Topic: Green Initiatives Within the United Nations System
Country: Russia
Delegate Name: C.J. Biggs
School: Forest Hills Central High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Russia position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
In these exciting times, small corporations to entire countries are overhauling the status quo and “going green.” Russia is no exception and neither is the UN. Green initiatives and the improvements that are being made to energy creation, waste disposal, recycling, and so much more just make sense. This is why Russia puts its money where its mouth is. Recently, the Duma passed a new Federal Law: “On energy saving and improvement of energy efficiency", which is self-explanatory. In conjunction with this, President Medvedev signed a decree concerning the improvement of the energy consumption and conservation of Russia’s executive and regional government bodies. The newly created Green Building Council of Russia was established to create a national standard for constructing and maintaining buildings in eco-friendly ways. Additionally, Russia’s Center for Environmental Policy promotes public education and policy relating to the environment, ecology, and going green. It has been promoting research into the environment and sustainability since 1995.
The aforementioned institutions and initiatives within Russia can easily be applied to the United Nations in all its arms of operation. The United Nations represents the world, so it should be a forerunner in the environmental practices it espouses. Russia suggests that the UN explore different energy-saving techniques, including updating their current buildings to make them certifiably green. The UN could also consider expanding the UNEP’s educational roles and begin a fervent international campaign to praise the virtues of eco-friendliness. Ban Ki-Moon could make a decree similar to President Medvedev’s that promises the immediate implementation of green practices in the UN. But Russia asserts that we should also launch green programs initiated by the UN that involve participation by the world’s governments, since this is the goal of the UN. Since Russia strongly encourages scientific progress, one such program could be a “waste race” that, facilitated by the UN, establishes a competition between countries to find solutions to some of the environmental problems we face today. A cash prize or some sort of incentive would be provided to the winners, in such categories as “best new sustainable fuel” or “best pollution disposal method”. Entrants would most likely be corporations subsidized by their governments. Obviously this is very open-ended and we hope that substantive debate will help to flesh this out. Such a competition would incentivize the green movement and make great strides in this field, for as we all know, competition fosters results.
No country should really be opposed to the green programs we suggest. Even such nations as the US that have demonstrated reluctance in the past will soon see, if they don’t already, that the benefits of “going green” far outweigh the costs. All nations are looking for ways to make themselves more efficient, and going green often means just that. Russia hopes that this forum will be one that promotes cooperation from all countries for a cause that relates to all countries.
