Topic: Green Initiatives Within the United Nations System
Country: Latvia
Delegate Name: Lindsay Nigh
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Latvia position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
The Republic of Latvia is in full support of the United Nations working to become ‘greener’. Latvia has been working to achieve environmentally beneficial movements for some time now, including the reduction of paper usage, the recycling of paper products, environmental ‘clean-up’ days, and the reduction of energy consumption. The Republic of Latvia believes strongly in the furthering of Green movements within the United Nations, such as the global instigation of clean energy production, the reduction of fossil fuel usage, and the initiation of recycling programs worldwide.
Although the Republic of Latvia supports the United Nations’ initiatives to become ‘greener’, we must be sure that such measures are not cost prohibitive for nations that are still developing their economies. Finding economically feasible ways to innovate an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels should be one of our top priorities right now. At the current rate of production and consumption, the global reserves of coal will be used up in 148 years, the global reserves of natural gas in 61 years, and the global reserves of oil in just 43 years. The fact that the world’s most commonly used fuel will be completely obliterated in under half a century is an absolutely terrifying prospect, and deserves immediate attention.
In combination with the world’s ever-increasing consumption of earth’s dwindling fossil fuels, the careless waste of paper products is another crucial issue. With the world’s carbon dioxide levels rising daily, the presence of large tree populations is more important than ever. In order to best conserve the forests that are still standing, the instigation of a global recycling program would be most beneficial.
As an organization focused on the betterment of our global society, the United Nations must take action in the fight against environmental contamination. If we do not do our duty, the earth as we know it may cease to exist.
