Country: Afghanistan
Committee: United Nations Environmental Programme
Topic: Renewable Energy
Delegate: Allyson Suandi
School: Williamston High School
Keeping in mind Sustainable Development Goal 7, by 2030, nations should turn towards renewable energy especially with the pressing climate crisis taking place. With the dwindling costs of renewable energy sources, renewable energy has become more financially feasible for developed and some developing nations. Developed nations, the main fossil fuel polluters should especially be pushing for this change to turn towards renewable energy. Developing nations should also keep in mind while creating new infrastructure to make sure that it is still environmentally friendly since there are more affordable options out there now. The climate crisis is affecting the entire world and it is especially difficult for third world countries to deal with the effects and soon the whole world will feel its wrath.
Afghanistan is a nation with not much electricity and energy usage to begin with. This is not the worst situation ever because it has allowed Afghanistan to now invest in renewable energy sources instead since they are becoming more affordable. Originally, Afghanistan was spending almost $320 million just from importing electricity from other nations which not only is costly but also limits the job opportunities of the people of Afghanistan. The creation of renewable systems not only led to more environmentally conscious but was also less costly and created more jobs for the people and invested back into the economy. Being a landlocked nation, Afghanistan does not have very many dams, and where they do have dams they do not provide much energy. Afghanistan has looked towards implementing solar energy instead which is cheaper than most other renewable energy sources while still being efficient and is also a great investment in terms of protecting the environment and monetarily. Solar energy is used for irrigation and for agriculture in Afghanistan which also leads to an increase in agricultural and economic growth while still being sustainable. Afghanistan has launched a project called the Afghanistan Sustainable Energy for Rural Development (ASERD) where more energy efficient solar water heaters and stoves were put into place in rural homes. The ASERD has also helped to educate the people on renewable energy systems and how to use them and how they are beneficial.
Afghanistan would like to see some sort of body oversee that will evaluate the CO2 emissions in a nation while recognizing a country’s national sovereignty. Afghanistan would like this body to evaluate the state of the nation in terms of fossil fuel usage and current financial status and from there determine the amount of funding the nation should receive from NGOs and from larger developed nations that would help some developing nations to be able to have the means to turn towards renewable energy or to inspire them to. Afghanistan does not particularly like dams and would strongly encourage for that to not be the first thing nations turn towards (especially with nations who depend on those rivers for other resources such as water and care about biodiversity). Dams mess with the flow of water and also are rather difficult to maintain and are costly, although it does prove to be a great for agriculture if the nation and is okay to turn towards if a nation is okay with the small sacrifice that using a dam creates. Solar power and wind power especially have become more cost friendly in recent years, so the change to renewable energy is not as costly as some might think. Afghanistan would prefer for nations to work towards implementing solar energy instead, especially for developing nations as it has become more affordable and is a great investment for the future. This solar energy could be used similarly to how Afghanistan used it to promote jobs and also to boost its agriculture production. Afghanistan also agrees that communities should be educated on how to use these renewable energy systems and how it helps the environment similar to what Afghanistan has in place.
- Allyson Suandi
