YPAC 2019

March 25th - 29th in Meran/o/I

General topic: How to Cope with Climate Change

Subtopics (allocated to four committees)

Committee 1: Ecology

New plants and animals threaten the existing flora and fauna (spring herb, beetles, mosquitoes, insects, parasites and vermins…)
New environmental conditions (temperature extremes) for plants (i.e. chestnuts)
Change of cityscapes (urban gardening, i.e. parasites destroying palm trees in Merano…)
Impact on agriculture (e.g. fruit production at higher altitudes, e.g. apples: different varieties of apples, new pests)
Natural hazards

KEY QUESTIONS: How does climate change affect the biodiversity of animals and plants in the Alpine mountain regions? Are there negative impacts on agricultural yield and how can these effects be minimized? Which solutions may bridge longer periods of drought caused by climate change? How can we deal with extreme precipitation events in relation with urban planning? What can a municipality do to adapt to the changing environment?

Committee 2: Health

Increasing number of warm nights
Negative impact on fragile and older persons and newborns
Problems with storing banked blood
Influx of tropical diseases
Heatwaves, tropical nights
Virus carrying insects
pollution

KEY QUESTIONS: How can we cope with these new environmental strains? How can we preserve general health in infants, ill people and the elderly? How should we deal with virus carrying insects? How should we react to new illnesses? How should we deal with new sources of illness (i.e. poisonous algae)? Water is no longer filtered because of soil sealing, therefore our water is contaminated with unknown bacteria, how can we solve this problem? How can the vulnerability of our society be reduced?

Committee 3: Human Right to Life

Change of living conditions due to climate change (i.e. water management generally and in episodes of draught)
Migration as a consequence of climate change/climate refugees
Sustainability over generations
Right to live in healthy conditions
Laws and binding for protection programs (i.e. Alpine Convention is not compulsory)
Alps as a border

KEY QUESTIONS: How to deal appropriately with migration? How to guarantee the right of health? How can we ensure the rights to health and a safe environment for future generations? How can environmental regulations be made more binding? How to strengthen solidarity within the Alps and between the generations?

Committee 4: Youth Participation

Dealing with common goods endangered by climate change
Codetermination bodies

Participatory models
Political education
Sociodemographic change
Cooperation between various stakeholders
Youth participation against climate change

KEY QUESTIONS: How to cope with disenchantment with politics? How to cope with intergenerational misunderstandings and different aims? How to cope with the sociodemographic change in relation to the issue of migration? How to engage young people in protecting the common good and how to foster political participation? What can a single individual do to change things? How can we include various stakeholders and get them to cooperate? How can citizens develop a conscious behavior? How to delevop a successful climate change adaptation strategy? Bottom up or top down?