Institute for Domestic & International Affairs, Inc.
United Nations Environment Programme Pollution Prevention and Control Director: Kelli Beard
Š 2009 Institute for Domestic & International Affairs, Inc. (IDIA) This document is solely for use in preparation for Philadelphia Model United Nations 2009. Use for other purposes is not permitted without the express written consent of IDIA. For more information, please write us at idiainfo@idia.net
Policy Dilemma ______________________________________________________________ 1 Chronology __________________________________________________________________ 3 1957: Chelyabinsk Nuclear Disaster __________________________________________________ 3 1986: The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster________________________________________________ 3 1989: The Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe ______________________________________ 4 1991: Establishment of Independent Republics _________________________________________ 5 1993: Press Release of the Kara Sea Arctic Waste Dump_________________________________ 6 1997: The Kyoto Protocol __________________________________________________________ 6 2004: Leaded gasoline phased out of the market ________________________________________ 7
Actors and Interests ___________________________________________________________ 8 The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe______________________ 8 Poland __________________________________________________________________________ 9 Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development ____________________________ 10
Possible Causes _____________________________________________________________ 10 Projections and Implications___________________________________________________ 13 Conclusion _________________________________________________________________ 15 For Further Reading _________________________________________________________ 16 Works Cited ____________________________________________________________________ 17 Works Consulted ________________________________________________________________ 19
PhilMUN 2009
1
Policy Dilemma Central and Eastern European (CEE) nations suffer from complete environmental degradation due to a rapid industrialization during the communist control of the east with no concern for the consequences of heavy industry on the environment.
Post-
communism, heavy industry grew quickly around central urban centers in Eastern and Central Europe in an attempt to build the economy. Prior to their break from Soviet Russia, Central and Eastern European countries had planned economies. In order to gain entrance to the European Union post-communism, CEE nations have transitioned their economies to the market economy system.1 Because the economies of CEE countries were unstable at the point of rapid industrialization, the environment was literally ignored in the process of converting to a market economy. The Commonwealth of Independent States, nations that made up the prior Soviet Union that banded together postcommunism, had the single goal of production at the cost of environmental degradation.2 As a result, pollution across CEE is endemic. Heavy metal industries deposited wastes into landfills without precautions, waste sites accumulate without meeting contemporary standards, solid industrial waste is left out in open dumps, and the mining industry contributed to air, water and soil contamination. The main problem with pollution in Central and Eastern Europe are the regulations for pollution control and prevention. While restrictions are in place to control the amount of pollution in CEE, the regulations are loosely followed. In most countries, designated measures to clean up pollution are too costly, and since regulations are relaxed, industries continue to pollute. Health problems are at risk when pollution is left unchecked. Since it is not costeffective to follow pollution restrictions, and because the governments on CEE are too relaxed on their pollution control policies, public health suffers. According to the World Health Organization, “particulate matter [such as ozone and nitrogen dioxide] in 1
“Transition to a Market Economy in Eastern Europe.� 18 March, 2003. http://www.jica.go.jp/english/evaluation/report/pdf/2002_0111.pdf. (accessed 18 September 2008). 2 J. Jeffrey Peirce, et al. Environmental Pollution and Control. Woburn, Massachusetts: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998.
PhilMUN 2009
2
concentrations common in Newly Independent States (NIS) cities contributes to significant health effects including an increase in mortality.�3 Since the economies of CEE do not have the capabilities of purchasing new pollution control technology, or using other methods to reach government emission standards, concentration of particulate matter in the air is causing severe health consequences. Additionally, the increase in pollution in CEE leads to an impacted environment. By adding to global pollution numbers, the amount of harmful substances in the air depletes the ozone in our atmosphere, contributing to global warming. A solution to the problem of pollution in CEE is the implementation of pollution permits. Pollution permits work by setting a cap on the total number of emissions of a given pollutant allowed in a geographic area. A certain number of permits are issued onto the market amongst pollutant emitters. These permits can be traded amongst the pollutant emitters. Those who find that their pollutant reduction costs are low may choose to sell their permits, while those with high pollutant reduction costs prefer the permits that allow a certain percentage of pollutants into the air.4 Tradable emission permits offers two benefits. The first is that tradable emission permits allow for low cost pollution control that respects the environment. Additionally, individuals are encouraged to consider the social costs of pollution because the price of emission permits tends to be reflected in the price of final goods and services.5 Another solution to pollution prevention and control are for the governments of CEE to implement emissions fees. Emissions fees generate revenue for the government by taxing the amount of extra pollution a pollutant emitter produces.
