Delegation: The Russian Federation

Committee: Environment
The Question of: Finite Earth

Along with the increasing economic activity in formerly undisrupted natural habitats
and as technology transgresses new boundaries, it is only natural that we are witnessing a
change that should make us all realise that the Earth is finite and that sooner or later we will
all find ourselves lacking greatly in resources as well as nature will be severely damaged by
our common actions.Subsequently, t is vital that we acknowledge the treath and act together,
united by international cooperation, in order to slow the process of change or even halt it, for
it is certain that our economic and social development has been doing irreparable harm over
the last few decades.
The Russian Federation takes great interest in finding solutions to this problem and is
deeply concerned that, possibly, its own industrial activity might have caused an
environmental disaster to emerge quietly, slowly dooming humanity to degradation and slow
extinction. Russia's agreement to several plans of action, such as the Agenda 21, as well as
several regulations issued by the Russian government to ensure the gradual shift to a more
sustainable development of the natural resources that the Federation is so rich in. For instance,
in the 1990s, Russia carried out a series of political reforms in the field of environmental
protection by adopting several new federal laws and policy initiatives, including the resolution
to apply economic instruments, the policy of decentralization and devolution of powers to the
level of the constituents (regions), as well as raising public awareness and wider participation
in addressing environmental problems. After long discussions on this matter, the president
issued a decree no. 440 on April 1, 1996, approving "The concept of transition of the Russian
Federation towards sustainable development". Thus, Russia has begun the implementation
phase of sustainable development in the new market economy conditions. Also, official
figures of the government have declared over the years that Russia is ready to make a big step
towards development in the area of saving the environment and preserving natural resources.
The president himself, Mr. Putin declared that "In the coming decade, we need to change the
situation.A fair system of society and its economy is the main condition of our sustainable
development in these years" which only stands as proof to the fact that this country is deeply
concerned about the future of this Planet.
However, as a country with great economic interests that surely is abundant in natural
resources, Russia is against the drastic measures suggested by some, for instance,
transforming several regions on Earth into preserved habitats ( take the Arctic for example,
where Russia has great territorial claims). It is known for a fact that Russia suggests we
should progress, but with small steps, not rushing, so as to avoid making drastic changes that
we might later regret. We support the idea of making little changes that will have a great
effect as time passes. It's with littesteps taken by us all that we are to move on to a better
future. As most of the black carbon in the atmosphere comes from planes, banning some

flights and reducing their number would be a simple, viable solution that would
significantlyreduce air pollution, giving us more time to come up with other long-term
resolutions.
Russia would be utterly pleased to be involved in the process of changing The Earth
and preserving its wildlife, starting with the Arctic.We can no longer ignore the fact that our
collective actions may havetriggered irreversible consequences for us all. Denial stopped
being an option after human pressure started tooverwhelm nature. Now, it's time for us to act,
trying to mend what we've broken, consciously or not.