UNEP (Advanced)

 

Head Chair:  Shahr Ghazizadeh
Vice Chair:   Cierra Arlow
Moderator: Christina Goodin

Position papers will be due on February 2, 2019. The position paper format, and all other important conference documents, can be found on our conference website, http://lhhsconference.weebly.com/. Email all position papers to our committee email:  lhhsUNEP@gmail.com  Feel free to contact us via email if you have any questions or concerns!

Hello delegates! My name is Shahr Ghazizadeh and I will be your head chair for the LHHS MUN conference!  I am a senior, and this will be my fourth year in MUN and my first time as a head chair. I am in varsity swimming and cross country and enjoy to participate in other clubs at the school and spending time with my friends!  I am looking forward to seeing all of you in committee!

Hello delegates! My name is Cierra Arlow, I am a junior at Laguna Hills. I have done MUN for 3 years and it will be by second time as a chair. I am on varsity basketball and love it so much. I am so excited to see all of you at our 2019 LHHS MUN Conference.

Hello delegates! My name is Christina Goodin and I am the moderator. I am currently a sophomore at Laguna Hills High School and I am in lacrosse. I enjoy going to the beach and hanging out with my friends! Excited to see everyone in committee!

Topic: Offshore oil drilling
Background
Offshore oil drilling has an immensely negative impact on human and wildlife communities.  Due to the global matter that 80 million barrels of oil every day are depleted, petroleum companies are forced to rummage the Earth for new reserves, and most of them are underwater. To obtain the oil from underwater, petroleum companies have spent billions of dollars to develop offshore drilling along with offshore oil platforms. In 1887, H.L. Williams created the first offshore well and it protruded 90 meters into the ocean. The United States became the country where oil became a “necessity.”The U.S., therefore, has incentives to create a more practical way of generating oil and shortly after invented the idea to use the steel cable instead of the rope. Over the years the desire for oil increased in not only in the United States, but on a global scale, building the offshore oil industry. Unfortunately, offshore drilling produces an immense amount of pollution, such as: drilling fluid, toxic metals like lead, chromium, and mercury, along with carcinogens, which all end up back into the ocean. This then ends up in marine and wildlife habitats, directly or indirectly killing them. In relation, produced water is also a major threat to wildlife. More than 20% of waste concerning offshore drilling is made up of produced water, which is 30 to 40 oil content parts per million. When produced water is released into Alaska, to be specific 2 billion gallons, so is more than 70,000 gallons of oil. There are offshore oil rigs which have had many bird collisions which either damage badly or completely incinerate the bird due to the flare from the oil leaks. This generates black carbon which plays a part in climate change. All the negative impacts of offshore oil have pressured other organizations and countries to try to eliminate the harm that has been going on with this industry.

UN Involvement
The United Nations has been at the forefront of maintaining a clean and peaceful ocean. In doing this the UN has had conventions like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’s (UNCLOS) and 1977 draft Convention on offshore mobile craft, however both have been in some aspects unsuccessful. They both have gaps in the global legal framework and many countries can surpass their control. The UNCLOS divided the sea into zones which lead to the fight for the natural resources in the different zones. In addition to conventions there have been resolutions passed, for example, the General Assembly resolution 2692 which ensures that sovereignty over their country’s territory in the ocean along with their natural resources that reside there. To mediate conflicts that may arise from this division of territory, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) mandates oil leasing, development, and exploration. However the United Nations is not the only organization working to stop offshore oil drilling. Non-governmental organizations like Oceania, Center for Biological Development and Greenpeace work to educate people on the topic; these organizations also recruit people to get involved in the topic and work to stop oil drilling.

Bloc Positions:
Western Bloc:  In the United States, the policies as well as rules and regulations differ within each state.  The primary location where offshore oil drilling occurs is on the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore oil drilling contributes to a large portion of the nations natural gas. Currently in California, there has been a banning of certain oil drilling proposals that were administered by Trump due to the large risk the American coastal community is facing (state’s placing bans to fight the drill plan).  Donald Trump is also removing a portion of safety laws which were intact to protect the long-term environmental damage the drilling can cause. Explain about how the nation’s policies and the drilling plays a consequence to the environment and humans while developing the economy.

Latin Bloc: With the largest oil corporations in Mexico city, oil corporations take the most advantage of the latin bloc and its resources.  Talk about the offshore oil drilling in this region and how the action of new policies have Western oil company’s interest. Develop the nation’s needs for the use of oil and how it plays an effective role into the nations economic and industrial development and the negative effects that it causes amongst the environment and a population’s habitat.  

African Bloc: In Africa, oil is a major resource for energy as well as for trading purposes and is obtained by offshore drilling.  In offshore Namibia, they have started drilling due to the confirmation of the mass amount of oil. Talk about the offshore oil drilling in Africa and its future plans.  Express the benefits for the nation on offshore drilling, oil being a primary component for trade in Africa and its usage as an energy source. Talk about how it is negatively affecting the land and ocean environment in certain regions and other countries as well.
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Asian Bloc:  Due to the exponential growth of the economy, there is a high demand for oil in these regions.  China is developing new technologies in order to not only own offshore oil companies but also to develop them and become the greatest offshore producer Talk about new offshore oil drilling plans and the new permits to drill on boarders and the development of the drilling industry (new technological advancements). Explain how this will affect the nation’s capital efficiency and benefit the nations economic status.

Questions to Consider:

1. What positive and or negative effects does offshore oil drilling have on your nation's economy and infrastructure?
2. What environmental laws are in place in your nation?
3. Who regulates offshore oil drilling in your nation? (companies, other nations, border drilling, etc.)
4. What long term effect does the drilling have on your nations wildlife?
5. If your country is working towards the ending of oil exploration, how are they doing so? (laws, regulations, bannings, etc.)

Sources:
https://newrepublic.com/minutes/146503/trumps-offshore-drilling-policies-put-every-coastal-community-america-risk
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/science/ct-states-oil-drill-bans-20180319-story.html
https://newrepublic.com/minutes/146503/trumps-offshore-drilling-policies-put-every-coastal-community-america-risk
https://www.offshore-mag.com/articles/2018/11/seadrill-issues-rig-status-report.html
https://africabusinesscommunities.com/news/africa-energy-begins-oil-drilling-in-offshore-namibia/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/major-oil-companies-embrace-latin-america-1526907600
https://greengarageblog.org/9-prominent-pros-and-cons-of-offshore-drilling
https://healthresearchfunding.org/offshore-drilling-pros-cons/
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/offshore-drilling.htm
https://usa.oceana.org/impacts-offshore-drilling
https://www.noia.org/history-of-offshore/
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/organizations-working-to-end-offshore-drilling/  
http://law2.wlu.edu/deptimages/Journal%20of%20Energy,%20Climate,%20and%20the%20Environment/Hasson.pdf