed into law on December 11, 1980.

October 25, 1978

The Nimbus-7 spacecraft is launched as the first satellite with the technology to

take comprehensive worldwide measurements of the ozone layer.

November 9, 1978

The Energy Tax Act creates an incentive for ethanol use. This is the first instance

of using tax credits to encourage fuel efficiency and renewable energy.

1979

President Carter appoints Earth Days organizer Denis Hayes as head of the

Federal Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) and allocates billions for solar

technology research. The SERI is one of the only federal programs dedicated to

rethinking our current energy system, but its budget will be cut dramatically in

1981 under the Ronald Reagan administration.

March 28, 1979

The meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, PA,

causes the evacuation of 140,000 people. It will take more than ten years to clean

up fully.

June 20, 1979

Solar heaters are installed on the White House roof in support of Carter’s Federal

Solar Research Institute. President Carter heralded the solar panels, arguing that

“we must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources.”

In 1980, the price of oil will jump to $30 a barrel.

September 25, 1979

In order for the Tellico Dam to be built, the U.S. Congress exempts the Tellico

Dam from the Endangered Species Act, the precedence of which the Supreme

Court had argued the year before. The species at risk, a small fish called the snail

darter, is relocated to the Hiwassee River. This exception sets a precedent that

will allow specific projects to be excluded from the Endangered Species Act.

Early 1980s

The world population hits 4.5 billion, the total economic loss caused by great

weather and flood catastrophes increases nearly 55% in the 1980s compared to

the previous decade, and the arctic ice cap continues to melt. CO2 concentration

hits 335ppm, up from 315ppm in 1960.

Despite the categorical changes in legislation and a new enforcement agency set

up in the previous decade, no significant progress can be detected on most

environmental fronts.

Page 13: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

July 24, 1980

Commissioned by President Carter in 1977, The Global 2000 Report to the

President is released by the Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S.

Department of State. This study echoes statistics first seen in Limits to Growth

that pointed to current trends in the environment and what that will mean in the

coming decades.

February 17, 1981: Reagan's initiatives

New President Ronald Reagan issues an Executive Order that gives the Office

of Management and Budget (OMB) the power to regulate environmental

proposals before they become public. Reagan also cuts the budget of the

Environmental Protection Agency by 12% and staff by 11%. The solar water

heating system on the White House roof, installed by President Carter, will be

dismantled in Reagan’s second term in August 1986.

September 1981

President Reagan cuts the EPA’s budget to 44% of its 1978 level, and the number

of enforcement cases submitted to the EPA during the fiscal year will decline by

56%.

May 1985

Nature magazine publishes an article providing evidence that confirms the ozone

hole over the Antarctic. This article creates a new wave of media attention on the

now-stalled environmental movement. The ozone is estimated to have been

declining at about 4% of the total volume per decade since the 1970s. This study

and confirmation by the Nimbus-7 satellite catalyzes a torrent of studies

investigating the consequences of ozone depletion.

October 17, 1986

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), a subset of

the Superfund Amendments and Reorganization Act (SARA), requires industries

to report toxic releases to the general public. The federal law creates the new

State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) to enforce these new

requirements.

September 16, 1987

The Montreal Protocol is signed by the U.S., Japan, Canada, and 21 other

countries, agreeing to phase out ozone-depleting CFCs by the year 2000.

June 23, 1988

NASA scientist James Hansen warns Congress about the consequences of

global warming, and argues that the ozone layer is eroding much faster than was

predicted.

November 18, 1988

President Reagan signs the Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988, a law that prohibits

all waste dumping in the ocean starting in 1992.

Page 14: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

December 6, 1988

The World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental

Program establish the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The

IPCC provides balanced scientific information regarding climate change and will

release Assessment Reports in 1990, 1995, 2001, and 2007. The panel will be

awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its last Assessment Report in 2007.

March 24, 1989

The Exxon Valdez tanker spills 11 million gallons of oil, killing more than 250,000

birds and covering over 1,300 square miles of ocean with oil. The accident is the

largest oil spill in the history of the U.S.

April 22, 1990: The Anniversary

More than 140 countries celebrate the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, calling

attention to environmental issues for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.”4

The Topic

Today we stand at a critical point for the environment. Right now, we are just living, day

by day, the aftermath of Climate Change: abnormal temperatures, weather disasters,

species extinction, glaciers melting, and the list continues. It is not necessary to point out

that all these effects are extremely related with the Environmental Care. Most of you

would wonder: “If I see a lot of campaigns in order to preserve the environment, why

can’t I observe changes?” The answer is quite simple: it is not enough.

As you may have read in the history facts, pollution acts started a long time ago. Those

examples related to the U.S. Environmental Movement are quite actual because there is

information about pollution acts that date to 1300s. Imagine all the pollution acts that

were committed since that year; think about how much the health bar of planet Earth has

been affected with the pollution cumulative. Thus, the consequences that we observe

today, probably, correspond to the pollution occurred in the period 1300 – 1800. In short,

there are more consequences to come, but what would you do to fight them?

