[Draft] World Environmental Health

[Eluvatar]

Council: General Assembly
Category: Environmental
Industry Affected: All Businesses

The World Assembly,

Recognizing that pollution can harm persons through deleterious effects on their health, many extremely hazardous,

Recognizing also that pollution can harm people through destruction of their livelihoods,

Recognizing also that pollutants freely cross borders without the possibility of restriction;

Declares:

1. There will be a World Environmental Health Authority (WEHA).
2. For the purposes of this resolution, member states are the members of the World Assembly as well as any nations which voluntarily choose to subscribe to the WEHA.
3. The WEHA will use available scientific research and studies it commissions to identify and measure a cost to pollutants which cause significant environmental damage to national populations and economies.
4. In addition to independent research and special-purpose surveys, the WEHA will inform its decisions through a mandatory environmental survey of air, water, and soil quality across all member states which those member states must carry out.
5. The WEHA will, for each significant pollutant, divide the world into sectors composed of nations and sections of International Waters. Sectors in International Waters will reflect such separations as exist between bodies of water.
6. For any pollutant the WEHA deems significant and devises a permit pricing scheme for, member states will prohibit polluting without an appropriate permit, and penalize violation sufficiently to deter it.
7. Within each member state, the WEHA will devise a pricing scheme for permits to emit the pollutant to recommend to member states.
8. In international waters, the WEHA will devise and implement a pricing scheme for permits to emit the pollutant. The revenues raised will be proportionately distributed to member states affected by the emissions.
9. Regarding non-member states, the WEHA will evaluate the damage caused by that state’s pollution to national populations and economies in member states and mandate a special tariff by member states on imports from that nation to compensate, if possible on goods or services which generate the pollutant.
10. Regarding member states, the WEHA will evaluate the damage caused by that state’s pollution to each member state it affects and mandate a transfer payment to compensate.

An old project of mine I have dug up and touched up. Definitely still an early draft.

Your constructive criticism and other advice is solicited

 

[Acoustic Siberia]

This is in all probability going to cross too many categories to consider in one resolution. Had you considered breaking it down? For example, concentrating initially on the information gathering of the WEHA would probably be the least controversial aspect (it would not be dissimilar to Environmental Science). If that passed, future resolutions could consider the more substantial issues.

Edit: woohoo! So this is one of the few forums where I can post.

 

[Godwinnian Columbia]

Currently this would fall foul of the rule that proposals must do more than create a committee. You would need to add at least one clause requiring (or at least urging) member nations to do something that doesn't involve the committee, too, in order to make it legal in that respect.

 

[Eluvatar]

I'm thinking about this again.

I'm thinking I'll split it into resolutions on air pollution, water pollution, and conservation, linked together, with the option of other resolutions (possibly written by others) later sharing aspects.

 

[bootsie]

I'll go on it with you, if you'll allow me, Elu.