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Economic and Social Council Background Guide

Economic and Social Council Background Guide

Economic and Social Council Background Guide

Written by: Brian Mandel, Adam Smith, and Hemen Aklilu, Case Western Reserve University

Economic and Social Counsel (ECOSOC), one of the six principal bodies of the United Nations (UN), formation was in 1946, and currently has 54 member states. Its mandate is to be the main body on the issues of economic, social and environmental issues. Furthermore, ECOSOC is the central medium for pursuits of the UN and the specialized body. Along with overlooking the UN bodies discussing economic, social and environmental issues. ECOSOC’s mandate has been revised in the last decade, so it can better execute the outcomes of UN conferences and summits revolving around economic, social and environmental issues.1

I. Promoting of Green

Statement of the Issue

Over the past 40 years, the world has realized the damage that it has done to the environment and the dangers this damage creates. Perhaps the most significant danger, however, is the issue of brought about by the emission of CO2 through the burning of fossil . While many nations have tried to curb their use of fossil fuels by transitioning to green energy, the issue of increasing CO2 emissions continues to plague the planet, contributing to global climate change. Although many countries have started to transition to green energy, it is a long process because of the economic and technological hindrances.

History

The Use of Fossil Fuels The first recorded signs of global climate change began at the turn of the 20th century in . In the midst of the , dominated by - powered machinery, the chemist Svante Arrhenius hypothesized how rising carbon

1 "UN economic and social council; resolutions; decisions," United Nations, , accessed December 30, 2016.

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dioxide levels might affect global climate.2. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, energy production was mainly limited to burning and from pack animals with and wind sustaining a niche portion of early use. The following century, however, was marked by a shift in traditional methods to heavy industrialization in Europe and North America, with becoming a primary source of . The early 20th century is marked with a great divide between the industrial, manufacturing nations, mainly colonial powers, and their dependencies. By the end of the First World War, coal and oil provided 90% of the energy demand with 750 megatons of coal being used in that year.3 This figure would double following the second industrial boom during the Second World War.4 Crude oil became extremely valuable, so much so that securing oil resources became a key objective for both the Axis and Allies. Following World War Two, many reemerging economies became dependent on rebuilding essential infrastructure. At this point, many Western countries began transitioning to a less coal-dependent energy structure, due to the fact that oil produces more per unit mass than coal. Many oil exporting countries soon realized this and formed a collective called the Organization of Exporting Countries (OPEC) with the primary founder states including Saudi Arabia, , and . Membership would soon extend to 14 member countries controlling 73% of the world’s known oil reserves.5 After the 1973 Yom Kippur War, many Arab states who opposed US intervention decided to place an embargo on many countries in the West. The 1973 oil crisis demonstrated how reliant the was on oil. To many, it was not only to find new sources for oil domestically, but to invest in resources.6 The 1980s would be marked in growing opposition and awareness of global climate change from fossil-fuel burning. By 1988, the UN set up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) officially recognizing the risks posed by anthropogenic contribution to the Greenhouse Effect. Contrary to the recommendations posed by the UN, many bodies refused to meet these targets citing the negative economic impact of transitioning to renewable sources. The Kyoto Protocol of 1992 established the first international precedent for specifically capping emissions. 192 parties ratify the convention in 1997 with the notable exceptions of the US, , and

2 Enzler, S. M. " Treatment Solutions." History of the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming. Lenntech, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016 2"Peak People: The Interrelationship between Population Growth and Energy Resources," Resilience.org, 2009, , accessed December 27, 2016, 4 http://www.resilience.org/stories/2009-04-20/peak-people-interrelationship-between-population- growth-and-energy-resources 5 "Crude Oil Proved Reserves, 2015". US Energy Information Administration. 6 Ammann, Daniel (2009). The King of Oil: The Secret Lives of Marc Rich.

