General Assembly Weekly Session 8 March 2017

CODE: GA/DR/1

COMMITTEE: General Assembly

TITLE: Air Pollution

Sponsors: Brazil, China, Denmark, Monaco, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand

Signatories: Japan

Affirming the goals stated in 1979 Convention on long-range Transboundary air pollution,

Reaffirming that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, should be in the focus the development initiatives taken by international bodies,

Notingwith deep concern that air pollution has become a major public health crisis leading to around 6.5 million deaths each year;

Recognizing the efforts already being undertaken by member states to decrease air pollution;

The General Assembly,

  1. Emphasizes that green technology and green infrastructure should be pillars of urban planning, to which the following measures can be counted:
  2. designation of green areas in cities which should feature a large percentage of greenery,
  3. encouragement of greening façades of existing buildings and buildings in construction and planning stages,
  4. creation of bicycle lanes and pedestrian-only zones in cities,
  5. Formulation of energy conservative regulations in building goals,
  6. introduction and issuing of a green certificate for buildings fulfilling minimum requirements set by the responsible local or national authorities, to be decided upon by member states,
  7. introducing a ratio industries to green areas in order to absorb the CO2-emissions,
  8. work with local communities to provide housing areas closer to the working spaces,
  9. reduction of speed limits and low speed limits in general;
  10. Encourages countries to create incentives for the removal of and phasing out of old motor vehicles from the roads, such as:
  11. stringent emission standards for sulphur content in diesel fuel,
  12. adaptation and enforcement of the latest European emission standards for diesel cars,
  13. stricter standards for motor vehicles fuel in general, such as, but not limited to higher octane numbers,
  14. creation of Early Turnover Schemes for old and unsustainable vehicles,
  15. financial incentives to buy clean-energy vehicles, e.g. subsidizing them through taxes on high emission vehicles, the use of higher octane numbers for fossil fuels;
  16. Affirms the importance of public transport as more energy-efficient and low-emission alternative to private car ownership and usage, and promotes:
  17. shifting to low-emission vehicles to every member states’ abilities for all national, regional and local public transport networks,
  18. giving subsidies and/or preference to transport projects that fulfill minimum requirements for ecological sustainability and pollution minimization, extending the public transport network with low-emission routes that connect rural and urban areas, especially between those where there is heavy traffic of goods, migration and commuting;
  19. Encourages addressing transboundary pollution, particularly by:
  20. Reducing carbon-plants in the long term,
  21. Encouraging a stricter air quality law enforcement,
  22. Exchanging information about national pollution levels with neighbouring countries that are affected by domestic pollution,
  23. Negotiating a development plan containing specific common goals to decrease transboundary pollution;
  24. Condemns deforestation as detrimental to air health and suggests:
  1. establishing protected areas which limit the possibility to use land for economic activities with a special emphasis on,
  2. indigenous reservations, as they are less likely to be in favor of deforestation,
  3. grasslands which tend to be overlooked as valuable volatile carbon stocks in non-forested areas,
  4. formulating strategies through which protected forest and grassland areas can be monitored such as:
  5. satellite monitoring by appropriate government agencies,
  6. involvement of NGOs dedicated to conservation of natural habitats;
  1. Requestsgovernments to adopt a public-private partnership model in order to establish nationwide sustainable infrastructure by:
  2. inviting private corporations to invest in infrastructure in urban areas, where high revenue is expected, in exchange for licenses to derive profit from the infrastructure,
  3. re-allocating the money saved through private-public partnerships in urban areas to infrastructure investment in rural areas, which will attract business in the rural areas;
  4. sharing information and know-how with countries with disadvantages in order for those countries to create sustainable infrastructure in rural areas, rendering them more cost- effective,
  5. Encourages to foster innovation in air pollution matters through:
  6. tax breaks for investments in R&D on clean technology,
  7. fostering foreign direct investments in innovative technology companies by decreasing transaction costs and risks,
  8. the World Intellectual Property Organization implementing schemes that facilitate easy and cost-effective transnational licensing of patents related to minimally polluting technologies to producers in economically less developed countries,
  9. conducting international innovation contests for clean technology in collaboration with car producers;
  10. Encourages countries to set up public education campaigns to:
  11. provide basic guidance on current knowledge and expert consensus in the field of air pollution and its health impacts,
  12. inform the public about the risks of asthmatic and lung diseases as well as ways to prevent them,
  13. improve the awareness of indoor air pollution and the dangers of faulty ventilation systems;
  14. Endorses tax incentives for clean energy, clean technology and clean infrastructure appropriate to a country’s economic situation such as:
  15. property tax breaks for buildings that possess a green certificate or fulfill minimum requirements set by the government,
  16. a petroleum tax on high-emissions petrol,
  17. the implementation of CO2 fees proportionally on CO2 emission vehicles;
  18. Recommends serious and continuous efforts by all Member States and relevant governmental bodies to strengthen air pollution monitoring capacities and do research on the impact of air pollution, for example, by:
  19. encouraging countries to strengthen their supervision on high emission vehicle,
  20. increasing the state’s investment in R&D in the field of environment;
  21. Encourages the WHO to fulfill its function as coordinating body by:
  22. furthering cooperation, knowledge and technology exchange in combating air pollution between developed and developing nations,
  23. Joining forces with the Commission on Environmental Development to expand their platform in order to make it accessible for all member states to increase information sharing,
  24. Creating a publicly available real-time and hourly monitoring of air pollution status;
  25. Suggests the following financial support for funding the above measures:
    a. the Green Climate Fund,
    b. the World Bank,
    c. United Nations Capital Development Fund,
    d. Vienna Programme of Action on Science and Technology for Development.