Model United Nations (MUN)

This is the fifth international climate-based conference we have held and we are really looking forward to growing on our experience from previous years. We are always thrilled to see so much interest from both domestic and international schools and we are confident that this year's event will attract schools from an even wider demographic. Students at The King’s School Macclesfield have traditionally always held an interest in Model United Nations debating and many have attended and taken part in prestigious conferences. We feel it is only right to offer the same opportunities to other schools and through our partnership with Engage with China and by using online conference technology this is now possible.

We hope, with the help of all delegates that our next conference will be as much of a success as in previous years – not just stimulating discussion on climate change and environmental issues but also working together to bolster relations and to encourage cooperation and friendship between delegates of different nations.

President of the Conference – Toby Hall

My name is Toby Hall, and I am grateful to have the honour of welcoming you all to Good COP Bad COP 5. I cannot stress enough how thrilled I am to be the head of our conference; where I am certain a great deal of quality debate will unfold. I am hopeful that with global cooperation and discussion, we can protect our home and keep our planet healthy for future generations to come. For that reason, I am especially interested in this conference. Outside of MUN, I have a passion for playing rugby and boxing and I have also competed in competitive debate. I look forward to coming together with you all on February 6th.

Vice President – River Smith

It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome you to the Good COP Bad COP conference of 2025. I am elated to be the vice president of this conference, and am thoroughly looking forward to all of the thought provoking debates that will undoubtedly take place. I was particularly interested for this role as climate change and geoengineering strategies to mitigate it have always been an interest of mine along with a background in debating such as WSC (World Scholar’s Cup), MUN and ESU. Outside of these interests, I am an avid reader of Russian philosophy and enjoyer of yoga and music- particularly the piano.

Conference Director – Richard Higgins

My name is Mr Richard Higgins and offer a warm welcome to you on behalf of all students and staff from The King’s School Macclesfield. We are delighted to be hosting the fourth international student conference alongside Engage with China. I am Head of Computing at The King’s School Macclesfield and have lost count of the number of MUN conferences I have taken students to over the last 15 years. However, it is an enormous privilege to host a conference for other schools. I also coach basketball, volleyball and school debating teams. Outside of the classroom I enjoy photography and playing backgammon.

The King’s School Macclesfield strongly support environmental conservation and believe that we can all, as individuals and countries, do much more to protect our world. COP is the perfect chance to demonstrate this. We think that we need to, even if it is just in theory, try and find a way to combat these issues that affect us all.

For our resolutions we will discuss and think about a wide range of practical solutions to these environmental issues. Last year we focused on and discussed carbon tax and incentives against the use of coal and other fossil fuels. Our aim is to come to some form of agreement on what is the best ways of reducing the threat of climate change during this conference and we are keen to hear what the delegates propose.

Peter Wilson CMG is British Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China – a role he assumed in August 2025.

Prior to this role, Peter was Director General for Europe at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office until August 2024. Before that, he was Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from March to September 2022.

Peter was previously Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Federative Republic of Brazil from February 2021 to March 2022. He was the UK Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) from August 2017 to September 2020. Peter was the Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the UK Mission to the UN, New York from September 2013 to August 2017.

Before this, Peter was the Asia Pacific Director at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London where he covered North and South East Asia, and Australasia from November 2010, and also served as Director of Strategy for the FCO in 2010.

Peter’s roles have included service at the British Embassy in Beijing, China where he was Political Counsellor from 2007 to 2010 and Second Secretary, Commercial from 1995 to 1998. He has also been posted as Political Counsellor in Islamabad (2005 to 2006) and ran the European Parliament Team at the UK Representation to the European Union in Brussels from 1999 to 2002.

Peter was a member of the British Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan’s Cabinet in 1999. He was Head of the Strategic Policy Team for the FCO in London (2003 to 2005) and served as an Assistant Desk Officer, European Institutions at the FCO from 1992 to 1993.

He is fluent in Mandarin and French, and speaks some Portuguese, has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School, and a Bachelors in Modern History from Oxford University.  His Chinese name is 魏磊 (Wei Lei).

Dr Lucy Vigne – wildlife researcher

Lucy advises and supports various wildlife conservation boards, task forces and working groups. She works with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s African Elephant Specialist Group, African Rhino Specialist Group and Asian Rhino Specialist Group.

She has researched the rhino horn and ivory trade surveying key markets across Africa and Asia for many years and has published widely. Lucy mentors the Women in Nature Network, biodiversity being essential for the socio-economic needs of rural people.

Lucy was born in South Africa, raised in England and lives in Kenya. She has a degree in Zoology from Oxford University and a PhD in Social Sciences from Oxford Brookes University. She is both a Kenyan and British citizen.

We're proud to be working in collaboration with 'Engage with China' to bring you this conference.

Resolutions

There will be five resolutions debated during the course of the conference this year. Each will be based on the outcomes of COP29, recently hosted by Azerbaijan in November 2024.

Resolution 1 - Carbon mitigation: Reduce use of coal by 75% by 2035 and phase out fossil fuel subsidies.

R1 Briefing Paper

Resolution 1 Phase Out Coal

Resolution 2 - Financing of Adaptation: Developed countries to help finance adaptation for less wealthy countries – be it protection from the worst effects

of climate change or financial help with the transition to low carbon energy supply.

R2 Briefing Paper

Resolution 2 Financing Adaptation with a Carbon Tax

Resolution 3 – Plastic Waste: To phase out single use plastics by 2030 and reduce the use of all plastics by 75% by 2035 so that any remaining plastics are 100 %recyclable.

R3 Briefing Paper
Resolution 3 Eliminating Plastic Pollution

Resolution 4 - Promoting Sustainability in Fashion Design & Production: Incentivise the adoption of eco-friendly materials and reduce waste in fashion production processes and promote ethical labour practices across the supply chain.

R4 Briefing Paper
Resolution 4 Promoting Sustainability in Fashion Design & Production
Resolution 5 - Promoting sustainable forest management, biodiversity protection, and indigenous participation, while addressing key drivers like illegal logging and land expansion. The resolution introduces monitoring, economic incentives, and enforcement mechanisms to ensure accountability and measurable progress toward halting forest loss worldwide.

R5 Briefing Paper - Deforestation

Resolution 5 Promoting Sustainable Forest Management

Key information

• The conference will be held virtually on Friday 6th February 2026, aiming to start 10.00 GMT (18.00 CST).
• The Conference with employ Zoom to stimulate breakout rooms and resolutions.
• The King's School will send links to advisors in advance.
• The timetable in the Delegates Handbook will give more details including timings etc.
• You can view a recording of an Advisors.

Click to watch the edited highlights reel from a previous year's Good COP, Bad COP Conference:

2022 Conference Highlights

Download the transcript of the edited conference highlights: 

2022 Conference Edited Transcript

Debate Workshops

DATES

• Friday 28th November (New Schools/Refresher Workshop on how this Model UN will run from 1pm – 1:45pm
• Monday 12th January for School Advisors meeting (1pm - 1.45pm) – how to prepare your School
• Friday 30 January, Chairs & Proposers meeting (8am – 8:45am) – briefing for those schools Chairing or Proposing Resolutions

Each of these will occur on Zoom. The Zoom link for each will be sent out in the week prior to the meeting.