- You are asked to write a memorandum for the Sherpa1of your chosen G20 country and present your
arguments why the country should take a fresh look at a specific climate change challenge which cuts across a
number of important domestic and international environmental challenges. The objective of the memorandum
is to:•persuade the Sherpa to take your memo to the leader of your chosen G20 country;•win the leader’s
support of your proposal;•announce the country’s new climate change policy at the upcoming G20 meeting in
Saudi Arabiain November 2020! 2.•the major components of your chosen country’s climate change policy with
respect to mitigation and/or adaptation and resilience;•identify the climate change area you feel needs a
dramatic overhaul (e.g. energy policy because of its critical impact on the environment, disaster risk reduction
or resilience because of the country’s high level of vulnerability to extreme weather, economy, employment,
public health, social equity, etc.); #Sherpa is a personal representative of the leader of a member country (such
as the G8, G20). The term is derived from the Nepalese Sherpa people, who serve as guides for mountaineers
in the Himalayas. The Sherpa engages in planning, negotiation and implementation tasks in the lead-up and
through the G7/G20 Summits. They coordinate the agenda, seek consensus at the highest political levels, and
participate in a series of pre-Summit consultations to help negotiate their leaders’ positions. Sherpas are career
diplomats or senior government officials appointed by the leaders of their countries. There is only one Sherpa
per Summit for each member country; he/she is assisted by several sous-Sherpas.#
2•identify the costs-benefits of your proposed overhaul (in terms of the sectors directly impacted, but also in
view of possible spin-off effects elsewhere);•present your arguments where the overhaul could havepositive
and negative impacts in terms of domestic politics, and how those could be addressed;•present persuasive
arguments how the climate change overhaul would generally position the country more favorably (e.g. as a
‘leader’) in the international community’s efforts to meet the aspirational IPCC global warming target of 1.5
degrees Celsius and/or efforts to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Sample Solution