As the “leading global authority on the environment,” the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) seeks to “drive transformational change on the triple planetary crisis: the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature, land, and biodiversity loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste.” Adverse air quality is one of today’s most pressing environmental health problems. Each year, more than eight million people die as a result of the air they breathe. This committee is tasked with understanding and addressing the impact of a changing climate on air quality around the world.
Climate change refers to long-term fluctuations in global temperatures and weather patterns. While natural processes such as solar activity and volcanism can and do contribute to climate change, the scientific consensus, as established in reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is clear. Since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has been the main driver of climate change. The burning of fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas emissions mean human-induced climate change is responsible for worsening air quality around the world.
Delegates in the UNEP must find cooperative solutions to the problem of declining air quality caused by climate change. This is no easy task. Rather than attempting to solve climate change directly, delegates should narrow their focus to the issue of air quality. Not only are greenhouse gas emissions from industrial activity a major concern, shifting weather patterns have led to an increase in the frequency and severity of forest fires across North America, Europe, Australia, and South Asia. Summertime air quality alerts are now regular features of life in major cities across the United States and Canada. Consider too how farming practices such as burning crop stubble and the lack of access to clean cooking materials further exacerbate air quality issues. With airborne pollutants responsible for increased rates of strokes, chronic respiratory disease, and lung cancers, the need for lasting solutions is real.
Focus Questions:
- Are you representing a country facing severe climate risks? How does your government approach the tradeoffs between climate adaptation and mitigation?
- What ways might the committee address air quality issues caused by farming practices or the lack of access to clean cooking materials?
- Which populations and regions are most vulnerable to deteriorating air quality due to climate change? What can international actors do to protect them?
- Should wealthy nations bear a greater responsibility in supporting global air quality improvements?
Useful Links:
Regulating Air Quality: the First Global Assessment of Air Pollution Legislation https://www.unep.org/resources/report/regulating-air-quality-first-global-assessment-air-pollution-legislation
Emissions Gap Report 2024
https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2024
Climate & Clean Air Coalition
https://www.ccacoalition.org/
