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MILMUN 14th CONFERENCE

The Crisis of Democracyand the Ideological Shiftin International Politics

1st – 5th April 2019Bocconi University, Milan

United NationsEconomics and Social Council

STUDY GUIDE

Sofia Di CesareAlexia Ileana Salmon

MILMUN 14th CONFERENCEThe Crisis of Democracy and the Ideological Shift in International Politics

Summary

Summary 2Welcome Letter 3History of the committee 4Modus operandi 6Addressing the importance of helping island states in building resilience to climate change 8

Introduction to the topic 8History of the topic 9Current situation 16Questions Any Resolution Must Answer 22

The question of automation and its impact on employment 24Introduction to the topic 24Definition of Key Terms 25History of the problem 26Two opposing views 28Evidence from Japan 29Role of governments and the ECOSOC 30Potential solutions 30Four main country groups 32What is expected to emerge from the debate? 33Questions a resolution must answer: 34

Conclusion 35

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Welcome Letter

Distinguished Delegates,

We would like to warmly welcome you to the 14th edition of Milan International Model United

Nations and more specifically to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (hereinafter

referred to as ECOSOC). MILMUN 2019 will take place in the magnificent city of Milan, at the

world-renowned Bocconi University from the 1st to the 5th of April 2019. This year’s conference

theme concerns The Crisis of Democracy and Ideological Shift in International Politics. In that

aspect, we have thought about two intriguing topics which will allow you to debate both the

economic and social issues of our committee.

Our first topic concerns Climate Change Resilience for Island States, while the second one is about

the Advent of Automation and its Consequences at the Workplace. We believe that through your

hard work, diplomacy skills, respect towards your Chairs and co-delegates you will leave our

conference with a great understanding of how the ECOSOC works under the auspices of the United

Nations (hereinafter referred to as UN).

We do understand that it is not always easy for beginners - or advanced delegates - to immerse

themselves in the roles they have been assigned, but we are certain that you will overcome every

possible “obstacle” during your participation. We are here to help you not only during our sessions

but via the Study Guides we are providing you with. At the end of the day, our main goal, as your

Chairs, is to hear from you that MILMUN 2019 was an unforgettable journey, an endless

educational voyage, as well as a life-changing experience where you had the chance to meet new

people with whom you were able to create unique stories. We are absolutely sure that your work

will pay off.

We assure you that we will do our best to make your participation worthwhile.

We are looking forward to hearing from you as well as to meeting you all in person this April!

Best regards,

Sofia Di Cesare and Alexia Ileana Salmon

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History of the committee

The Economic and Social Council was created in 1945 by the United Nations Charter and still

operates as a forum of the UN, where debate and creative thinking about sustainable development

take place1. The ECOSOC is one of the main six bodies of the UN General Assembly and it works

as the central mechanism for the activities and agencies of the UN, as well as for the

implementation of all decisions taken during the UN conference summits1. Practically it is a

platform where academics, policy makers, groups, NGOs, and business representatives get engaged

with a productive dialogue, so as to deal with emerging issues1. The Economic and Social Council

has 14 UN agencies and has recognized more than 3.900 NGOs. For instance, the “Youth Forum”,

the “Humanitarian Affairs Segment”, the “Integration Segment”, the “Development Cooperation

Forum”1 are some of the subgroups of the annual meeting programmes of the ECOSOC.

Back in 1946 the ECOSOC began its mission with only 18 members which expanded to 27 in

19562. As of 1973, the ECOSOC consists of 54 members2. According to article 61 of the UN

Charter, each year the General Assembly elects 18 new members of the ECOSOC for a three-year

term. The ECOSOC was established by the specific Articles 7 & 8 of the UN Charter with the

crucial mission to establish security, stability, as well as to help the international system erase

poverty and malfunction of the social equity2. In order to fulfil these expectations, the ECOSOC

holds annual coordination meetings where one of the most important goals is to find funding for all

emerging issues in order to establish sustainable development3. The resolution 68/1 of the General

Assembly has strengthened the power of ECOSOC and the Council is now able to respond