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Russia.7 As of 2014, there are estimates that upwards of 7500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with , , , the , and being the largest producers respectively8. The most recent development in field of non-renewable energy is the use of . Natural gas has been around as long as petroleum, but has seen far less use until recently. Although a less efficient fuel, syn-fuels with derivatives from natural gas have seen increasing use along with the added benefit of less pollution. One of the most efficient ways to extract natural gas is by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) or horizontal drilling. With an increase in technology to access these natural gas pockets, it opens up new avenues for energy. The natural gas boom in the US has steadily declined, but in other countries like Russia and Argentina, small scale shale fracking has locally revitalized economies.9 Currently, only the US, Canada, and China produce enough natural gas on a commercial scale. For non-renewable energy sources it is vital to remember that it is not just an environmental problem, but a humanitarian and economic one as well. Any substantial changes in cutting carbon dioxide emissions will come at the price of standard of living and the well-being of developing nations.

On Renewable Energy Sources The history of renewable energy has a much briefer history in modern energy structures compared to fossil fuels. Early wind and water powered machinery in the form of water mills saw niche uses for and textiles, but failed to meet the majority of energy demanded. Around the turn of the 20th century, when powering major cities was becoming popular, power companies began searching for alternatives to coal powered plants. Hydroelectric power became the primary alternative source of power, accounting for 40% of energy produced in the United States.10 The first major hydroelectric plant was built in Taipei, Taiwan in 1905, producing around 500 kW11 and similar projects being pioneered by the United States and Canada. Major hydroelectric projects were built in the first half of the 20th century, in countries like Russia, China, and Australia. Hydroelectric power remains the most popular kind of alternative energy currently.

6 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, "Kyoto Protocol," Unfccc.int, , accessed December 27, 2016. 8 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, "GHG Data From UNFCCC," unfccc.int, , accessed December 27, 2016. 8 "What Is Shale Gas and Why Is It Important?," shaletec.org, , accessed December 27, 2016. 10 Bureau of Reclamation, "Hydropower Program," Ubr.gov, , accessed December 27, 2016. 11 "A Brief History of Hydropower," Hydropower.org, , accessed December 27, 2016.

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For solar and , most of the technology for reliable energy was developed within the last 25 years. Photovoltaic cells have become popular for local residential and commercial use in mid-latitude countries, but most of solar powered energy comes from massive solar heating plants, which focuses light and generates steam and energy. For wind energy, massive wind farms are too becoming popular. Estimates from the last decade say that the amount of turbines present since two decades ago have nearly tripled and have increased their net percentage of energy produced by over 500%.12 The only limitation to this energy source is the expense; both from the investment by private enterprises and by the state itself. With coal and nuclear becoming less viable, solar and wind energy became the standard bearer for clean energy.

Current Situation

The latest environmental agreement was the Paris Agreement at the end of 2015, and the main goal of the Agreement was to make the sure the global temperature does not increase by more than two degrees Celsius by the end of the century. 196 countries were present, but only 109 have ratified it.13 However, this is just the newest addition to the long line of large environmental deals and carbon admission agreements. In order to successfully reach these goals, the cooperating countries will have new flow structure, new technology framework and better capacity framework. This will allow the developing countries to better with developed countries because their plans are more aligned. More importantly, the nations participating hope that the deal will create more efficient clean energy, stabilize volatile energy prices and create more job growth.14 In order to increase the efficiency, the worldwide capability and growth of green technology along with improving the participating nations’ economies, nations have agreed to research agreements with other countries and private companies. For example, the nations of , India and South Africa agreed to have a research agreement with each other in 2007 to further understand the capabilities of wind technology.15 Furthermore, the United States made a partnership with OrginOil in

12 Muller, R. Energy for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013. Print. 13 "Status of Ratification." The Paris Agreement. United Nations, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. 14 Ibid 15 India. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Memorandum of Understanding Among the Government of the Republic of South Africa, Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Government of the Republic of India on Cooperation in Wind Resources. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, n.d. Web.

