Hello.

My name's Miss Ikomi and I am a teacher from London.

I'm going to be taking you through today's lesson, so we're going to get started.

Today's lesson is called Deliberative discussion: How effective is the UN on tackling climate change? It's part of the wider unit, How effective is the UN and Sustainable Development Goals on promoting sustainability? By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to create a reasoned discussion about the UN's effectiveness on tackling climate change through the form of a deliberative discussion.

As today's topics could be seen as sensitive, we're going to discuss some ground rules for taking part in this lesson.

First of all, it's important to listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, it's important that we challenge the statement, not the person.

We must respect privacy.

We can discuss examples in a general sense, but please do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including yourself.

We listen without passing judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged.

And last, you can choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in with the discussion, or never put anyone on the spot.

Let's get started.

The keywords we're going to hear in today's lesson are: United Nations.

This is an international organisation comprising of most countries in the world.

It aims to promote peace, security, and international cooperation.

The next is effective.

This means achieving the intended results in a way that works well and makes good use of time and resource.

And last we have deliberative.

This is involving careful thought, discussion, and consideration before making decisions or reaching conclusions.

Keep an eye out for these keywords in today's lesson.

We're going to start by thinking about, what has the UN done to tackle climate change? The United Nations were set up in 1945.

This was after World War II, and one of the aims was to help keep peace around the world.

The idea was that if we brought these countries together and connected them and allowed a space for discussion, it would be less likely that conflict would break out again in the way that it had during World War II.

As global problems grew more complex, the UN started to take on new challenges, not only related to world peace.

They started to tackle things like poverty, corruption, and health issues that would span across different borders.

In 2025, the UN had 193 member states.

This is almost every country around the world.

The UN uses lots of different approaches to tackle world problems. One of the key methods that they employ is the idea of soft power.

Soft power aims to solve issues through cooperation and discussion as opposed to force.

An example of this and where we can see this in action is the UN in their debating chamber.

This is a room that is large enough to fit all the representatives from each country in it.

The debates will take place and they will discuss the things that are on the agenda, and whilst that's happening, all representatives have a live translation.

That means that they can contribute in their preferred language, and it means everyone can understand in real time what's going on.

Having this chamber helps to ensure that all countries feel equal and are able to contribute to the solutions that they come up with.

Alongside soft power, the UN also uses hard power.

However, it does this less often.

However, in serious situations, this does still play a role.

Hard power involves using force, which might look like military action or sanctions against a nation.

One example is when member states bring forward motions to condemn a country.

This can be embarrassing, and therefore puts international pressure on them to change action.

It can also lead to sanctions.

That might look like freezing bank accounts or stopping trade with a particular nation or group.

This can hurt a country's economy and ultimately convince them to conduct themselves in a way that the UN and other countries deem appropriate.

For example, after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, lots of Western countries froze Russian assets and limited economic ties to the country.

Let's do a check.

What was the original aim of the UN? Was it A, to make all countries the same; B, to allow countries to develop at the same rate; C, to maintain peace; or D, to punish countries for the second World War? Pause the video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is C, to maintain peace.

Since 2015, the UN's main use of soft power has been through the Sustainable Development Goals.

These are 17 goals that are ultimately aiming to reduce the development gap between high and low-income countries.

They comment on lots of different areas, for example, education and the right of all children to have access to that, women and girls' rights, poverty and ultimately eliminating poverty around the world, and also the very important issue of climate change that underpins a lot of the other issues.

We can see all of the Sustainable Development Goals written out here.

They can see number one is that one related to no poverty, and number 13 is dealing with climate action, but number 14 and 15 are also related to climate action.

The UN set ambitious targets to achieve all of these 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

However, there have been lots of major global events that have happened since 2015, and these have made this ambitious target even more difficult.

For example, there have been examples of international conflict around the world and the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted development and economies in lots of countries around the world.

These events disrupted economies, health systems, and disrupted international cooperation.

That slowed progress towards lots of the goals, as other priorities needed to be put first.

Let's do another check.

I'd like you to state one factor that has slowed the progress of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Pause your video and have a go at this now.

The correct answer is the COVID-19 pandemic.

You could have said that this slowed the progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals because it disrupted economies, health systems, and international cooperation.

You might have also spoken about international conflict.

Some people argue that the UN has been effective in tackling climate change.

Saying that, it doesn't mean that the problem has been solved.

People might argue instead that being effective means that the UN's actions have helped to reduce the damage or slow down the impacts of climate change, so it doesn't necessarily mean that the issue has just disappeared.

