Topic:ClimateChange

Country:Venezuela

ClimatechangeisdifferentthanmostUNissuesinthatitaffectseverycountryonearth,
andyetmanycountriesstillwillnotacknowledgeorcontributetoasolutionforclimatechange.
Venezuelahasalwaysacknowledgedclimatechange:withinVenezuelasconstitutioncitizens
areguaranteedrightstoanaturalenvironmentfreeofcontamination(LondonSchoolof
Economics).Thestatetakesexplicitresponsibilitytoprotectair,water,nationalcoastlines,
climate,andtheozonelayer(LondonSchoolofEconomics).Despiteeconomictiestodirty
energy,Venezuelahasthelargestoilreservesintheworldandissixthinoilproduction
internationally(Wikipedia,OPEC),Venezuelacontinuestoupholdthisresponsibilityforaclean
earth.Venezuelahasoneofthebiggesthydroelectricdamsintheworld,whichsupplies73%of
thecountrysenergy(WorldEnergyCouncil).However,oneofthemanifestationsofclimate
change,drought,ishinderinghydroelectricenergyinVenezuela.Droughtsledtoblackoutsfrom
20092010thathurtindustryandforcedfinesonenergyuserswithexcessconsumption(World
EnergyCouncil).Asdroughtbecomesanovergrowingproblem,Venezuelamustinvestinmore
innovativeinfrastructureforcleanenergy.
OneofthefirstinternationalagreementsregardingclimatechangewastheKyoto
Protocol,whichhascountriescommittoreducingtheiremissionstolowerpercentagesby2012
(UNFrameworkConventiononClimateChange).TheKyotoProtocoldoeshave183countries
signedtoit,includingVenezuela,butthemajoremittersoftheworldeitherdidnotratifythe
protocol,liketheUnitedStates,orwereexemptfromemissiontargetsduetoadevelopingnation
status,suchasIndiaandChina(EducationScotland).MostEuropeancountriessignedtothe
KyotoProtocolreducedtheiremissions,showingpromiseforfutureemissionreductionand

cleanenergyprograms(EducationScotland).HowevertheUnitedStates,whichproduces16%
ofworldwideGHGemissions,andChina,whichproduces15%ofworldwideGHGemissions,
bothdidnotdecreasetheiremissionsandactuallyhadhigheremissionsrelativeto1990(Ge,
Friedrich,andDamassa).SupportfromtheseindustrialhighGHGemissioncountriesisessential
forloweringinternationalemissionratesandsustainingcleanenergysolutions.
SincetheParisAgreement,theUnitedStatesandChinademonstratedacommitmentto
endingclimatechangebysigningtheParisclimatedeal(Pashley).Thisagreementagainset
emissiontargetsforindividualcountries,butinsteadoflessobligationsfordevelopingcountries,
richcountriesundertheParisAgreementwouldraise$100billiondollarsayeartosupportpoor
countriesandthetransformtheireconomies(Goldenberg,Vidal,Taylor,Vaughan,andHarvey).
Venezuelahopestoworkwithinthisnewsystemwiththeselargeindustrialpowerstoreachnew
recordlowsinemissionsandcreatemorecleanenergysolutions.
ThedelegationofVenezuelacommitmentattheParisagreementtoreducetheir
greenhouseemissionsbyatleast20%by2030iscontingentonthefinancialsupportoffirst
worldcountries(Rojas).Likemostcountriesthataredevelopingorhaveaneconomydependent
onoil,thissupportisvitaltoVenezuela.Venezuelaplanstoinvestincleanenergy,recycling,a
publicandcommunityledcampaignforefficientenergyandwaterusageandtheinclusionof
environmentalissuesinthenationalcurriculum(Rojas)withthesedonations.Thesebottomup
programscouldbeimplementedonaninternationalscaleandtheUnitedNationscouldsupervise
reforestingprograms,publictransportationgrowth,constructionofrenewableenergy
technologies(solarpower,windpower,etc),andcleanenergyeducationindevelopingcountries.
Withthesedirectprograms,aloweredinternationaltemperatureandcleanworldispossible.

WorksCited
EducationScotland."TheKyotoProtocol."ExploringClimateChange.SmarterScotland,
2011.Web.15Apr.2016.
Ge,Mengpin,JohannesFriedrich,andThomasDamassa."6GraphsExplaintheWorld's
Top10Emitters."WorldResourcesInstitute.WorldResourcesInstitute,25Nov.2014.Web.15
Apr.2016.
Goldenberg,Suzanne,JohnVidal,LenoreTaylor,AdamVaughan,andFionaHarvey.
"ParisClimateDeal:Nearly200NationsSigninEndofFossilFuelEra."TheGuardian.
GuardianNewsandMedia,12Dec.2015.Web.15Apr.2016.
GranthamResearchInstituteonClimateChangeandtheEnvironment."Venezuela."The
GlobalClimateChangeLegislationStudy.TheLondonSchoolofEconomicsandPolitical
Science,15Jan.2016.Web.16Apr.2016.
Pashley,Alex."USandChinatoSignParisClimateDealinApril."TheGuardian.
GuardianNewsandMedia,01Apr.2016.Web.15Apr.2016.
Rojas,RachaelBoothroyd."VenezuelaPledgestoReduceGreenhouseGasEmissionsby
20%atParisCOP21."Venezuelanalysis.com.Drupal,16Dec.2015.Web.16Apr.2016.
UnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange."KyotoProtocol."United
Nations:FrameworkConventiononClimateChange.UnitedNations,2014.Web.15Apr.2016.
Wikipedia."OPEC."Wikipedia.WikimediaFoundation,11Apr.2016.Web.16Apr.
2016.
WorldEnergyCouncil."Venezuela:Hydropower."EnergyResources.WorldEnergy
Council,2011.Web.16Apr.2016.

Intro/NationalPolicy:10/10
Background:5/5
Nationalpolicy:5/5

PastAction:13/15
Relatedaction:3/5(seecomments)
Analysis:10/10

Solutions:15/20
Specificity:10/10(goodexamplesofprograms)
Implementation:5/10(youmentionedfunding,buthowwillprogramsbeimplemented?)

Mechanics:5/5
Miscgrammar:5/5(somecommas)

Total:43/50
Notes:Goodjoboverall!Thingsyoucouldworkon:
Youshouldntbeparaphrasingthebackgroundguideforanysectionexcepttheintro
Discussspecificsofimplementation!!!(thisisoneofthemostimportantpartsofyour
positionpaperwhenyourewritingresolutionsthingsmustbespecific)