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which United States and OrginOil researches decided analyze the viability of oil extracting algae.16 Thus, two of the main ways there is global cooperation on the promotion of green technology is through environmental and research agreements. Ultimately, different countries have created their own green energy initiatives independent from other summit agreements. The best example of these independent initiatives is ’s . This plan is a conglomerate of separate environmental plans that move to attaining a goal of 60% renewable energy and 80-95% reduction of emissions relative to 1990 by 2050. The overarching way Germany is attaining the goals is through decentralizing the energy production away from large companies and placing it in the hands of the community.17 Moreover, the German government has put in place certain measures to attain these goals. For example, the Renewable Energy Act (EEG), which promotes green technology like wind power with economic incentives like feed-in tariffs, giving compensation to private or public body that supplies energy back to the grid through green energy.18 Lastly, the German government tries to promote grid parity.19 As of now, the German grid cannot handle all of the green energy because the green energy can create excess energy, which sometimes causes blackouts. Thus, the German government sends excess to neighboring countries like .20

Analysis

Feed-in Tariffs and : Normally, green energy like photovoltaic is extremely expensive and not economically viable. Mainly, because the material needed for the panels like cadmium are very costly, the technology is 100% efficient and the uses are still on a small scale21. However as stated earlier, feed in tariffs allow these technologies to become possible on a large scale. Many countries across the globe have begun to use feed in tariffs. Still, there are detractors because of high upfront costs and administrative issue

16 "OriginOil Announces New Research Agreement with U.S. Department of Energy." OriginClear RSS. Origin Clear, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

17 "Fighting Climate Change." German Energy Transition. Heinrich Böll Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. 18 “Renewable Energy Act With Feed-in Tariffs and Auctions." German Energy Transition. Heinrich Böll Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. 19 "Act on Accelerating Grid Expansion." German Energy Transition. Heinrich Böll Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2016. 20 Joseph Toomey, An unworthy future: the grim reality of Obama's green energy delusions (Bloomington, IN: Archway Publishing, 2014). 21 "Why is Renewable Energy so Expensive?," Economist.com, 2014, , accessed December 30, 2016.

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implementing the tariff.22 Thus, some countries look towards using subsidies to promote renewable energy.23 In addition to promoting green energy through positive , nations promote renewable energy by making fossil fuels less appealing. For example, if a corporation reaches a certain threshold of carbon emission, they will be penalized through a tax. The main criticism to Ecotaxes is the execution of the taxes and reciprocity of the issue since one group cannot have sole blame, and these taxes are more stressing on the less affluent individuals.24

Geothermal and Hydroelectric Energy: Two other green energy systems are geothermal and hydroelectric energy. Taping into natural springs or the heat of the earth creates , which creates steam to rotate turbines. Moreover, this same technology can be used to heat and cool buildings.25 In addition, hydropower is the most used renewable energy right now, and the mechanism works by placing turbines in running water to rotate the turbines and generate electricity.26 The problems with geothermal and hydropower are that they both cause environmental problems of their own and the upfront cost.27

Grid Parity: Detractors of green technology’s main reason against green technology are its grid compatibility. Renewable energy like photovoltaic and wind energy has very unreliable surges in it electricity production. For example, if there is no wind or very little wind, wind turbines do not create any electricity. Therefore, when there are massive surges from these technologies without proper grids there is a possibility of power outages. Many countries solve this issue by updating the general parts of the grid. Ultimately, they have to install storage boxes that can hold excess grid to prevent , and can then use this excess electricity when the country needs it. Also, many countries install smart grids along with the storage boxes because it computerizes the entire grid.28