1 The United Nations, (2018). About ECOSOC. Available at: http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/ 2 Teton County Model UN, (2013). Committee history and structure: the Economic and Social Council. Available at: http://interconnections21.edublogs.org/files/2013/09/ECOSOC-Committtee-History-2013-2ekvw0x.pdf 3 Dag Hammarskjöld Library, (2018). UN Documentation: Economic and Social Council. Available at: https://research.un.org/en/docs/ecosoc 4


immediately to emerging challenges and major global issues4. This is why, each year the ECOSOC

tries to focus on one annual theme of global significance to sustainable development. The basic

three aspects of the ECOSOC are the economic, social, and environmental. It tries to deal with any

issue that may arise by combining all these three dimensions4. So far, the ECOSOC has had 74

Presidents with the most current one being, her excellency Inga Rhonda King who was elected on

the 26th of July 20185. She is currently the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Saint

Vincent and Grenadines, which is a country in the Caribbean, while working in the headquarters of

the UN in New York5. During the 70th Annual Meeting of ECOSOC back in 2016, the Council has

decided to focus on the association between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the

new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)6. That was the time when the members of the

ECOSOC took the decision that for the next 15 years they will try to eliminate poverty, fight against

inequality and buckle down climate change and its repercussions6. Some of the upcoming ECOSOC

meetings are: “The 2019 ECOSOC Youth Forum” on the 4th of March 2019, the “2019 ECOSOC

Partnership Forum” on the 11th of April 2019, the “Humanitarian Affairs Segment” on the 29th of

May 2019 in Geneva and last but not least the “Management Segment” which will take place on the

6th June 2019 in the UN Headquarters7. Latest news on the ECOSOC official site combine aspects

of economic development with a focus on the role of technology and the aspects of humanitarian

aid for refugees with a focus on Syria and Palestine8. Furthermore, you will find the environmental

dimensions with a focus on climate change, environmental and health issues, as well as some

articles dedicated to women, children, and the overall population with a focus on the situation in

Mali, Saudi Arabia and Thailand8. Lastly, you will be able to see the food security - health - poverty

section, which puts an emphasis on the health of refugees in Europe as well as the cultural -

4 ECOSOC, (2018). About us. Available at: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/about-us 5 ECOSOC, (2018). President of ECOSOC. Available at: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/president-ecosoc6 ECOSOC, (2018). ECOSOC-70: Taking Action to Improve Lives. Available at: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/events/2016/经社理事会成立 70 周年纪念活动，2016 年 1 月 7 ECOSOC, (2019). All events. Available at: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/events 8 ECOSOC, (2018). News. Available at: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/news

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educational section, which examines the educational situation in Palestine and the West Bank8. All

these topics are proving that the Economic and Social Council is a public forum which serves under

the auspice of the United Nations, so as to encounter efficiently global issues via the combination of

all its dimensions which are not only the main three (economic, social, environmental) ones but also

the humanitarian.

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Modus operandi

As mentioned in the previous section, recent reforms of the Council strengthened its intervening

power and increased ECOSOC’s role in providing coordination, monitoring, and advice to UN

programs and agencies9. ECOSOC coordinates the activities of a several number of organizations of

different nature, by commissioning reports, monitoring the implementation of activities and

initiatives, and enhancing coherence among different political strategies.10

The Members of the Council are selected according to their geographical distribution, to ensure

equal representation from all regions and levels of development. The following seat allocation

derives from the above-mentioned principle: 14 seats are assigned to African States, 11 to Asian

States, 10 to Latin American States, 6 to Eastern European States, and 13 to Western European and

Other States (total Member States are 54)11. Each member has one vote, and decisions are taken by

a simple majority voting rule.

The work of the Council is performed through several short sessions, preparatory meetings, round

tables, and panel discussions with the members of civil society throughout the year. ECOSOC

meets twice a year for one organizational session and a four-week long substantive session.

Organizational sessions concern administrative issues, most importantly the setting of the Agenda.

Substantive sessions, on the other hand, consist of debates of a specific topic within the Agenda.

