When I was selected for the New Zealand Youth Delegation I made a personal goal to engage with my old school Scots College on the topic of climate change. What better way to engage with the students than a Model UN I thought. I will be honest and admit that I had never witnessed a Model UN or even tried to participate in one. The thought of debating worldy issues in my lunch hour seemed outlandish when I was 16. That aside, I made contact with the student leader of the Scots College UN Amarind Eng, he is also the Wellington schools Ambassador. Amarind was instantly enthusiastic about the idea and went about making the arrangements. He drafted up the resolution document (see below) and I supplied him the list of countries they were to model.

Meghan accompanied me to Scots on the day of the event. We were welcomed by Amarind and a past teacher of mine and lead to the debating chamber (Accounting classroom). The lunch bell rang and the General Assembly (students) piled into the classroom, 17 in total, the first time the entire Scots Model UN had assembled. The boys gathered into their respective nations. Meghan and I were invited to participate as any country of our choice. Meghan chose the troubled island nation of Kiribati and I elected to be the organic Cuba. The session was kicked off by the Chair (Amarind) with UN formalities being followed.

Part One: General Debate

The USA proposed the draft resolution to the General assembly which was promptly seconded by NZ. (Within minutes USA had coaxed NZ into a partnership – the boys were well rehearsed). USA spoke first FOR the resolution followed by India who spoke AGAINST. The room was instantly divided into Developed and Developing countries – not surprisingly given the remarkable resemblance the resolution document has to the Kyoto Protocol. At this stage of the assembly I was remarkably impressed with the boys knowledge of UN protocol and there awareness of climate change issues.

Part Two: Amendment Phase

During the Amendment Phase countries put forward a ‘Motion’ to the chair regarding clauses of the resolution document they would like to amend, whether that be an exclusion or re-phrasing of the clause. The following clauses had motions put forward:

1. Urges Nations to commit to a legally binding carbon reduction target by 2020
2. Condemns nations that fail to meet their carbon emissions target

This is where things started getting a little out of control. China, India and the Least Developed Countries (LDC’s) weren’t having a bar of the legally binding targets and requested to change the wording to “Developed Nations must commit to a legally binding reduction target by 2020.” On cue USA, backed up by Canada, New Zealand and Japan quashed this motion. At this point China flexed its muscles and reminded USA that it could bankrupt their ass. Several racial slurs later, (which were notably picked up by the Chair and the offenders were required to formally apologise) USA, whilst speaking AGAINST the motion that ‘condemns nations that fail to meet their carbon emissions targets’, decided to declare WAR on any country who defied them. At this point Meghan and I are in fits of laughter over the chaos and the one teacher who was viewing the assembly has slipped out of the room. The Chair eventually brings order to the assembly and by the end of the Amendment Phase we, not surprisingly, have no Condemning clause.

Part 3: General Debate Part II

We are 45 minutes into the lunch hour and the boys have all but lost the essence of the Model UN. However the LDC’s strongly lead by one of the younger students puts forward a compelling case as to why the Developed world is to blame for rising emissions and demands their recognition and action to mitigate future emissions. This moment of constructive debate was bought to an end by the New Zealand delegate requesting a Parliamentary Inquiry to which he asked the assembly; “What did the fox say?” I must admit I could have stood up as Cuba to try and rein things in but I was content to let the boys have their fun.

Part 4: Final Vote

The resolution was adopted by a 51% majority at the General Assembly. The surprisingly quiet European Union, who was initially on the fence, eventually pushed the resolution through. I was stoked. Nations had the following stance:

FOR: AGAINST:

USA India

New Zealand China

Canada LDC’s

Japan Kiribati

Cuba Brazil

European Union

 

What did I take away from the experience? I was reminded that boys will be boys and even if they are members of a Model UN they are still going to have fun in their lunch hour. I was exposed to the formalities and protocols that are undertaken by the UN, assisting in my preparation for the conference. But most importantly 17 boys constructively debated climate change for approximately 15 minutes and passed the resolution! I found the experience extremely worthwhile and I strongly believe engagement on climate change should be encouraged in our schools. As the youth are the inheritors of the Earth, ultimately they hold the highest stake.

By Matthew Gibbons

 

Resolution Document

The General Assembly of the United Nations:

Reaffirming General Assembly Resolution 10830 (Climate Change),

Noting with concern the escalation of carbon emissions and deforestation,

Reaffirming that the progression of humanity is an essential goal that the UN shall strive towards,

1) Recommends the creation of an agreement outlining member states’ commitment to climate change;

2) Urges nations to commit to a legally binding carbon reduction target by 2020;

3) Condemns nations that fail to meet their carbon emissions target;

4) Strongly urges nations to adopt an open trade policy to compensate for any loss of profit;

5) Emphasizes the call to action made by the scientific community and NGO’s committed to the environment and climate change;

6) Further invites member states to support these organizations in their environmental pursuits;

7) Encourages member states to support other nations in all pursuits of environmentalism, for example, the developed world to support the developing world;

8) Strongly encourages nations to produce sustainable forestation policies by 2020;

9) Appreciates all efforts and further offers oratory support to organizations and nations committed to Climate Change.