22 "Feed-In Tariffs," Nrel.gov, , accessed December 30, 2016. 23 United Nations Environment Programme and the International Energy Agency, Reform and : Challenges for Policymakers, issue brief no. 14, vol. Ninth Session (New York City, NY: Commission on Sustainable Development Ninth Session, 2001), , accessed December 30, 2016. 24 The New Internationalist Team, "Taxes," Newint.org, , accessed December 30, 2016. 25 "Geothermal Energy," Renewableenergyworld.com, , accessed December 30, 2016. 26 "Hydropower Program," Renewableenergyworld.com, , accessed December 30, 2016. 27 "Geothermal Energy Pros and Cons," Energyinformative.org, , accessed December 30, 2016. 28 "How Hard it Integrate RenewableEnergy Grid," Theenergycollective.com, 2013, , accessed December 30, 2016,

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State of : Until the beginning of 2010s, many countries thought a future without fossil fuels could be achieved with an increase in nuclear power because it has no carbon by products. However, this view changed after the Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown because many nations saw the downsides to nuclear power. Additionally, there has always been the issue of disposing of the nuclear waste29.

Conclusion The future of green energy is important to the future of the world economy and environment. Photovoltaic and wind energy are seen as the future of green energy, but even with subsidies put in place, issues still arise with the technology. In addressing these issues, and nuclear energy cannot be ignored. However, the issue of grid parity is essential to fully addressing the issues of global energy use.

Questions to Consider  Should nations intervene in order to make green technology more economically viable? If so in what ways should they do it?  Should geothermal and hydroelectric power be researched more? How should it be done?  How should grid parity be promoted?  Is nuclear energy a viable part of a green future?

II. Closing the Global Wage Gap

Statement of the Issue

The issue of wage gaps has existed since the inception of bartering; however, it has only recently been acknowledged over the past two centuries. The wealth difference between the rich and the poor is not the only issue plaguing the global wage gap crisis. The wage gap between genders is also a big issue if not a bigger one. That is why this committee will be convened to find solutions to help close the global wage gap.

History

29 "The Nuclear Debate," World-nuclear.org, , accessed December 30, 2016.

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The issue of global wage inequality begins with the theories of social stratification published by Thomas Malthus in An Essay on Principle of Population, in 1798. Like many contemporaries of his time, the prevailing opinion was that wage inequality was necessary to continue growth, especially for workers with mechanical or agricultural jobs.30 Labor laws were practically non-existent, with the practices of indentured servitude and slavery still being practiced well into the late 1800s in most of the world.31 From the early 19th century, fair practices began to be introduced in work environments, with anti-slavery laws being passed in Great Britain by 1807 and in 1818, with the rest of Europe following suit by the 1820s. Despite the criminalization of slavery, many lower class workers were still subjected to serfdom and faced terrible working conditions and wage below the poverty line with no restrictions on children or safety at the peak of the Industrial Revolution.32 The moral movement began around the 1880s with crusades against child labor and pay withholding, eventually putting pressure on the industrial world to abolish those practices. Many safety regulations came into question after the muckraking era of journalism at the turn of the century with exposes into the corrupt monopolies in Ida Tarbell’s The History of the Standard Oil Company to the inhumane meatpacking industry in Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. These investigations revealed how exploitative and unregulated these industries were, profiting from mainly immigrant and minority populations.33 Leading up to World War I and with the popular notion of socialism, many labor movements began by setting up protests and unions, standardizing labor practices for greater worker’s rights and to guarantee better pay. However, many states (especially in Africa and South Asia) faced discriminatory practices barring equal pay and institutionalized racism.34 Following World War I, labor unions and socialist principles were attacked vehemently by many countries and the 1920s were marked by a decline in worker’s rights.35 However, women began playing an increasing role in the labor market marked by a 1200% decrease in the gender wage gap in countries like , , and Canada.36 State-sponsored labor programs, popularized in the 1930s following the Great Depression, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps in the United States provided jobs and worker’s compensation in addition to social security.37 The notion of social