The revenue
collected can be used to ameliorate pollution.6 However, emission fees and fines are often not collected or enforced in CEE because companies are already struggling with
3
“Air Quality and Health in Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia.� World Health Organization. 24 April, 2006. http://www.euro.who.int/air/activities/20050419_4. (accessed 18 September, 2008). 4 Michael A. Toman, ed., Pollution Abatement Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe. Washington D.C.: Resources for the Future, 1994. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid.
PhilMUN 2009
3
economic restructuring.7 To better enforce emission fees in CEE, coupling the taxes with the emission permit incentives gives struggling nations the ability to preserve the environment, produce goods and services, and stabilize the economy.
Chronology 1957: Chelyabinsk Nuclear Disaster The Chelyabinsk-40 nuclear complex in located east of the city of Kyshtym in Russia on the east side of the Urals mountains.8 Chelyabinsk-40 was the first Soviet Plutonium production complex. In this region, three nuclear disasters have occurred and the complex systematically dumped radioactive waste into the Techa River for over six years. In 1957, the cooling system of a radioactive waste containment unit malfunctioned and exploded, spreading two million curies throughout the province of Chelyabinsk, exposing radiation to a little over a quarter million people.9 The tanks were immediately immersed in and cooled by water from the local Lake Kyzyltash, but the monitoring system failed inside one of the tanks, and the waste dried out. The explosion at the Chelyabinsk-40 complex was equivalent to about seventy to one hundred tones of TNT. About twenty million curies was ejected from the factory into the surrounding environment, creating air, water, and land pollution problems for the surrounding region. This event is important in Central and Eastern European environmental history because prior to the explosion of the Chelyabinsk-40 complex there was no management of radioactive waste.10 Nuclear waste was simply dumped into the Techa River, and as a result, pollution levels had greatly increased and health in the area had vastly declined.
1986: The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster In April 1986, operators at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine were conducting tests concerning the turbines of the Nuclear Reactor. When the power output was increasing the unstable rates, the operator went to shut down the reactor. However, 7
Ibid. “Chelyabinsk.� http://www.wentz.net/radiate/cheyla/cheldis.html/ (accessed 31 October 2008). 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. 8
PhilMUN 2009
4
the design was flawed during construction, and a power surge caused the system to break, releasing gases that ignited. Along with the explosion, burning graphite at the site released 1200 tons of radioactive material into the surrounding environment. Deposits of radioactivity from the air settled on the surface, which was then carried into surrounding bodies of water via runoff. Making its way from the sediment to plant life and eventually to aquatic life, the ecosystem was saturated with radioactivity. Plants and crops nearby also picked up radioactivity from the air, which manifested into both soil and grazing animals. The ecosystem as a whole was subjected to both physical destruction, like the “red forests” named for the color of the pines that turned ginger and died, and mammal defects, present in cows that contracted thyroid disease and were either stunted in growth or died.11 The poorly designed Chernobyl Nuclear Plant indicates hasty industrialization of Soviet territory during the cold war, but also a lack of attention to safety in the period at the end of the cold war. Post-Chernobyl, more attention is being paid potentially harmful industries, but pollution output in industrial hotspots is still a problem left unaddressed.