The substantive session is the pivotal platform for following-up and reviewing the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development and the SDGs. During the forum, countries present their Voluntary

National Reviews in which they show their efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda. These reviews are

9 UN Resolution 68/1 (2013). Available at: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/68/1 10 ECOSOC, (2018). About us. Available at: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/about-us11 Ecosoc, (2018). Members. Available at: https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/content/members

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to be state-conducted, undertaken by both developed and developing states. Their aim is to facilitate

the sharing of experiences, including successes, failures, and challenges, in order to accelerate the

implementation of the 2030 Agenda. In 2019, 51 countries will be conducting their Voluntary

National Reviews and will present them at the ECOSOC high-level political forum, which will be

held from the 9th to the 18th of July. During this forum, six out of the seventeen SDGs will be

reviewed in depth and updated according to their status.12

The Economic and Social Council is therefore at the very core of the UN system as it promotes the

coordination of the three dimensions of development: the economic, the social, and the

environmental ones. Its main function is that of fostering debate, innovative and critical thinking,

molding consensus among countries, to facilitate the achievement of universal goals.

12 ECOSOC (2019). Voluntary National Reviews. Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/hlpf/2019#vnrs 8


Addressing the importance of helping island

states in building resilience to climate change

“We are not prepared to die, and the Maldives have no intention of dying,” Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives

Introduction to the topic

Climate is the long-term statistical expression for short-term weather. Climate can be defined as

“expected weather”, and when changes in expected weather occur we call them climate changes.

Climate can change in different ways, over different time scales, and in different geographical

areas. In the 21st century, scientists have become more interested in global warming, climate

change and the greenhouse effect[1]. According to NASA, climate change is “a change in the usual

weather found in a place”. This could be a change in temperature, rain or the sea levels[2]. The

main problem with climate change is the change of weather patterns which cause droughts, floods,

diseases as well as the disappearance of lands.

Small island nations have always been recognised as a particular case that has to be addressed

carefully by the international community. Those island states are mainly: Kiribati, The Maldives,

Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Nauru, Fiji Islands, and Marshall Islands. In general, all

the countries belonging to the Asian Continent, North America and the Pacific are also suffering

from climate change[3]. The aforementioned states, even if least responsible for climate change, are

the most affected by its repercussions[4]. However, climate change is not anything new for them.

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History of the topic

Since 1957, after Roger Revelle predicted the effects of global warming, he declared that island

nations such as Maldives and the French Polynesia will be profoundly affected. Since 1970, Cook

Islands and the French Polynesia have become wetter, while Fiji and Tonga have become drier.

Tuvalu and Kiribati have become warmer and sunnier[4]. All these variations are connected to

climate change which has made the Marshall Islands, Samoa & Fiji face droughts and unavailability

of water sources that were severely damaged.

Later on, in 1998 an American climatologist, Michael Mann, mentioned the importance of putting

the poor ones, the developing island nations, first by making them a priority in the elimination of

climate change side effects[5]. After 2005 which was one of the most alarming years, people were

finally convinced that Michael Mann was right. Since then, according to some researches conducted

under the auspice of the United Nations, temperature has risen by 0.6% in the Caribbean which is

bigger than the average global increase. In the Pacific, air temperatures have increased by 0.8%

during the 20th century which has caused global rates of warming[5].

The most dangerous threat the aforementioned nations are facing nowadays is disappearance.

These threatened nations can be found throughout the globe, but mainly in the Caribbean and South

Pacific regions. 90% of them are in the tropics and are considered by the international community

as developing states due to the fact that they cannot handle alone the outcome of tropical storms,

cyclones, hurricanes and huge floods caused by climate change. These nations are not only unable

to afford supporting systems for such phenomena, but they are the ones affected the most because

they depend on their fish resources, their tourism industry, and their fossil fuels. Unfortunately,

after unexpected catastrophic floods and storms these sources have been deeply damaged 3.