30 "T. Robert Malthus's Principle of Population Explained," Faculty.rsu.edu, , accessed December 30, 2016. 31 "New World Labor Systems-Europe," Library.cofc.edu, , accessed December 30, 2016. 32 "Working Conditions in Factories," Bbc.co.uk, , accessed December 30, 2016. 33 "History of Workplace Safety in the United States, 1880-1970," Eh.net, , accessed December 30, 2016. 34 "Socialisms, African," Encyclopedia.com, , accessed December 30, 2016. 35 "The Red Scare," Law2.umkc.edu, , accessed December 30, 2016. 36 "Changing Lives: Gender Expectations and Roles During and After World War One," Bl.uk, 2013, , accessed December 30, 2016. 37 History.com Staff, "New Deal," History.com, 2009, , accessed December 30, 2016.

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security became extremely popular after World War II in addition to establishing minimum wage laws.38 With the prominence of globalization in the post-Cold War Era, one of the benefits is increased distribution of wealth among developing countries. Despite this, one of the challenges to true income equality lies in how each country deals with revenues and worker labor laws. Such income disparity is not only present in those developing nations,39 but in Europe and the United States as well.40 To this day, the wage gap persists as the most prevailing reason for systemic poverty.

Current Situation

The global wage gap is currently trending in an unsustainable direction since the gap increases consistently across the globe. If one takes a closer look, the wage is decreasing in Latin American countries, but there is an increase in the wage gap in Asian and Eastern European countries. One of the reasons stems from stagnation in the average wages of workers. While the extremely well off keep making more and more money, the average laborers wages remain unchanged. While this has been an issue since the late 1980s, the Great Recession of 2008, however, increased the disparity and the world economy still has not recovered.41 Another reason contributing to the increasing wage gap originates from emerging markets. Many of the industries in emerging markets involve a large amount of education, making it increasingly difficult for average workers to find employment. The only people that have the qualifications to get these jobs are already in the top ten percent in income, further expanding the existing wage gap.42 Furthermore, in many of these countries, there has been a disappearance of the middle class. 43 The middle class is disappearing because there is a change in allocation of labor for these countries. Additionally, many people across the globe are having issues accessing financial institutions. If one cannot use financial institutions, then they are unable to have access

38 "Minimum Wage," New World Encyclopedia, , accessed December 30, 2016. 39 Nancy Birdsall, Income Distribution: Effects on Growth and Development, working paper no. 118 (2007), , accessed December 30, 2016. 40 Drew DeSilver, "U.S. Income Inequality, on Rise for Decades, is Now Highest Since 1928," Pewresearch.org, 2013, , accessed December 30, 2016. 41 International Labor Organization, Global Wage Report: Wages and Income Inequalities, report, 2015, , accessed December 30, 2016. 42 Ibid 43 Ibid

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to loans or create a savings account. This can create a cycle of poverty where a family cannot buy a home or start a business for themselves.44 However, some countries are acknowledging the issue and are making attempts to address the issues of wage gaps. For example, in the European Union, the Commission of Recommendations has created the EU Gender Equality Recast Act where no employer can discriminate pay based on gender. Since closing the gender wage gap can help close the global wage gap.45

Analysis

Gender Wage Gap: When analyzing the global wage gap, it is particularly important to note that gender remains a considerable factor in its growth. The statistics show from a UN report that while women overall are paid less than men, they typically work longer hours. More importantly, many women that work in the world have informal jobs, such as street vendors, that do not give them a contracted salary, and the true issue with informal jobs is that it is hard for these workers to voice issues with wages or working condition. Some countries have laws in place that hinder the ability of women to be able to find jobs. For example, some countries forbid women from having passports. Additionally, studies show that countries that pay women a more equitable wage have better health, per-capita income, education and a faster growing economy.46 Thus, by improving the wage gap of men and women globally, the well-being of the entire community and the global wage gap can be improved as well.