1989: The Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, sparking vast revolutionary change across Central and Eastern Europe.12 For CEE, a 40-year period of a dictatorship communist rule had ended.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last general secretary of the
communist party of the Soviet Union, assumed power in 1985 and enacted political and economic reform policies. He abandoned the “Brezhnev Doctrine,” which authorized the use of military force to preserve communism within the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.13 Instead, Gorbachev encouraged leaders within the Soviet Union to find other means of garnering support. In Hungary, the government created a multiparty system and competitive elections. Poland also held competitive elections for the first time since 11
“Chernobyl Accident.” World Nuclear Association. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html. 29 July, 2008. 12 “Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1989.” http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/rd/17672.htm/ (accessed 16 October 2008) 13 Ibid.
PhilMUN 2009
5
the Second World War, and the first non-communist party was formed in Poland since 1948. Protests in Czechoslovakia led to the Czech communist party to relinquish control to the reformers in what was dubbed the “Velvet Revolution.”14 The communist parties in Romania, Bulgaria, and Armenia were overthrown by popular protest. As Central and Eastern European nations gained control of their own governments, the crux of communism crumbled, allowing reform within the Soviet Union itself. Communism finally ended in 1991 when Gorbachev was forced to cede power to Boris Yeltsin. Until the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and Russia, pollution was not considered to be dangerous for the environment; it was a symbol of power and growth for the Marxist regime.15
1991: Establishment of Independent Republics Right before Boris Yeltsin assumed power of Russia, Gorbachev organized what used to be the satellite countries of the Soviet Union into sovereign but loosely federated states. Under Yeltsin, the independent states of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Belarus established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).16 Following suit, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania established independence in 1991. One reason for the dissolution of the Soviet Union is economic stagnation.17 The heavy emphasis on industry meant neglect for infrastructure and inefficient and wasteful agriculture.18 Additionally, neglecting the consumer sector diminished worker incentives; few goods were available for purchase and workers lost the desire to make money.19 During this period of economic stagnation, support for the communist regime faded.20 After the CIS formed, industry still played a major role in the economy, and stagnation still continued. Because the economy stayed unstable, pollution levels did not decrease from the 14
Ibid. Michael Tennesen, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Global Warming (New York: Alpha Books, 1994) 96. 16 “Dissolution of the USSR and the Establishment of Independent Republics, 1991” http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/pcw/108229.htm/ (accessed 16 October 2008). 17 Ibid. 18 Robert W. Strayer, Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse? (M.E. Sharpe, Inc, 1998) 59. 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 15
PhilMUN 2009
6
transition from the Soviet Union to independent republics. Pollutant emitters could not afford to change their factories to reduce pollutants, so the problem persisted.
1993: Press Release of the Kara Sea Arctic Waste Dump In 1993, the pollution spotlight focused on the Arctic Waste Dump in the Kara Sea. For over 50 years, Russia has used arctic waste dumps for disposing of submarine reactors, nuclear fuel, and other general waste.21 The Yablokov report was released by the Russian Federation in 1993 and detailed the waste dumping in the Arctic and North Pacific Ocean.
One of the sources of contamination is water pollution from the
northward flowing Siberian River, carrying waste from a major Russian nuclear weapons site.22 To clean up all of the arctic waste dumps will cost the Russian Federation an estimated USD $4 billion.23
1997: The Kyoto Protocol The United Nations took action against the rising climate change due to pollutants in 1994 with the Convention on Climate Change.
The United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change represented an international treaty to consider the options for reducing harmful pollutants from contributing to global warming.24 As a direct result of this committee, the Kyoto Protocol was drafted. The Kyoto Protocol places targets for pollution emission standards for 37 industrialized nations and the European community.25 The Kyoto Protocol is an important consensus among the European community because it commits signatories to meet pollution control limits.