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Even before the advent of climate change issues, characteristics of this area were making these

nations special, yet so vulnerable. Historically, they have limited resources, which are threatened by

unsustainable human activities. Also, the majority of the population that is working there has

become dependent on the coastal zone. Moreover, their weather patterns are already tropical which

means that they were long ago - even before climate change - suffering from volcanic eruptions,

tsunamis, droughts and surge which are going to become even worse if climate change continues to

worsen. Island nations have always relied on their water sources for freshwater supply which was

produced via inadequate infrastructure systems. Above all, they have insufficient financial capacity

meaning that they are unable to adjust easily to climate change consequences.

If the world does not reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases - especially carbon dioxide - it is

estimated that by 2030, not only an extreme environmental crisis will hit all the developing

countries, but also a humanitarian one[6]. That being said, it is estimated that more than 250,000

deaths will occur due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress; all of them associated to

climate change. More precisely, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Kiribati are threatened by rising

sea levels because of their low-lying land structure. If the sea levels keep growing, all these nations

will become uninhabitable. This phenomenon may also cause intense migration - a refugee crisis.

When climate change disasters hit these nations, they do not only cause major economic and

environmental problems. Hospitals, health care centres, schools, homes and institutions are being

destroyed. That leads to a further social crisis.

It is important to further examine all the repercussions of climate change so as to comprehend that

this is an emerging and developing situation. Firstly, as mentioned above, water resources are being

damaged. In island states, rainwater is the main source of water supply and a possible reduction in

rainfall could decrease the volume of drinking water, as well as could make water management

more difficult[7]. The loss of drinking water will be connected to the loss of land due to rising sea

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levels, something that is going to have negative impacts on tourism and infrastructure. If sea levels

rise by 1 metre, the Maldives will disappear entirely. In addition, coral reefs, which are natural

sources of food, beach sand and the production of materials, will be dilapidated[8]. Due to high

temperatures, coral species will die and coral reefs will be bleached.

Furthermore, a major issue for island states is food security. Currently, the agricultural production is

under crisis due to extreme weather conditions. For instance, fisheries resources which contribute

significantly to the existence of fish species, may also fade away. Sooner or later, some fish

foodstuffs will become unavailable causing many problems related to malnutrition and the loss of

jobs in the field.

Moving on to biodiversity, it is crucial to know that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide will

alter the composition of species and threaten the diversity of marine ecosystems[9]. Moreover, in the

majority of island nations, the extreme changes in weather patterns will probably destroy a variety

of human settlements and infrastructure, such as social services, tourism facilities, airports, port

facilities and roads, and will cause a major economic concern for these countries, making it

impossible to easily rebuild such social services[10]. Last but not least, with a warm climate,

disrupted water supplies and sanitation systems, diseases and health issues may boost. For instance,

Malaria and Amoebiasis may escalate as a result of disruption of sewage and water supply

systems[11].

Bearing in mind all the consequences, during the last decade UN authorities, organizations, councils

and the island nations themselves have tried to tackle the issue of climate change. One prime

example is the “United Nations Development Programme” (UNDP) which provides low-lying

islands with technical support via the “UNDP Country Offices” and “Sub-regional Service

Centres”. These centres are dedicated to finding resources and creating projects, so as to address

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climate change efficiently. The main objective of the UNDP is to assist all the developing countries

and make them resilient to climate change. Since 2010, the UNDP has donated more than $200

million to Research & Development (R&D), and to possible projects that might improve the

countries’ adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change[12]. The UNDP is also supporting

intergovernmental meetings such as the “Mauritius Strategy” and the “UN General Assembly”, as

well as regional bodies, such as the “Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre” and the

“Pacific Regional Environmental Programme”.

Such programmes and centres consist of experts who spread awareness of the aforementioned

issues via training sessions. These training sessions aim to help the civil society understand how

important it is to get involved by having practical knowledge on the use of new technologies, which

protect the islands from climate change.