Awareness campaigns, State Plastic Legislations, reforestation, implementation of water

treatment plants and more sustainable changes are beneficial and they show that there’s

still hope for the environment. However, there’s a policy that can be exploited more and

more: recycling. Yes, the process of treating used materials to transform them into

reusable items.

Pay attention to the following information:

Page 15: Dear Delegates, - La Salle Lima · Dear Delegates, Welcome to the United Nations Environment Programme! My name is Renato Sakanishi and I´m honored to be serving as your director

4https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-modern-environmental-

movement/ 5https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/fact-check_is-switzerland-the-world-champion-of-

recycling/42382610

Recycling and composting in Switzerland5

Switzerland, with a population of 9 million people, easily places into the ranking of the

most efficient countries when recycling. Look how much can a small country do with

proper planification, transversal culture, vision and motivation for greatness. In contrast,

Peru is definitely not well placed in the ranking. With a population of 10 million, Peru’s

capital recycles just the 4% of its waste6; compared to the Switzerland’s ciphers, we

deduce there’s still a big negative margin to cover.

Thus, it is crucial for delegates to ensure that the debate takes place within the context

of recycling applied to achieve Environmental Care.

Importance of the Topic

Again, don’t forget that all the projects which were implemented through the years had

the goal of helping out the environment. Don’t forget that it provides all the necessary

resources – natural resources – for the different species to coexist. For example, “our

forests remove carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air we breathe and also cool

our air temperatures, reducing the formation of ground-level ozone, a pollutant that can

cause heart and lung problems to worsen; our wetlands store storm water, filter and

make harmless storm water pollutants, and recharge our aquifers (where most of us get

our drinking water) with these filtered waters; and the dune systems on our beaches form

natural barriers to storm waves and provide important habitat and travel ways for

wildlife”7.

Don’t forget about the Hurricane Irma; how this powerful disaster destroyed hundreds of

houses and farms across Haiti and some Caribbean Islands. Don’t forget about the South

Asia floods; this disaster happened approximately after 30 years and killed more than

1200 people. Don’t forget about the East Africa drought; this disaster has killed a lot of

species and has kept hundreds of families in the Horn of Africa with shortages of food

and water. Don´t forget about the Hurricane Harvey; this disaster devastated major parts

of different states in the U.S., leaving 100 deaths and severe economic losses. Don’t

forget about the Heat Wave in India and Pakistan; more than 3000 people were killed in

2015. This list can continue. Just five disasters, from – perhaps – thousands, have been

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6http://www.wwf.org.pe/en/?uNewsID=328834 7http://www.hiltonheadislandsc.gov/sustainability/whycare.cfm

described. The environment is being smashed with hundreds of waves of different

disasters; it is time to stop them.

Think about how the world can change if more and more people support Environmental

Care. Consequently, there is a latent importance of taking care of the environment, more

specifically: natural resources as air, water and fauna and flora, that can be translated

into some of the following perks:

Aspect Benefits

Water Care Boosting aquatic tourism activities Fostering aquatic industry such as aquiculture Providing people with clean water and, ultimately, decreasing sicknesses due to dirty water Stablishing the basis for ecotourism

Air Care

Boosting air tourism activities Fostering aquatic industry such as aquiculture Providing people with clean air and, ultimately, decreasing sicknesses attached to the respiratory system Decreasing the rates of erosion

Biodiversity Care Boosting tourism activities Fostering quality of life for all species Maintaining the balance in the cycle of life

Summary on Environmental Care benefits

Efforts to address the Topic

The United Nations Environment Programme has distributed its efforts towards

Environmental Care in three fronts, according to its annual report8: Climate resilience,

Low-emission growth and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest

Degradation (REDD+). These three fronts were established in the 2018 Programme

Performance Report. Climate resilience refers to all the implementations – planned and

executed – by different countries in order to adapt to Climate Change. Low-emission

growth refers to all the support given to the countries in order to implement all the policies

that contribute to the energy efficiency, the reduction of the emission of negative gasses

and others. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation refers to the

support to the policies that involve the reduction of greenhouse gasses emission from

deforestation and forest degradation.

Climate resilience

It is already known that with the Industrial Revolution and all the sudden progress of

technology implementation and resources exploitation, the overall temperature of our

planet has raised, approximately 1 °C. This fact is considered just one of the dozens of

consequences of Climate Change. Natural disasters are considered, too, consequences

of Climate Change. Because of these events, the United Nations Environmental

Programme identified a current need for adaption to these sudden changes. Thus, main

objectives were established:

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8https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/27734/PPR_2018_FINAL.pdf?sequenc

e=1&isAllowed=y

Developing methods and tools to help adaptation planning and decision-making

Supporting developing countries to access finance through ecosystem-based

adaptation project design

Improving the science-policy interface in adaptation policies and planning

through climate risk assessments and adaptation planning systems

Enhancing climate resilience through planning, piloting and testing ecosystem-

based adaptation

Fortunately, those objectives listed have been translated into results so for. For example,

UNEP has helped Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Comoros, Madagascar, United

Republic of Tanzania to set up the technical capacity for developing a primary adaption

stage. Furthermore, thanks to UNEP efforts, Brazil, Eswatini, Honduras, Madagascar,

Mauritius, Mongolia, Niger, South Sudan to obtain vast options for economical support

for their projects.