In order to introduce cost-
effective measures of pollution reduction, the Kyoto Protocol designed three marketbased mechanisms. First, any party may transfer to or acquire emission reduction units to
21
Nuclear Wastes in the Arctic: An Analysis of Arctic and Other Regional Impacts from Soviet Nuclear Contamination. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995). 22 Ibid. 23 Jorn Madslien “Nuclear waste poses Arctic threat.” 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6058302.stm/ (accessed 16 October, 2008). 24 “Essential Background” http://unfccc.int/essential_background/items/2877.php/ (accessed 16 October 2008) 25 “Kyoto Protocol.” http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php/ (accessed 16 October 2008)
PhilMUN 2009
7
another party in the Joint Implementation system.26 An emission reduction unit represents the equivalent of one ton of carbon dioxide. This system allows for technology transfer as well as emission reduction credit transfers. Second, the clean development mechanism helps developing countries to achieve sustainable development via foreign investments. Third, emission trading allows for the redistribution of the allowed amount of emissions from one party to another.27 One country may have lower emissions of carbon dioxide, and the emission trading system allows that country to transfer credits to another country with greater carbon dioxide emissions. The Kyoto Protocol represents an international effort to reduce pollution levels worldwide that contribute to global warming and climate change.
2004: Leaded gasoline phased out of the market In 2004, Bulgaria became the last CEE nation to phase out leaded gasoline. Bulgaria developed a national action plan in 1998 to begin the process of phasing out leaded gasoline, starting with the introduction of economic incentives to consumers by offering unleaded gasoline twenty per cent lower in price.28 Additionally, import cars which could not use unleaded gasoline were restricted, allowing the market for vehicles to gradually switch from leaded to unleaded fuel. From 1998-2000, Bulgaria modernized their gasoline refineries and raised campaigns about the harmful effects of leaded gasoline on the environment. The last step in Bulgaria’s action plan was to prohibit the import and production of leaded gasoline, so eventually the stock of leaded gasoline would be phased out of the market, effectively removing leaded gasoline from the nation.29 Bulgaria was the last of the CEE nations to implement action plans meant to phase out leaded gasoline, and as a result, zero Central and Eastern European nations use
26
Radmilo Pesic “Flexible Mechanisms Under the Kyoto Protocol in Central and Eastern Europe.” 2003. http://pdc.ceu.hu/archive/00001912/01/pesic.pdf/ (accessed 16 October 2008) 27 Ibid. 28 “Current strategies for the phase-out of lead in the SILAQ countries.” http://www.rec.org/REC/Publications/LeadOut/chapter54.html/ (accessed 23 October 2008). 29 Ibid.
PhilMUN 2009 leaded gasoline.30
8
Leaded gasoline in Central and Eastern Europe was a major
contributing factor of air pollution. Coupled with the polluting effects of lead in gasoline, many European cars lacked modern pollution control equipment such as the catalytic converter.31 By having polluting vehicles on the road, air pollution levels in Central and Eastern Europe were among the highest in the world. After phasing out leaded gasoline, pollution control for vehicles was achieved.
Actors and Interests The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC), founded in 1990 by the United States, Hungary, and the European Commission, is a nonprofit international organization that assists with environmental programs in CEE. REC’s mission statement is to promote cooperation between non-governmental organizations, governments, and businesses by supporting the free exchange of information and public participation in environmental decision-making.32 The REC’s charter was signed by both the European Commission and twenty-nine participating countries. Its head office is located in Hungary, with seventeen branches scattered throughout Central and Eastern Europe.33 The REC is organized into seven programs: capacity building, climate change, environmental law, environmental policy, information, Non-Governmental Organization support, and public participation.34
The REC’s ultimate goal is to cooperate with
governments to clean up the environment and work towards sustainable development. One important environmental aspect the REC focuses on is cleaner fuels and vehicles.35 By modernizing the motor vehicle industry and using cleaner fuels, the amount of 30
“Central and Eastern Europe Leaded Gasoline Use.” March 2007. http://www.unep.org/pcfv/PDF/MatrixCEELeadMarch07.pdf/ (accessed 23 October, 2008). 31 Michael A. Toman, ed., Pollution Abatement Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe. (Washington D.C.: Resources for the Future, 1994.) 3. 32 “The REC’s Mission.” http://www.rec.org/REC/Introduction/whatis.html/ (accessed 23 October 2008). 33 Ibid. 34 Ibid. 35 “Clean Fuels and Vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe.” http://www.rec.org/rec/programs/pcfv/ (accessed 23 October 2008).
