Environment Committee

Honorable Delegates of the Environment Committee,

It is to our great satisfaction to be your Chairpersons this year and to obviously build on the foundation laid last year, taking IasiMUN even further. We are convinced that participation to the conference is a great and unique experience, one that probably should not be missed, because it opens up lots of opportunities, and that is why we have dedicated ourselves to organizing and chairing this committee with upmost professionalism.

What does the Environment Committee actually mean though? We think that its main goal is saving the whole planet from destruction. Indeed, people go to war and the consequences are not exactly good. But if people carry on with their lives with no regard of Mother Nature, the consequences will be far worse that an armed conflict. These problems already plague our world; just think about pollution, species going extinct, global warming, disasters that keep on getting worse, and more recently, man-kind playing God and genetically modifying other organisms. Indeed, we have to factor in the fact that we shouldn’t hold back development. So in this respect, think of those two main issues as the two sides of a scale. We are the pivot. As delegates, you get to decide what is more important. Can you handle it?

We are looking forward to meeting and working with you this autumn, when hopefully we’ll take the right decisions through fruitful debate which will lead to very good resolutions. If you have any questions whatsoever, do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
Adelina Panzaru and Mihai Paun
environment.iasimun@gmail.com

Environment Committee Topics

1. Nuclear power plants

A quarter of a century has passed since the Chernobyl disaster of April 1986, and the nuclear industry hoped that those 25 largely trouble-free years had gone some way to assuaging the fears of the public. With an awareness that fossil fuels will, eventually, run out, and with an ever clearer need to keep carbon emissions low, there was even talk of a nuclear renaissance. Then the March 11th tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi plant, washing away nuclear optimism along with so much else.

To some the crisis at Fukushima is the last straw, a final demonstration that nuclear power can never be made catastrophe proof and that it brings with it risks to public health and the public purse that are simply too high to be borne. To others it is a sad and troubling setback, but not one that can trump the need some nations feel for the security of electricity supply that a fleet of nuclear reactors brings, or the imperative of low-carbon energy. For some of those nuclear advocates today’s safer reactors, if better situated, inspected and regulated than those at Fukushima, are still pretty much good-to-go. Others would rather see the world seize the opportunity to explore new nuclear technologies they believe to be inherently safer, cheaper and easier to divorce from the proliferation of nuclear arms.

Questions to consider:

1. What is the technological process used in the nuclear power plants?
2. What can go wrong and can we improve this technology and make it risks-free?
3. Which are the environmental and international policy standards that a country may need to respect in order to use this technology?
4. What has been done so far in the UN regarding this issue?

2. Animal rights and welfare

Across time, humankind has managed to prove its superiority among other living creatures. However, this does not entitle us to disregard other species co-habiting this planet.

For instance, animals do not represent mere objects, created solely for serving our desires and purposes. Many of them are sentient creatures and they must have their rights respected by humans. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, these rights and animal welfare are almost completely obliterated, leading to billions of animals being exploited, tortured and abusively used in activities such as animal testing, illegal fights, the fashion industry, circuses, hunting as a “hobby”, etc. Some people nowadays do not seem to realize that it is immoral to perform such acts and provoke suffering for their own pleasure or for the sake of luxury.

That is why animal rights activists and organizations emphasize on the fact that the United Nations should adopt declarations like “The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare” (UDAW) or “The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights” (UDAR).

Because animals do not have the capacity to defend themselves, it is up to us, humans endowed with reason, to prevent unnecessary suffering and offer them humane conditions of living. Moreover, these animals play a vital part in the ecosystem and if we harm them, the damage inflicted upon the environment which we inhabit will lead to devastating consequences.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance for society to understand that treating animals with cruelty comes in contradiction with our very nature- that of intelligent beings. As Albert Einstein once said:”our task must be to free ourselves…by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” We must remember that Mother Earth has a place for everyone and there is no need to cause pain to others in order to prove our status.

The delegates should bear in mind the next questions:

1. Do you think the United Nations should adopt a declaration for this matter? How will this set of rules bring a benefit to the cause?
2. Where do we draw the line between basic needs (survival) and whims?
3. What do you think is the main motivation behind animal abuse? And why is the matter so often neglected?
4. What solutions do you suggest in order to raise public awareness about this problem?

3. Bio-fuels and economical development

With the uncertainty of tomorrow’s world oil market and bearing in mind the previous oil crises, humankind needs to ask itself what the alternative is for the traditional fuel that we used so far.  Studies have shown that the peak of the oil production might occur in 2014, but then the collapse of the oil market will come, as more and more petroleum extraction sites are being shut down because of oil depletion. The consequences of this collapse might be disastrous: a dramatic increase of oil price, leading to the collapse of entire economies.

If delegates stand for the bio-fuels then they need to argument why this is a good method and what are the long-term advantages that bio-fuel brings. Furthermore, because of several disadvantages which studies have shown that bio-fuels may have, delegates who stand for this new method need to suggest the legal framework in which bio-fuel can prove maximum potential with minimum damage, a legal framework that can be accepted by all countries which stand for bio-fuels.

Otherwise, if delegates represent a country that is against bio-fuels, it is mandatory to bring arguments and evidence that in a long term plan bio-fuels are not the solution, and that they are harmful to our environment, or prove that the usage of bio-fuels might have a damaging impact on the global economy, on countries that so far have been dependent on the exports of petroleum or refined oil. It is recommended for delegates who stand against the usage of bio-fuels to bring environmental-safe alternatives that will protect our environment, save countries from economical dependence and develop the worldwide economy and so on and so forth.

Questions to consider:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of bio-fuels, in both environmental and economical terms?
2. Which countries can use bio-fuels in their advantage and which countries are negatively affected by bio-fuels?
3. What is the legal framework that can be use in order to obtain maximum efficiency from bio-fuels?

Are bio-fuels the best long-term solution in solving the fuel problems, or at least, a worthwhile solution that can be implemented and have a great success?

Environment Committee Co-Chairs:

Adelina Panzaru

Adelina’s first MUN experience came with IasiMUN 2010, as a member of the ECOSOC committee. Her participation gained her a Best Delegate award and she truly hopes that this year, through her contribution as a chairperson of the Environment Committee, she will manage to offer other delegates the same opportunity she had. Because she believes that a Model United Nations conference not only improves your language skills, but also stimulates the mind. The IasiMUN conference is really the place to be if you are motivated, eager to share your ideas and if debate is one of your passions.

Mihai Paun