Topic:
Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: Goni Wong
SpecPol
Arctic Circle Exploitation
Brazil
Goni Wong
The Roeper School
The Arctic circle may seem as a northern irrelevant mix of land, water and ice to any nations not a part of the A5. But this is not the case, the Arctic circle is a critical aspect to many events that plague the modern geopolitical stage. The US geological service projects that there are 412 billion gallons of undiscovered natural gasses in this Arctic circle, this is roughly 22% of the world total. As the world temperature is ever increasing it becomes easier and more cost efficient for nations and companies to venture into resource rich areas that were once not able to be reached. Additionally the Arctic circle and thus its exploitation play key roles in global sea rising and is a warning of climate change that resonates around the globe.
The UN has set out guidelines for these types of issues as seen in the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea. The Convention of the Law of the Sea outlines many aspects of regulating an international ocean/sea. Most importantly it regulates the area in which a country can exploit resources such as natural gasses. Under international law the Arctic circle is surrounded but not controlled by any one country.
Brazil has shown prior interest in the Arctic circle. From 2010-2019 there have been on and off debates for The country accepting the Svalbard Treaty, and whether to apply for observer status at the Arctic Council. Brazil finds that the trade routes, resource exploitation and the effects on the worldwide climate should not be issues that are decided solely by A5 nations.
Even though Brazil is thousands of miles away from the Arctic circle it would like to state that the issues proliferating from the Arctic circle are issues that affect the whole world, economically, climate wise and so much more. Brazil would like to accept the Svalbard Treaty and become a non-observing member of the Arctic Council. This being said, Brazil would also like to highlight that much scientific and economic progress can be found in this area and that these resources should not be solely controlled by any one state or nation. The Brazilian people have spoken, a new president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vows to protect the Amazonian rainforest. Climate change goes hand in hand in both the rainforests and the Arctic circle. This is why Brazil would like to look for a way to curb resource exploitation methods that contribute to climate change, global warming, extreme natural disasters and rising sea levels.