Low-emission growth

UNEP’s focus on this topic is translated into reducing the carbon footprint as much as

possible, for example: in transportation, infrastructure, by communicating the wide

variety of available policies, technologies and facilities for funding. UNEP is also aware

of the incrementing efforts of different countries for adapting their industries to renewable

energy fonts and is fully compromised to support the cause. As a complement to the

context, the statistics for generated solar energy are the following:

Solar energy capacity statistics

From the graph – in the beginning – it can be observed that in every year from the period

2007-2017, there was an increment in the solar capacity. In a further analysis, it can be

deduced that the solar capacity augmented following an exponential trend. Also, as

another complement, the statistics about renewable power capacity are presented:

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Renewable energy capacity statistics

From the graph – in the beginning – it can be observed that the renewable energy

capacity increased, also, following an exponential trend, but not so aggressively as the

solar capacity. In a further analysis, it can be identified that the more prosperous

renewable energy fonts are the solar and the wind ones.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

According to the FAO, deforestation is a big problem since a green area similar in size

with Panama (approximately 8 million hectares) is lost every year. Imagine the direct

impact of that loss in the ecosystem; according to specialists, forests help to fight the

Climate Change by also regulating the heat increment and maintaining it under pre-

industrial levels. With that context the UNEP has worked in association with other UN’s

agencies (such as FAO or UNDP) towards the reduction of emissions with formal

strategies that involve the participation of private companies, big marketing campaigns

and lots of technical assistance. As a complement, there is a clue about countries that

are making efforts towards REDD+’s success:

Countries under the REDD+ specter

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From the graph, it can be observed that despite the positive amount of countries that

have enrolled in REDD+, that amount could be bigger. In short, there’s plenty of work to

be done in order to fulfill the indicators of REDD+ in a better way.

Recycling

Some interesting facts were communicated by the UNEP regarding Latin America and

the Caribbean8:

Roughly each inhabitant produces one kilogram of waste per day

By 2018, 541000 tons of municipal wasted were generated per day and it’s

expected that it will increase, at least, 25% by 2050

Approximately, 40 million people can’t access to waste collection mechanisms

About 145000 tons of waste are placed in open dumpsites per day, form which

17000 correspond to plastic waste

It has been determined that 50% of municipal waste is organic, but 90% of the

total waste is not utilized

Conclusion

Ecosystems are – truly – wonders of the Creation. Thus, a major part of our quality of life

depends directly on the results of Environmental Care. The development of policies and

action plans which are technically viable and with the proper funding would mean a

capitalization in social wealth and environmental quality. A better Environmental Care

implies a proper planification of the national economic budget and it will strengthen the

social component of our society. This could be achieved through the implementation of

marketing campaigns for making people aware of the short and long-term benefits of a

proper policy of Environmental Care: properly designed spaces for waste disposal,

limited deforestation activities, investments in new technologies that support the

increasing use of renewable energy sources and a well – settled and revised protocol for

ensuring the acceptance of norms and rules for proceeding in environmental quality

issues. As the reader should know, the dais of this committee is interested in the

realization of a dynamic debate around the conundrum of how a sustainable

Environmental Care action plan, targeting all the atmospheres that the UNEP proposes,

can be achieved from the recycling point of view, while ensuring proper indicators of

performance as the UNEP tends to do. The dais of the committee encourages the

Delegates to research wisely, and provide their solutions and justify if they could be

implemented in the country they are representing, the city they are representing, the

district they are representing or in the school they are representing.

Necessary readings

The dais of the committee suggests the Delegates to visit the following link

https://wedocs.unep.org/ in order to obtain key facts about any perspective of

Environmental Care and, furthermore, to observe how action plans can be structured in

order to be successful.

References

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UNEP. (2006). ‘’ UNEP’s Presentation to the UNFCCC Workshop on the

Adaptation Fund’’ [PDF document]. Available from web address:

https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/background_on_unep_presentation.pdf

Wikipedia. (Ed.). (2004, January 24). United Nations Environment Programme.

Retrieved from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Environment_Programme

United Nations Environment Programme. (2009). UN Environment divisions.

Retrieved from https://www.unenvironment.org/es/node/18409

American Experience (2017, July 23). The Modern Environmental Movement.

Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-

days-modern-environmental-movement/

Hoi, G. W. S. (2016, September 12). Is Switzerland the world champion of

recycling? Retrieved from https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/fact-check_is-

switzerland-the-world-champion-of-recycling/42382610

WWF Perú. (2018, June 4). Almost 90% of the garbage generated daily is not

recycled. Retrieved from http://www.wwf.org.pe/en/?uNewsID=32883

Town of Hilton Head Island. (2015, January 28). Why Is It Important to Care About

the Environment? Retrieved from

http://www.hiltonheadislandsc.gov/sustainability/whycare.cfm

UNEP. (2019). ‘’ Programme Performance Report 2018’ [PDF document].

Available from web address:

https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/27734/PPR_2018_FIN

AL.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y