“I have decided to leave our mission’s most recent other project within this chamber ‘on hold’, due to the relatively low level of support that it seemed to face, while we work on something of greater importance instead.
"Here is our initial draft for a proposal on a subject that I’m rrather surprised hasn’t already been the subject of successful legislation here: This version actually exceeds the maximum length that’s allowed, slightly, and we will therefore be making some changes in the near future to condense the wording... but I decided to post it now so that any of you who are about to disappear from among us because of seasonal holidays will at least have the basic details to consider during any time that they might give to WA matters while away.
“For the ambassadors of those nations that occupy complete worlds of their own, so that their policies in this respect wouldn’t affect any other nations anyhows: That situation is one of the main reasons for the inclusion of sub-clause ‘4.A’, which should leave you free to continue with your own separate policies in this respect."
“Also, I am empowered to announce that if this proposal becomes a passed resolution then the nation of Bears Armed itself — although not actually bound legally to follow GA legislation — will comply voluntarily and fully with any timetables that ACE sets in this matter.”
Artorrios o SouthWoods,
ChairBear, Bears Armed Mission at the World Assembly
for
The High Council of Clans,
The Confederated Clans of the Free Bears of Bears Armed.
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FAQ
1. What would this actually do?
Earth’s atmosphere includes a high-altitude ‘Ozone Layer’ that shields us against harmful levels of Ultraviolet light, and presumably this would also be the normal case for other worlds with Earth-like life (such as the other worlds on which some NS nations are located) as well. Unfortunately, however, some synthetic chemicals have harmful effects on that layer.
In the IC context, this proposal would limit the production & use of those chemicals in order to protect the Ozone Layer and thus protect the people (& other life-forms) living under it. It’s basically to establish a version of RL’s Montreal Protocol in NS, except that — because of how the GA works — setting the deadlines for phasing-out those chemicals has had to be delegated to a neutral committee instead of handled by subsequent meetings of national representatives.
In the OOC context, this would simply boost member nations stats for good environments by a bit in exchange for slight reductions in their manufacturing industries.
2. Hasn’t this already been done?
Not really, no: There was a ‘historical’ resolution on the subject, but that set such long deadlines that it’s unlikely many nations actually did much before it was repealed… and I suspect that a lot of nations have been dragging their heels since then (if their governments even acknowledge the problem in the first place) in the hope that other people will do enough to fix things without those nations themselves having to change their ways…
3. But what if the committee decides that some essential chemical such as water or oxygen “should” be phased-out?
One of the underlying presumptions on which the GA proposal-writing process is based, in order to save authors from having to use up some of the limited number of characters allowed by trying to micro-manage any committees that they want to establish, is that GA committees are honest and efficient. That being the case, and bearing in mind this proposal’s wording, they’re not going to be so bloody stupid: We can safely expect their rules to be pretty close to those of the Montreal Protocol, which have been in force in RL for over 30 years now without causing any such problems.
4. What if my nation’s people actually need the higher levels of UV light, and so don’t need an Ozone Layer?
Then presumably your people are on an entire world [or plural worlds] where this is the case, in which case those worlds’ atmospheres are “closed systems from which escapes cannot threaten any other nation’s atmosphere” and IC the committee has to grant you a waiver. (Yes, unfortunately, the OOC effects on your nations’ stats would still happen: The system isn’t sensitive enough to check people’s RP before applying changes…)
5. but won’t this ruin my nation’s economy?
The stat effects should be relatively moderate, OOC… and the RL version didn’t ruin any RL nation’s economy.
6. What’s ‘WASP’?
It’s the ‘World Assembly Science Programme’, an agency that was established in GA Resolution #87 ‘Meteorological Cooperation’ and has already been re-used on a number of occasions since then.
7. But what about the non-WA nations? Won’t they keep on using those chemicals?
The WA can’t require them to follow this policy, admittedly, but then that’s a potential problem with a lot of other proposals & passed resolutions too. Hopefully seeing the WA’s member nations agreeing to this policy -- and seeing the science involved explained, so that they realize preserving their world’s Ozone Layer is in their own best interests; and seeing that cooperating with the WA's members in this matter is more likely to work than either unilateral action or just hoping that the problem will fix itself -- will inspire them to follow suit voluntarily… and clause ‘5’ might help, too.
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Submitted version
( This is the version that I have just submitted. I’ve just modified the wording slightly so that it will still fit within the length limit now that the International Meteorological Organisation is named [when first mentioned] in full. )
Ozone Layer Protection
Category: Environmental
Industry Affected: Manufacturing
Description: The World Assembly,
Aware that high levels of Ultraviolet Light, particularly in certain wavelengths, can be very harmful to many types of life-forms including [for example] both humans and bears,
Understanding that the presence of Ozone [i.e. tri-atomic Oxygen molecules] at a suitable level in a planet’s upper atmosphere can give life below significant protection against such harmful ultraviolet rays within incoming sunlight,
Recognising that certain chemicals which are sometimes used in industry, particularly various members of the Halogenated Hydrocarbons group, are likely to deplete that layer of Ozone and thus reduce its protective effects if they escape into the atmosphere,
Wishing to prevent such damage to the protective Ozone, acknowledging this as a potential problem of international scope, and hoping that concerted action on the matter by this organisation’s members not only will be useful in itself but also will encourage non-member nations to take similar action as well;
Hereby,
1). Requires all member nations to evaluate the potential Ozone-depleting properties of each and every chemical that their industries produce and/or use;
2). Strongly urges all member nations to reduce their production and use of all chemicals that are known to have serious Ozone-depleting properties, as far as possible, even in advance of any international regulations targeting the specific substances concerned;
3). Establishes within WASP an agency called the Atmospheric Chemistry Establishment (or ‘ACE’), requires that member nations share their information on Ozone depletion with ACE, and instructs ACE to _
A/ Collect data, and if necessary perform research, on the Ozone-depleting properties of all chemicals produced and used by industry;
B/ Discover what safer alternatives exist for any industrial chemicals that do have Ozone-depleting properties;
C/ Working with the International Meteorological Organisation (IMO), collect any necessary data on Ozone distribution and concentrations that national governments do not supply to ACE and the IMO anyway;
D/ Determine the relative levels of hazard that the different Ozone-depleting chemicals pose to atmospheric Ozone levels, bearing in mind both extent of usage and their own stability as well as their Ozone-depleting power per molecule;
E/ Share all of the above data with any governments, government agencies, or multinational businesses, that request it;
F/ Set deadlines (with scales of no less than four, and no more than twelve, years) by which all member nations are to phase out the production and use of specific Ozone-depleting chemicals by at least the ACE-specified levels, starting basically with the chemicals that pose the greatest hazards to atmospheric Ozone levels but also bearing in mind the importance of their uses and the availability of safer substitutes;
4). Requires all member nations to meet all deadlines that ACE sets for phasing out the production or use of any Ozone-depleting chemicals, unless they can prove to ACE that their handling of those chemicals occurs only within closed systems from which escapes cannot threaten any other nation’s atmosphere in which case ACE will grant them a waiver for as long as those conditions continue;
5). Urges member nations to do what they can, without increasing the risk of international conflict, to persuade non-member nations to cooperate with ACE as well.
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OOC: Although I can’t tell ACE exactly what to do, I expect that their priorities and timetables would probably be quite similar to those set in RL under the Montreal Protocol.
