Spring 2022

Iowa High School Model United Nations

ECOSOC

Eliminating Plastic in Seas and Oceans

Nathan Behrends(behrenad@uni.edu)

Background:

Plastic in our oceans has been a difficult problem to address for a while now. From our homes to our workplaces to beaches, plastic is everywhere in our daily lves and comes in different shapes and sizes. In 2010 scientists believed that there were about 8 million metric tons of plastic in our oceans. During the 2017 international coastal cleanup, much of the plastic that was picked up was food wrappers and beverage bottles. By 2050 there will be more plastic than marine life in our oceans.

This has been a problem for decades. After World War 2 plastic became more of the norm in society and used in most places. During the late 1960s and 70s plastic became more of a problem and scientists began noticing the different effects of plastic. The thing with plastic is that it never goes away because it just breaks down into microplastic, which aquatic life could ingest.

What has been done/Past UN actions:

In early 2017 the United Nations proposed a war on ocean plastic waste and proposed to eliminate marine litter such as single-use plastics. When this was made clear during the Economist World Ocean Summit, in Bali, the social media hashtag, #cleanseas, arose. During this conference, 10 countries joined with their own set program to reduce ocean plastic waste.

In late 2021 the UN Environment Program(UNEP) made the statement that plastic pollution in the oceans could possibly double by the year 2030. This problem produces problems for health, the economy, and most importantly the climate. This organization proposes solutions such as switching to renewable energy sources, subsides removal, and more talk around the reduction of plastics.

Possible solutions

Since this issue is widespread across the globe, there can be multiple solutions, and with that come multiple nations with their own different solutions. A possible solution that could work across the globe is the use of bans, especially on single-use plastics and bottles. This solution could work because each country enforces this ban as the country chooses. There is also the possibility of finding new solutions to waste management.

Questions to consider

1. How would your country tackle this issue? What is your country's past experience with this type of problem?
2. What has your country brought to the table on dealing with plastics in the ocean at any UN conference?
3. How can the UN be more efficient in discussing this issue and coming up with solutions?
4. How can the United nations work better to enforce a rule/ situation that can better each country in its own way

Sources:

• How to Reduce Plastic and Other Ocean Pollution Simultaneously

• https://www.wri.org/insights/how-reduce-plastic-and-other-ocean-pollution-simultaneously

• 7 Solutions To Ocean Plastic Pollution

• https://www.oceanicsociety.org/resources/7-ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollution-today/

• UN Declares War on Ocean Plastic

• https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-declares-war-ocean-plastic-0

• Plastic pollution on course to double by 2030

• https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103692

• A Brief History of the Plastic Crisis

• https://www.4ocean.com/blogs/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-plastic-crisis

• A Guide to Plastic in the Ocean

• https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/marinedebris/plastics-in-the-ocean.html