Policy Statement Writing

Title ALL CAPS! COUNTRY NAME (FULL NAME) COMMITTEE IN THE UN ISSUE OF DISCUSSION EX: KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME PROMOTING THE INTEGRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS IN SPORTS

First paragraph Summary of the UN’s involvement with the topic at hand, including previous treaties and policies enacted. “Promoting the integration of environmental considerations in sports is one of the main objectives of the United Nations’ (UN) work regarding sports and the environment. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) started work on these topics in 1994 and its strongest partnership has thus been with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The UNEP is part of the Sport and Environment Commission which advises the IOC Executive Board on environmental problems relating to the Olympics, in addition to working with Organizing Committees to include environmental protection in Olympic Games, starting with the 2000 Sydney Games. The IOC also adopted the UN’s Agenda 21 to urge athletes to participate in sustainable development. The UNEP have also collaborated with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to make the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup more environmentally friendly. In 2010 specifically, they both worked alongside South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) on three projects: interventions in six World Cup host cities concerning renewable resources, an awareness drive on green tourism, and a program to counteract carbon emissions of eleven World Cup teams.)”

Second Paragraph Your countries previous and current actions on the topic at hand. List any treaties or policies your country has set in place or joined. The Kingdom of the Netherlands deeply values the environment and has many programs in place to protect it. For example, the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) has been in operation since 1993 and primarily does work involving advice and reviews of environmental assessments of plans, programs, and projects and the education of resources on environmental assessment. NCEA has yet to work with a sports organization, but is completely capable of advising such institutions about environmental concerns. The Netherlands is also part of the Integrated Renewable Technologies in Urban and Sports Facilities (IRTUS) with other members of the European Union (EU). The IRTUS intends to incorporate renewable energy sources into sports complexes, making the entertainment energy efficient and less harmful to the environment.

Third Paragraph Your countries final stance on the issue and what it thinks other member states of the UN should do to fix, or not fix, the problem. List any treaties your country would want others to sign on to, and what efforts should be implemented in other countries. Both the UN and the Kingdom of the Netherlands are dedicated to promoting the integration of environmental considerations in sports. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is motivated to continue the collaboration with major sports events and organizations such as FIFA and the Olympic Games through two key actions. First, the UNEP should continue supporting the organizations mentioned above and member states should be encouraged to support their own minor sporting events. While large, international institutions have a bigger individual impact on the environment, there are many minor establishments important to each separate nation which collectively has a large impact on the environment as well. And because the work with IOC and DEA has been successful, it’s safe to continue and expand upon the progress. Second, popular members of the sports community should be encouraged to join the promotion. While sporting events themselves are widely favored by the public, individual athletes and announcers have the potential to greatly increase the positive effects. With these combined efforts of sports events, organizations, and personnel, promoting the integration of environmental considerations in sports will be extensively successful.

Tips: Never use pronouns! Do not say: “We, the country of_____” Always use official terms of policies, treaties, etc When writing your policy statement’s third paragraph, make sure the stance on the issue you chose matches what your country would do in real life.