UN Environmental program (UNED) 1st committee

By Eteoklis Nikolaou

The necessity of taking measures against climate change was underlined by the delegates. The vast majority of the delegates agreed that the existing measures are insufficient. As the Russian Federation's delegate claimed, it is our responsibility to act, adding that Russia is the ‘champion’ among countries fighting against climate change. A different perspective was expressed by the Belgian delegate, who suggested that the existing resolution system should be reformed and a new general body should be created. Furthermore, he added that the European Union is the only international organization which has acted and we expect more organizations to follow this example. A similar opinion was presented by the Italian delegate, who agreed with Belgium and noted that it is time to create international rules, as there is not an international organization which can take as yet take the necessary measures. The lack of limitations and the improvement of the existing institutions were underlined by the US and the UK delegates, who sought to oppose the suggestion made by the Russian and the North Korean delegates for the creation of an international environmental court. By the end of the committee there had been no clear decision whether a new international court should be created or not .