Microfinancing: Microfinancing is a newer method in economic development and involves granting small loans and saving accounts to businesses and entrepreneurs in under developed countries that would not usually have the means to afford a classic loan from a bank. These “banks” are normally deposits collectors who collect money from families to start up unofficial savings accounts for a short-term period, or the “banks” act as unofficial lenders (they receive their funds from for profit and nonprofit groups) giving out loans worth a very small amount of money. While proponents believe that it can help break the poverty cycle and promote economic development,47 critics, however,

44 Era Dabla-Norris et al., Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality: A Global Perspective (2015), , accessed December 30, 2016. 45 "What is the EU Doing?," Ec.europa.eu, , accessed December 30, 2016. 46 Jenni Klugman and Laura Tyson, "Closing the Gender Gap, According to the UN," Weforum.org, March 24, 2016, , accessed December 30, 2016. 47 "What is Microfinance?," Business News Daily, 2013, , accessed December 30, 2016.

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believe that it does not work because the microfinancing system is not regulated. In addition, much of the money donated becomes lost through convoluted financing systems. Furthermore, studies have also shown that microfinancing can be ineffective and many of lenders and deposit collectors only work with families that do not need the help of microfinancing, while those in most need are left uninvolved. Still, microfinancing is a course of action that should be discussed.48

Education: Education is vital to stopping poverty and improving the skill level of workers, which lead to better wages. Educational issues are difficult for some countries to fix because the education program of these countries has underlying systematic issues. While others stem from a lack of learning materials or citizens with inability to pay for school. Nevertheless, developed countries also have issues with their education system.49 Many communities in developed countries fall under the radar and have the same issues that communities in a developing country would have.50 Therefore, educational issues in both developing and developed countries exist as causes of the global wage gap crisis.

Labor Unions: Labor Unions have been around since the 19th century and have always been a controversial topic51 as they allow many workers to have the voice of one. Before unions, a laborer would have never been able to confront their employer with grievances nor ask for fair pay. By having a union, workers are able to collectively bargain for a fair wage, safety precautions and other issue that they might want. This can help the decrease the wage gap because workers that were not under formal contracts or being paid correctly can be given fair wages. On the other hand, unions can cause problems too. Unions can increase productivity, but they can also make a company go to a complete standstill, sometimes even destroying the company in the process, when they believe that their needs are being unmet. Furthermore, being a part of a union can make it more difficult for employees to be fired even if they should be, and promotions might become more difficult for employees that are not in the inner circle. Lastly, there can be membership

48 "Microfinance's Latest Challenge: Cutting Back on Over-indebtedness Among Its Poorest Clients," Knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu, , accessed December 30, 2016, 49 "10 Barriers to Education Around the World." Global Citizen. Accessed December 30, 2016. 50 Eduardo Porter, "Education Gap Between Rich and Poor Is Growing Wider," The New York Times, 2015, , accessed December 30, 2016. 51 "The History of Labor Unions & Fight for Fairness at Work," Unionplus.org, , accessed December 30,

2016,

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fees for unions, which can be unaffordable especially for workers and laborers in developing countries.52 Thus, labor unions pose as a very viable option.

Conclusion

The global wage gap cannot just be solved by one program. There are many different factors that cause wage disparity. Clearly, the gender gap is one of the main issues and looking for solutions to that will help fix two problems at once. Furthermore, microfinancing programs and labor unions are just two direct ways to intervene, but the ideas are not without faults. Moreover, the committee has to take into account indirect causes of the wage disparity like faults in the education systems of countries.

Questions to Consider

 Should the UN intervene to help close the gender wage gap? If so how?  Is microfinancing a viable option to help close the global wage gap?  What programs can be put in place or what already existing programs can be revised to better prepare children to become contributing members of the global economy?  Should the UN incentives countries to promote labor unions?  What other incentives can be created to help lessen wage disparity?

52 "10 Essential Pros and Cons of Unions," Nlcatp.org, , accessed December 30, 2016.

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