As a neutral advisor to your countrys/country groups UN delegation, write a brief to provide valuable information for the negotiations. Using reputable sources, collect facts and utilize tables and figures to illustrate the data or trends. You need to present all of the facts to the delegation surrounding climate change, including the following: 1) The science of climate change a. Average climate changes (temperature, precipitation, seasonality) expected in the short-term (2025-2050) and by the end of the century (2100) b. Sea level changes by 2100 (if appropriate) c. Impact of climate change on the availability of water and food resources d. Current country per capita CO2 emissions overall and those specifically from fossil fuel use e. How emissions are expected to change by 2100 (if available) 2) The economics of climate change a. Population (# of people today, expected growth of population by 2100) b. GDP per capita ($ per person today) c. Energy sources (domestic and imported energy sources and renewable vs. nonrenewable domestic resources) d. Costs and/or benefits of climate change without intervention this should explore economic industries expected to shrink or grow with climate change without intervention e. Costs and/or benefits of limiting climate change – this should explore economic industries expected to shrink or grow with action to limit climate change 3) The politics of climate change explore the political pressures in your country/country group a. Who is for addressing climate change, who is against it, what kind of political power do those groups have? b. What is the overall political will power in your country/country group to address climate change? 4) Conclusion focus on the big picture. a. What is the biggest threat to your country from climate change? Figures You are strongly encouraged to incorporate graphs, tables, and/or images to help illustrate important data and points in your paper. All figures must be referenced in the text of your paper they cannot substitute for writing the appropriate information. These do NOT count towards your page limit. Cite their sources correctly, plus number them and write your own captions. Example: Figure 1: Global mean surface temperature anomaly in C (y-axis) from 1880 to present (x-axis). Solid line is a 5-year running mean. Source: NASA 2016 Climate Change Fall 2019 Citing Sources For in-text citations and the creation of your source list/works cited list, you should use CSE style (Name, Year) to cite your sources (at least 15 total). See citation resources for help. You must have two categories of references in your works cited list one for the science of climate change, and one for the economics and politics of climate change. This is an important distinction to make, as the requirements for what counts as an acceptable source for those categories is different. Science of Climate Change Sources Finding data for 2025-2050 and 2100 exactly may be a challenge, so get as close as you can and note it in the text. For example, the new IPCC report uses data for 2081-2100 in the 2100 predictions. References for the science of climate change should be current (last 5-7 years) and from peer-reviewed journals or government reports. Wikipedia and NGO websites are generally not considered primary sources, nor are lecture notes or abstracts. Be as specific as you can. Many documents only make broad statements such as there will be higher temperatures. This is useless. You need to find sources that state temperature will increase 3-4C by 2050, and 5C by 2100. Or, although winters will be colder, summers will be significantly warmer than today. All statements must be documented using scientific notation, and appropriate sources. Economics and Politics of Climate Change Sources For the sections on the economics and politics of climate change, news sources and NGO sites are acceptable (as well as journals and reports outlined above). When evaluating news sources, be sure to pay attention to the differentiation between news/fact and opinion pieces. UN Briefing Specifics Your brief should be 8 pages, double-spaced, with standard margins not including figures or tables. Break it into sections, including an introduction, the science of climate change, the economics of climate change, the politics of climate change, and a conclusion. Do not forget references, figures and tables. All figures and tables must be properly formatted. Each student must hand in her/his own paper. Groups may share resources, but each student must present their paper in their own words. o If groups are sharing resources, make sure each persons contributions are clearly attributed to the author plagiarism, intended or accidental, will not be tolerated Climate Change Fall 2019 Resources Online (PLEASE USE THESE TO FIND 15 SOURCES – SOURCES NEED TO BE DIVIDED INTO TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/ https://sealevel.climatecentral.org https://www.nature.org/media/newyork/rw_070509_exec.pdf https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About/Publications/Research-and-Development-TechnicalReports/Environmental-Research-and-Development-Technical-Reports/Response-toClimate-Change-in-New-York
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