PhilMUN 2009
9
pollutants entering the air would be severely decreased, contributing to a worldwide focus on emission reduction.
Poland Poland is a prominent example for pollution prevention and control. Post-Soviet occupation, Poland experienced a vast hyperinflation of over five hundred per cent in 1990 as well as a large foreign debt.36 In order to help restructure the economy, Poland sought to restructure and privatize heavy industry.37 In May 1991 the Ministry of Environmental Protection in Poland developed the National Environmental Policy. Their reason for the new policy: The interrelationship between the state of the environment and the health status of the population ensures public support for sustainable development. A much lower life expectancy, excessive morbidity, development of environmental diseases and reduced physical and intellectual fitness of the population, as compared to developed countries, has prompted a heightened awareness of the issues. It can be assumed that every individual wishes to live a long and healthy life, and to be convinced that the next generation will grow under healthy living conditions. The awareness of these interrelationships stimulates voluntary action of society for the defense and improvement of the natural environment and thus overall living conditions.38
Poland’s optimal outcome for pollution prevention and control is to improve environment and health conditions without suffering a major economic crisis. Enforcing pollution prevention is much more difficult in Central and Eastern European nations because of the structure of the government, so privatization of all CEE nations is essential to ensuring the government can govern over pollution regulation while not being party to ignoring its own rules. Poland’s motivations are to keep their economy intact while this change occurs.
Compromise
and
negotiation
is
possible
between
non-Governmental
Organizations that can help Poland with pollution clean up. Any cooperation with United Nations pollution requirements can only be possible when the economic restructuring of Poland allows for proper pollution control measures to exist without making industry bankrupt. 36
“History.” Ministry of Foreign Affairs. http://www.poland.gov.pl/The,Economy,369.html. (accessed 31 October 2008). 37 Ibid. 38 Ministry of Environmental Protection. “National Environmental Policy of Poland.” http://www.mos.gov.pl/mos/publikac/environment.html#p1. (accessed 31 October 2008).
PhilMUN 2009
10
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD) mission is to bring together governments of countries that are committed to the market economy from around the world in order to support sustainable economic growth, boost unemployment, raise living standards, maintain financial stability, assist in other countries’ economic development, and contribute to growth in world trade.39 Although the OECD does not directly contribute to pollution control in Central and Eastern Europe, it is essential to providing economic stability to CEE, which is one of the base problems for implementing effective pollution control strategies. Of the thirty member counties, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic are involved with OECD. Russia, Estonia, and Slovenia attend membership talks.
By providing economic
sustainability to member nations, OECD also ensures the use of science and technology to cut waste and pollution.40 One important achievement of the OECD is the PolluterPays Principle, where those responsible for introducing pollution into the environment are held fiscally accountable for cleaning it up.41 The optimal outcome for the OECD is to see full cooperation and transparency between member nations in order to help boost and stabilize the economy. By achieving this goal, economic stability will allow for a more effective means for existing pollution regulation and maintenance to operate within Central and Eastern European governments.
Possible Causes One of the main sources of pollution is the economic policy of the Soviet Union, which led to an increase in industry with no regards for the environment. When Stalin took control of the Soviet Union in the late 1920’s, he adopted a policy of rapidly transforming the agricultural land into modern industry.42 His intention in doing so was
39
“About OECD.” http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36734103_1_1_1_1_1,00.html/ (accessed 31 October 2008.) 40 Ibid. 41 Ibid. 42 “Past Priorities.” http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12707.html. (accessed 31 October 2008).