Laura is telling us, "So effective does not mean climate change is no longer an issue.

Instead, it highlights that without effective action of the UN things would be much worse!" One key action that the UN has taken has been to increase funding to help countries become more resilient to climate change.

When we say resilient, it means able to cope with things when things ultimately go wrong.

Since COP21 that was held in Paris in 2015, the UN has mobilised national, international, and private finance to support countries in addressing climate issues, such as shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

The UN originally set a target of $100 billion in climate finance every year.

However, the new goal is to raise $300 billion each year by 2035.

This is to help emerging countries take action on climate change.

The UN holds annual climate conferences known as COP.

That also helps to keep global attention on this really important issue of tackling climate change.

Some of the outcomes of the COP climate summits have included: COP26, which happened in 2021.

This agreed on a roadmap to lower carbon emissions.

For COP28, which happened in 2023, they agreed to reduce and end fossil fuel dependency.

For COP29, which happened in 2024.

They agreed to increase funding for emerging countries in order to tackle climate change.

Let's do another check.

Which nation hosted COP21, which set out the framework for international cooperation on climate change? Pause your video and choose your answer now.

The correct answer is C, Paris.

Critics argue that the UN's actions on climate change have not been effective.

They argue that despite significant financial investments and some of those figures we heard about earlier, the UN has made only small gains in managing the worst effects of climate change.

Jacob's telling us, "Critics look at the limited impact of the UN's work so far and the continued impact of climate change as their evidence that the UN's work has not been effective." One key area of the UN's work is the pledge to reduce emissions by 2030.

Emissions are the leading cause of climate change, and mainly come from industrial nations and burning fossil fuels, for example, through industry.

The Paris Agreement, that was adopted at COP21, set a goal to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030.

However, the UN's own report shows that the global emissions have actually increased by 10.

6%, therefore showing that what's been happening hasn't necessarily made an impact in the correct direction.

The Paris Agreement aimed to increase the number of countries striving for net-zero economies.

That means that countries could maintain strong economic output, that means their ability to make things, without increasing emissions.

It's about balancing those two things up.

Despite this 2015 pledge, some countries have actually gone back on those promises.

For example, after Donald Trump was re-elected President of the United States of America in 2024, the country pulled out of important climate agreements and made fewer rules to the environment.

This meant that one of the world's biggest economies was doing less to fight climate change, so that would have a knock-on impact on those global targets.

The UN is an international organisation that relies on cooperation between its member countries.

It mainly uses soft power to encourage countries to work together on global issues.

However, since the UN depends on cooperation and has no way to enforce its climate actions, countries can sometimes choose to ignore its efforts on climate change, which helps us to start to see some of the issues with running things through this programme.

Let's do another check.

Overall, what has happened to global emissions since 2015? Have they A, stayed the same; B, increased; or C, decreased? Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is B, increased.

Let's put this into practise.

Izzy is saying, "The UN's action on climate change has not been effective." I would like you to summarise both sides of the argument.

For the statement, I'd like you to think about why might some people argue that the UN's actions have not been effective in tackling climate change, and against, what are the reasons some believe that the UN has been effective despite the challenges that they've come across? Pause your video and have a go at this now.

I asked you to respond to Izzy's statement, "The UN's action on climate change has not been effective." You might have included some of the following.

You might have said: the UN's action on climate change have made a positive impact in several ways.

The Sustainable Development Goals have drawn global attention to issues like poverty and climate change, aiming to reduce the development gap between high and low-income countries.

Climate change is a key focus in these goals, which has led to more countries prioritising climate action.

Additionally, the UN's annual climate conferences have played a crucial role in bringing nations together to set ambitious goals, such as the pledge to reduce global emissions and to raise climate finance for emerging countries.

On the other side, you might have said: critics argue that the UN's action on climate change have not been effective enough.

Since the Paris Agreement, global emissions have continued to rise, putting the world at risk of missing critical climate targets.

The UN primarily relies on soft power, encouraging cooperation without actually having a system to enforce those agreements.

This lack of enforcement means that countries can choose to ignore or backtrack on their climate commitments without facing consequences.

For example, after Donald Trump was re-elected as President of the USA in 2024, many of the country's climate policies were reversed, showing how easily climate action can be undone when leadership changes.

Next, we're going to think about, has the UN's work been effective? We know from our keyword that deliberative means to carefully consider and discuss a topic.

During a deliberative discussion, we take time to consider different viewpoints and weigh up all the relevant information before making our choice.

We're gonna think about how we can structure a deliberative discussion through these four different sections.

A rationale is a short statement to summarise your overall argument.

We then try to include examples.

