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Forum: 4th SIMUN Conference

Submitter: The Kingdom of Bhutan

Committee: Environment Committee

THE QUESTION OF DRAFTING A COMPREHENSIVE TREATY ON CARBON

EMISSION TO SUCCEED THE KYOTO PROTOCOL

The General Assembly,

Recognising that under the Kyoto protocol, member nations have several means to reach their
carbon-emission targets such as utilising natural processes, claiming carbon-credits to reduce
emissions in return for financially supporting investments in less-developed countries under the
United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and through emissions trading,

Expressing its appreciation that the European Union member states have already proposed and
adopted measures on energy efficiency such as the promotion of combined heat and power,
fluorinated gases and shifting the balance towards less polluting modes of transport,

Deeply concerned that the United Kingdom and Sweden were the only European Union
countries on pace to meet their Kyoto emissions commitments by 2010,

Pointing out that though UN statistics indicate that the 36 Kyoto signatory countries can meet
the 5% reduction target by 2012, most progress in greenhouse gas reduction has come from the
stark decline in Eastern European countries' emissions after the fall of communism in the 1990s due
to the usage of 1990 as a base year and not using per capita emissions as a basis to measure
emission reductions,

Acknowledging that The United States has signed the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean
Development and Climate (AP6), a pact that allows those countries to set their goals for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions individually but is void of any enforcement mechanism,

Congratulating Australia, one of the biggest emitters on a per capita basis, on its recent
signing of the instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, prior to the meeting of the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change under the leadership of its new Labour government,

Noting with regret that although the United States, the current prime emitter of carbon dioxide
as of 2005, despite being a signatory of the protocol, is yet to ratify the treaty and is still likely to
increase its emission 30% above 1990 levels by year 2010,

1. Strongly urges the next government of the United States to take Australia as an
example and ratify the Kyoto Protocol because the AP6 pact which it has signed is
not a solution to the environmental problems the world is facing because it lacks
enforcement measures;
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2. Supports countries like China and India in their declaration that economic, social
development and poverty eradication are overriding priorities for them;

3. Requests these developing nations set standards and deadlines which are legitimate
and achievable so to progress is made towards the goal of sustainable and
environment friendly development;

4. Invites other Annexe1 countries to follow the footsteps of the EU member states to
take action towards achieving greater energy efficiency;

5. Further recommends both developed and developing countries to submit information

on their national climate change programmes and inventories; promote technology
transfer and sharing; cooperate on scientific and technical research; and promote
public awareness, education, and training;

6. Congratulates the developed countries for also having agreed on a plan to supply
poorer nations with clean-energy technology such as solar and wind products, the
financing of efforts to adapt to climate change, and rewards for developing countries
that preserve forests which absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide at the recent
2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference(UNCCC);

7. Encourages the use of per capita emissions as a basis of measurement in the

following Kyoto-type treaties as this will help reduce the sense of having unequal
standards being set among the developed and developing countries;

8. Expresses its hope that the member nations will consider this resolution seriously
and thereby, respond positively, in relation with the Kyoto Protocol’s objective by
employing several of the strategies mentioned above, in the treaty succeeding the
Kyoto Protocol expected to be adopted at the Denmark Conference slated to be held
in December 2009.