PhilMUN 2009
11
that if the Soviet Union could become a strong, centrally planned industrial power rivaling the west, the country could be protected from outside military intervention.43 In the First Five-Year Plan, Stalin focused on the expansion of heavy industry and agriculture collectivization. Agriculture collectivization was Stalin’s idea that since the agriculture was barely mechanized, the only amount of crop produced was enough for the local area. To update agriculture, Stalin gathered small farms into large ones called collectives, and because of the increase in size, machinery could be used to efficiently produce crops. In theory, with more food being grown and distributed, Stalin’s industrial factories would not go hungry. Thus, collectivization was a tool to allow for the success of heavy industry expansion.44 Industry targets were exceeded, and launched the Soviet Union into the second five year plan.45 This plan was focused on heavy industry. Notably, the chemical metallurgy, and steel industries increased. The third five year plan occurred during the second World War, and industry growth increased twelve to thirteen per cent annually. This can be attributed to the need for armament, tank, and weapons resources, which needed increased industry across the entire Soviet Union. These three plans, ranging from 1928-1941, generally demonstrated an increase in industry over agricultural resources. While such a change was necessary for the modernization of the Soviet Union in order to compete with the west, little was done to protect the environment. Factories were created with no regards to the surroundings, and nothing was done to ensure the health of the surrounding public. This problem carried on until the late twentieth century: Workers constantly work amidst filth, noise, and toxic fumes. In Leningrad’s Sevkabel’ [sic] cable works the air in some shops becomes so polluted the workers are ordered to stop. At the Cherepovets iron and steel combine, shops are said to be so dirty that crane operators are unable to see their hoists… In the worst smoke stack towns of the Urals or the Kuzbass factories annually emit from 600 to 1,500 kilograms of pollutants per resident. During Gorbachev’s visit to Nizhnii Tagil, near Sverdlovsk, in April 1990, workers complained that the sky was never blue, but red or yellow.46
43
Ibid. “Collectivization of Agriculture in Russia.” http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/collectivisation.htm. (accessed 31 October 2008). 45 “Past Priorities.” http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12707.html. (accessed 31 October 2008). 46 Donald A. Filtzer. Soviet Workers and the Collapse of Perestroika. Cambridge University Press: UK, 1994. 44
PhilMUN 2009
12
From the time of the first three five year plans past Gorbachev’s visit to a factory near Sverdlovsk, the pollution levels had gone unchecked in the Soviet Union. Aside from the extreme health problems associated with the above described factory conditions, the environmental impact of allowing this amount of air pollution is one of the root causes of a poor environment in Central and Eastern Europe. Another major cause of pollution in Central and Eastern Europe is a lack of effective pollution control regulation. The application of pollution control policies such as tradable emissions permits and emissions fees represent an economic problem in Central and Eastern European nations. However, because the economy of CEE is still subjected to government intervention in state-run enterprises, and these enterprises are among the most polluting in CEE, such pollution control policies are usually ignored.47 Additionally, the general application of these economic policies to control and prevent pollution meets obstacles with the state of monitoring pollution levels.
Inadequate
monitoring, where regulators who are supposed to specify the amounts of pollution individual polluters should cut but do not supply that information, leads to a lapse in communication between where the pollution control policies should be enforced and which areas need the most attention.48 A third major cause of pollution in Central and Eastern Europe is a little enforcement of pre-existing pollution regulation. In the transition from being a part of the Soviet Union to an individual nation, Poland attempted to charge emission fees with the Ordinance on the Protection of the Air Against Pollution.49 This ordinance provided Poland with standards on overall air quality and pollution sources. While this was an important improvement in communication between where the pollution regulation needed to occur and the government which was supposed to enforce it, the standards did not specify the types of technologies that should be used to reduce pollution.50 As a result, 47
Michael A. Toman, ed., Pollution Abatement Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe. Washington D.C.: Resources for the Future, 1994. 48 Ibid. 49 Ibid. 50 Ibid.