This might look like a statistic, a case study, or a story that supports your argument, your rationale.

Then we need to do analysis.

This is a little bit more explanation of your viewpoint to make it really clear where your argument's coming from.

And last, we have the link.

This is a link back to the rationale, and also offers you an opportunity to have some closing words.

We're trying to use this structure when formulating our discussion.

Let's do a check.

What do we call the part that includes thorough explanation of your viewpoint? Is it A, analysis; B, a link; or C, examples? Pause your video and choose your answer.

The correct answer is A, analysis.

We are going to prepare for a deliberative discussion on the following question: has the UN's work been effective? We're going to consider arguments that support the UN's effectiveness and then think about the counter-arguments that suggest actually, the UN hasn't been effective.

We've got an example where Alex is arguing that the UN is effective.

Alex has said, "The UN's a large organisation with almost every country in the world.

It works on many global issues, including the Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to reduce the gap between high and low-income countries.

Given the scale of this ambitious task, the UN has made some effective progress." We're now gonna look at Izzy's counter-argument to the statement.

Izzy says, "The UN has had plenty of time to take action, but its impact has often been limited.

Despite efforts on climate change, many governments have backtracked on their agreements, and climate change remains a major threat.

This suggests the UN's actions have not been as effective as needed and more can be done." Let's do another check.

Which part of a deliberative discussion is using case studies or statistics to illustrate the point you're making? Is it A, the rationale; B, the link; or C, the examples? Pause your video now.

The correct answer is C, examples.

We're now going to put this into practise and prepare for each element of a deliberative discussion on the following question: has the UN's work been effective? For your rationale, I'd like you to write a clear statement summarising your main argument.

Do you think that the UN's work has been effective or not? Then you're going to include examples.

I'd like you to find facts, statistics, or real-life examples that support your argument.

Next, moving on to analysis.

Explain why your examples support your view.

How do they show the UN's effectiveness, or lack thereof it? And last, we're going to link.

Connect your analysis back to your main argument and conclude with a strong closing statement.

Pause your video and do this now.

I asked you to prepare for a deliberative discussion on the question: has the UN's work been effective? If you were arguing that it had been effective, you might have said some of the following.

For your rationale: the UN has established ambitious goals, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, and has made progress in addressing climate change, suggesting that they've taken effective action.

An example of this is the UN originally set a target of $100 billion in climate finance each year.

However, the updated goal is to raise $300 billion annually by 2035.

Analysis might say: the UN brings countries together to make global agreements, helping to secure major funding for climate action.

This support helps emerging nations respond to climate change.

The link: this shows that the UN is effective in taking action to combat climate change.

The funding commitment is key to supporting emerging countries in transitioning to more sustainable industries and adapting to a changing climate.

If you are arguing the other side, that it had not been effective, you might have said: despite ambitious goals and agreements, the impact has been limited.

Many countries still fail to meet their climate targets.

For example, the UN's Paris Agreement aimed to cut global emissions by 45% by 2030.

The emissions have actually increased by 10.

6%.

Despite funding pledges, many countries continued to fall short of meeting their climate commitments.

Emissions are rising and major powers like the USA have reversed policies.

Without enforcement power, the UN cannot ensure progress.

While the UN tries to lead on climate action, its limited authority means it often falls short of real, lasting impact.

You might have argued somewhere in the middle.

You might have said: the UN has made progress on climate change, but also faces clear limitations in meeting its ambitious goals.

The example could be: the UN originally set a target of $100 billion in climate finance.

However, the updated goal is to raise $300 billion annually by 2035.

This reflects the growing recognition of the need for greater financial support.

The UN has united countries and secured funding, but progress has been slow.

Emissions are still rising, and some countries have reversed climate policies.

Without enforcement power, its influence is limited.

The UN has made valuable progress, but its lack of enforcement means its overall impact on climate change is mixed.

Today, we have been preparing for a deliberative discussion, how effective is the UN on tackling climate change? We've learnt that the UN has taken several actions to tackle climate change, including organising climate conferences, creating the Sustainable Development Goals, and mobilising climate finance.

The UN aims to raise $300 billion annually by 2035 to help emerging countries tackle climate impacts.

While the UN uses soft power to encourage cooperation, it faces challenges due to its lack of enforcement power, with some countries failing to meet climate targets.

There are differing views on the UN's effectiveness.

Some argue that it's made progress through its ambitious goals.

Others argue its actions are limited, as global emissions continue to rise and countries are not meeting commitments.

Despite progress, the UN faces significant challenges.

That's the end of today's lesson.

Thank you for joining me.