The document discusses the United Nations' involvement in addressing carbon emissions and global warming. Specifically: 1. The UN Environmental Programme aims to build green economies powered by clean energy, equip communities with resilience against climate impacts, and sustainably manage forests as carbon sinks. 2. While the UN strives for these goals, many countries take a more practical approach and issues exist with concepts like carbon credits. Carbon taxes could negatively impact car-producing countries or indebted countries with high-emitting industries like space flight. 3. The document provides scenarios about how carbon credit taxes might specifically impact different types of countries.

1. The United Nations: Problems Lesson Aims: To explain the UN’s involvement in the Carbon Emission debate. To explain the barriers to solving the problem. Key Words: Carbon Emission Problems Do now: What do the following images have in common?

2. Lesson Objectives All All To explain the UN’s involvement in the Carbon Emission debate. To explain the barriers to solving the problem. Create Argument

3. Term Outline Enquiry Questions What is the UN? What is the Israel-Palestine Conflict? How can issues facing Africa be solved? How can the International community deal with Carbon Emissions How effective has the UN been? Lesson Key Questions What are carbon emissions? What is the UN’s involvement? What are the current problems facing various countries? What are the barriers to solving the problems globally? What are the possible solutions to problems of global warming? Mock UN Debate – How can we solve the problem of global warming?

4. Recap Last lesson we looked at a variety of ways in which carbon emissions and the climate change debate effect lifestyle. Can you remember all of them without looking at your book?

5. The UN approach One of the branches of the United Nations, the ‘United Nations Environmental Programme’ (UNEP) states the following on their website: “ What if we could build green economies powered by clean and abundant energy? What if the most vulnerable communities were equipped with the knowledge, skills and resources to build resilience against extreme weather conditions? What if one of our planet’s greatest natural carbon sinks, our forests, were managed as a critical long-term sustainable resource, rather than a short term source of profit? And what if decision-makers and the general public alike had better access to, and deeper understanding of the latest climate science?” Answer the following question: 1. Using the above source, what do you think the purpose of the United Nations is in relation to climate change? What four things they trying to achieve?

6. Issues Although the UN strives for these goals, many countries are much more pragmatic (practical) in their approach to climate change. Take carbon credits for example. The Kyoto Protocol states that countries must pay a certain amount of money for the gas emissions which they create (e.g. More cars = more money to the UN). Discuss: Although the UN can use this money to try to balance the damage which cars have caused (for example), what are the problems with this concept? (hint: consider the price of cars)

7. Scenarios... Explain the consequences of a carbon credit tax for the countries in the following scenarios: A country which mainly produces cars for exports gets a higher tax on their production. A country which is covered in trees (such as Brazil) gets more financial aid because it isn’t damaging the environment. A country in significant debt (such as America) is one of the world contributors to space flight which produces a huge amount of carbon emissions.

8. Round the World Using the information sheets provided fill out details for each country. You will need to interpret the data and write full sentences describing what the countries are like.