PhilMUN 2009
13
polluters in Poland experienced flexibility in mitigating their air pollution, and generally increased their cost-effectiveness of pollution control.51 In an environment where the economy is already dealing with industrial expansion, little money can be allocated to a more expensive pollution control program, so little enforcement is done on pre-existing pollution regulation.
Projections and Implications If industry in Central and Eastern Europe continues to expand without proper enforcement of sound pollution regulation policies, the environment will succumb to pollution levels similar to those of the Soviet Union. When air pollution and water pollution increase the human health population decreases. Among the most prominent effects of pollution are poisoned urban air, suspended particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and ozone.52 Particulate matter is particles from pollutant industries that are not filtered as they exit the smokestack. They are responsible for contributing to unhealthy air that causes respiratory problems and health disorders.53
Coupled with toxic urban air,
particulates need to be filtered as part of routine pollution control regulation on industry. An increase in sulfur dioxide contributes to acid rain, which forms from coal burning and oil reacting with water and oxygen in the air which eventually precipitate. Acid rain is one of the developing problems associated with increased pollution, and if our pollution levels are not curbed, acid rain will increase, destroying everything from the environment to modern cities. An umbrella effect of pollution is the threat of global warming. Manmade pollution has contributed to the likelihood that the earth is getting much hotter.54 Emissions from pollutant factories are being trapped in the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect that is systematically warming up our atmosphere. Beyond health problems, pollution emissions are causing global environment problems that are already irreversible. Without effective pollution prevention and control in polluting Central and 51
Ibid. Shweta Mehra. “Pollution Problem.” 2002. http://www.essortment.com/all/pollutionproble_rmnb.htm. (accessed 31 October 2008). 53 Ibid. 54 “Pollution adding to Severe Global Warming.” CNN. 26 October, 2000. 52
PhilMUN 2009
14
Eastern European factories that is routinely enforced and subjected to review, pollution levels will continue to exist in industrial hotspots throughout the CEE landscape, poisoning urban air quality and emitting dangerous chemicals into our earth’s atmosphere.
PhilMUN 2009
15
Conclusion Because of a lack of enforcement in existing pollution regulation methods, the environment in Central and Eastern Europe has been subjected to extreme pollution since the implementation of heavy industry in the Soviet Union. During the transition to a market economy, CEE nations have virtually ignored the effects of pollution on the environment in order to industrially catch up to the West. As a result, pollution levels have drastically increased, leading to basic health complications as well as severe environmental catastrophe.
Coupled with environmental disasters such as the
Chelyabinsk-40 explosion and the Kara Arctic Sea dump, CEE needs a more effective means of implementing and enforcing pollution prevention and control policies. NonGovernmental Organizations such as the OECD and REC can work with governments in order to achieve economic stability and successful pollution abatement tactics, as long as governments are willing to make the full commitment to cleaning up polluting industries and seeking out polluters. Without proper restrictions and enforcement, pollution levels will increase, causing severe health problems, more environmental disasters, and contributing to global warming.
PhilMUN 2009
16
For Further Reading Nuclear Wastes in the Arctic: An Analysis of Arctic and Other Regional Impacts from Soviet Nuclear Contamination. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995). This book details several nuclear waste dumps in the Russian arctic, detailing the contents of each dump site and the effect on the environment. There are several good passages on other environmental hazards, such as the 1986 Chernobyl accident and water pollution. Toman, Michael A., ed., Pollution Abatement Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe. (Washington D.C.: Resources for the Future, 1994) This book edited by Michael Toman includes essays that deal with pollution abatement strategies on a variety of topics ranging from motor vehicles to economic policies that could potentially combat the high levels of pollution. It is a good selection of works that deal directly with the problem on pollution using statistics and facts. Zhechkov, Ruslan. Status Report on Clean Fuel and Vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe. (Szentendre, Hungary: The Regional Environmental Center for Eastern and Central Europe, 2006) http://www.rec.org/rec/programs/pcfv/downloads /clean_fuel_book.pdf/ (accessed 23 October 2008). This pamphlet available in print and online is a very in depth analysis of individual CEE nation’s vehicle emissions. It gives a good background of vehicular air pollution and what each CEE nation has done to combat pollution.
