Environmental Committee 2008Committee GuideDear honourable delegates, Our topic will be: Ever since industrialisation the economic growth and well-being of the people have increasingly depended on the world’s oil resources. But as those are going to be depleted in the near future and global warming is increasing because of high carbon dioxide emissions, we have to decrease the current consumption of oil and find alternative sources of energy.During the last years alternative energies have gained popularity. Thus scientific research on this topic grew and today there are several alternatives that are tested and above all efficient. Therefore many countries in the world set up policies to move their energy resources from oil to alternative energies. This shift, however, raises new questions. On the one hand certain countries, especially those that are economically highly developed, are the leading forces in the field of alternative energies. They aim at reducing their dependence on oil as well as carbon dioxide emissions. As they produce alternative energies themselves and also import them from other, often developing countries they define prices. On the other hand the developing countries hope to take their chances, too. They often have sufficient space and an adequate climate in their countries to produce alternative energy resources. However, developing countries sometimes have to burn parts of the rainforest to clear space. This increases the emission of carbon dioxide. In addition, developing countries rely on the prices for their products which are set up by developed countries and are often too low for the developing countries to earn a sufficient amount of money. It will now be your task to research the topic as extensively as you can and work out resolutions at this year’s BalMun Conference on a multinational level! Here are some links that may help you with your preparation:
Hope to see you soon! Guest SpeakerSylvia Bretschneider |
Introduction of the ChairsMy name is Randolf Carr and I will have the pleasure of being Chair of the Disarmament Committee at this year's first BALMUN Conference. I am in 11th grade at the John-F.-Kennedy-School and this is my third year taking part in MUN. I have previously attended seven other MUN conferences and BALMUN will be my fourth conference as a Student Officer. I enjoy taking part in heated debates on controversial topics, but have noticed that chairing such a debate is at least as challenging and fun as debating itself. I was born in Bonn, the former German capital, but then moved to Berlin in 1999. I am half American and half German, which is why I spend a lot of my vacation in the U.S. with the American half of my family. The reason I started participating in MUN in 2005 was my great interest in politics that I had had even long before I started with MUN, combined with the urge to debate and discuss important issues with people who share my interests. During my leisure time, except for MUN, I play soccer and handball, although I enjoy practically any type of team sport. Apart from that, I also indulge in listening to and playing music, either on the guitar or the piano. Looking forward to seeing you at BALMUN in May, Committee GuideMost honourable delegates, Our names are Felix Bayer and Victor Boadum and we will be this year’s Presidents of the Economic and Social Council. It is our great honour and privilege to serve in these important positions and we are looking forward to the conference with much anticipation. As we believe that this year’s topic of the ECOSOC is the most important issue that mankind faces in today’s world we anticipate all delegates of the ECOSOC to be well prepared for a very controversial and vivid debate. To make BALMUN a long-lasting experience we want all delegates to contribute not only during debate, but also during lobbying. Therefore, we expect all delegates to come to the conference with a fully-written resolution, which will provide as a draft to merge with other delegates and to formulate resolutions for debate. Your resolutions should represent your countries ideas on the topic and should be genuine. Please bear in mind that plagiarism will not be tolerated by us! There will be further updates on the committee guide when we can provide more information about our guest-speaker so please stay tuned onto the BALMUN website. Establishing sustainable development under the guidance of the UN Millenium Development Goals In the capitalist world economic growth is the benchmark for success. Economic figures are affecting all areas of life, but especially the political sector. Thus governments throughout the world try to ensure maximum economic growth. However, the process of globalisation leads to an increased competition between countries trying to attract companies. Therefore, decision makers tend to favour companies. Negative effects of this strategy may be deteriorating labour conditions, wages under the minimum living wage and even child labour. But on the other hand the settling of a company in a developing country can boost its economy and lead to an increased living standard. Hence, one can see that economic growth does not always contribute to social development. The international community has diagnosed this problem in the past as well and consequently created the concept of sustainable development. Sustainable development labels a development concept which considers the environmental, economic and socio-political impact of economic growth. We will especially focus on the social aspect of sustainable development. There have been several summits by the United Nations on sustainable development, the first one 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, the second one leading to the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and the third conference in Johannesburg reaffirming the political concepts. Please take into account these conference results when researching the topic. The Millennium Development Goals outline 8 major objectives which are supposed to be achieved by 2015. In the document, issues such as HIV/Aids, extreme poverty, education, gender equality and sustainable development are addressed. The new approach of the Millenium Development Goals was to define poverty no longer only from a financial point of view but also as a lack of opportunities. Unfortunately, at the moment none of the 8 Goals looks like it could be met by 2015. It will be your task to come up with a strategic approach to promote sustainable development while especially considering the eight Millennium Development Goals. You will have to break the habit of compromising sustainable development for quick economic growth. This breakthrough can only be successful on a multilateral basis and you will have the chance to reach such a consensus during BALMUN 2008! Some links which may help you during you preparation:
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