PhilMUN 2009
17
Works Cited “About OECD.” http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36734103 _1_1_1_1_1,00.html/ (accessed 31 October 2008.) “Air Quality and Health in Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia.” World Health Organization. 24 April, 2006. http://www.euro.who.int/air/activities/20050419_4. (accessed 18 September, 2008). “Clean Fuels and Vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe.” http://www.rec.org/rec/ programs/pcfv/ (accessed 23 October 2008). “Collectivization of Agriculture in Russia.” http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ collectivisation.htm. (accessed 31 October 2008). “Dissolution of the USSR and the Establishment of Independent Republics, 1991” http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/pcw/108229.htm/ (accessed 16 October 2008). “Essential Background” http://unfccc.int/essential_background/items/2877.php/ (accessed 16 October 2008) “Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1989.” http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/rd /17672.htm/ (accessed 16 October 2008) Filtzer, Donald A. Soviet Workers and the Collapse of Perestroika. Cambridge University Press: UK, 1994. Jedrychowski, W. “Review of recent studies from central and Eastern Europe associating respiratory health effects with high levels of exposure to "traditional" air pollutants.” Environ Health Perspect. 1995 March; 103:15–21 “Kyoto Protocol.” http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php/ (accessed 16 October 2008) Madslien, Jorn “Nuclear waste poses Arctic threat.” 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/europe/6058302.stm/ (accessed 16 October, 2008). Ministry of Environmental Protection. “National Environmental Policy of Poland.” http://www.mos.gov.pl/mos/publikac/environment.html#p1. (accessed 31 October 2008).
PhilMUN 2009
18
Nuclear Wastes in the Arctic: An Analysis of Arctic and Other Regional Impacts from Soviet Nuclear Contamination. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995). “Past Priorities.” http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-12707.html. (accessed 31 October 2008). Peirce, J. Jeffrey, Ruth F. Weiner, P. Aarne Vesilind. Environmental Pollution and Control. Woburn, Massachusetts: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998. Pesic Radmilo. “Flexible Mechanisms Under the Kyoto Protocol in Central and Eastern Europe.” 2003. http://pdc.ceu.hu/archive/00001912/01/pesic.pdf/ (accessed 16 October 2008) “Pollution.” Biology-online. 3 October, 2005. http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/ Pollution. (accessed 16 July, 2008). “Pollution adding to Severe Global Warming.” CNN. 26 October, 2000. Stanfield, James L. “Czech Air Pollution.” National Geographic Society. http://encarta. msn.com/media_461519703_761578185_1_1/czech_air_pollution.html. 16 July, 2008. Strayer, Robert W. Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse?. M.E. Sharpe, Inc, 1998. Tennesen, Michael. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Global Warming. New York: Alpha Books, 1994. “The REC’s Mission.” http://www.rec.org/REC/Introduction/whatis.html/ (accessed 23 October 2008). “Transition to a Market Economy in Eastern Europe.” 18 March, 2003. http://www.jica. go.jp/english/evaluation/report/pdf/2002_0111.pdf. (accessed 18 September 2008). Toman, Michael A., ed., Pollution Abatement Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe. Washington D.C.: Resources for the Future, 1994.
PhilMUN 2009
19
Works Consulted Mehra, Shweta. “Pollution Problem.” 2002. http://www.essortment.com/all/pollution proble_rmnb.htm. (accessed 31 October 2008). Nuclear Wastes in the Arctic: An Analysis of Arctic and Other Regional Impacts from Soviet Nuclear Contamination. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1995). “Pollution adding to Severe Global Warming.” CNN. 26 October, 2000. Toman, Michael A., ed., Pollution Abatement Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe. Washington D.C.: Resources for the Future, 1994.