For instance, during 2010 the UNDP cooperated with these centres and sent representatives to Fiji,

where locals had the chance to gain information about how they should use new techniques and

reduce climate change effects11. As for the adaptation part, the UNDP has founded the “Pacific

Adaptation to Climate Change” (PACC) project which has offered 13 million dollars to Cook

Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Solomon Islands etc. The project focuses on food security,

coastal zone management, water availability, regional cooperation, and the promotion of innovation

towards ingenious solutions. As for the mitigation part, the UNDP has invested in the reduction of

the fossil fuel dependency with a focus on energy security. Generally, all the UNDP mitigation

programs are leading towards sustainable development. For instance, the “Pacific Islands

Greenhouse Gas Abatement through Renewable Energy Project” is funded by the UNDP with $33

million and aims to reduce greenhouse emissions in the Pacific Island Countries, as well as to

augment renewable energy, enhance the safe use of renewable energy, and reinforce the legal

environmental system of the region. The results from this project have been surprisingly positive,

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especially for Fiji where 200 solar home systems were installed successfully and 4 schools were

provided with equipment of biogas digesters 11.

On top of the programs funded by the UNDP, the “U.S. Agency for International Development” and

the World Bank are conducting efforts so as to fund island states. In Fiji, the main danger comes

from storms and rising sea levels. During 2014, after natural catastrophes caused by floods, the

government established the “Climate Change Mitigation Fund”. The disaster was so immense that

the cost of recovery was estimated at around $1 billion. That is when Fiji became an emerging

nation that needed immediate help of the World Bank. Since then, the World Bank has offered more

than $50 million to the region and has tried to attract investors that will be willing to create resilient

village societies[13].

Simultaneously, the Security Council during 2015 heard the plea of island nations concerning

financial and technical assistance, so as to combat powerful storms and global warming. More

precisely, the president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, asked during one of the sessions: “Can we as

leaders return today to our people and be confident enough to say that no matter how high the sea

rises, there are credible technical solutions to raise your islands and your homes and the necessary

resources are available to ensure that all will be in place before it is too late?”[14]. The UN Security

Council President replied: “we need a meaningful and universal climate agreement in Paris this

December. The issues of the island nations are our collective responsibility. Those states do not

have the resources to combat such threats by themselves”13. Since then, after the Paris Agreement

was adopted, the Security Council has financially helped these states with more than $50 million.

As for other international organizations, the World Health Organization (WHO) is cooperating with

ministries of health and other stakeholders so as to help the Pacific Island countries to build climate

change resilience on health systems[15]. The WHO is currently working to implement a program

composed of 3 pillars: a) health policies that will tackle climate change diseases, b) health

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information and public awareness and c) preventive - curative health systems. The third dimension

will concentrate on disaster risk management for health, safe water, sanitation, vaccination, and a

new sector which is currently at risk: child health services. The WHO has always been concerned

with the island nations and has already helped 13 Pacific island countries to reduce health

vulnerability via adaptation plans. The WHO has focused on waterborne and vector-borne diseases.

For example, it has helped Fiji create a strategic action plan concerning health issues for 2016-2020,

so as to help poor communities adjust and tackle effectively all the diseases.

Besides these efforts of the international community, the island nations themselves have been trying

to fight climate change through regional cooperation. One example of such action is the

“Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Climate Change” (CPACC) programme. In this

programme, the Caribbean countries are cooperating with each other so as to identify strategies and

find ways to cope with the sea level rise[16]. They have developed an integrated management

framework with cost-effective solutions for the coastal zones via the offer of training and

institutional reinforcement that could enhance national policies of resilience. Following the same

path, the Pacific Island countries have designed programmes to remove barriers to renewable

energy usage and to facilitate the implementation of renewable energy technologies. With these

programmes and their activities, the Caribbean and the Pacific regions are hoping to reduce the

annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 680.000 tons annually15. With this in mind, since 2001 two

new funds were established: the “Least Developed Countries Fund” (LDC) and the “Special

Climate Change Fund”. These funds work as forums that raise money via bilateral and multilateral

funding, as well as the private sector investments. The LDC Fund has been devoted to supporting

the implementation of adaptive national programmes and has accepted to render an amount of

approximately $1 billion[17]. The Special Climate Change Fund from its own part, has accepted to

donate since 2005 approximately $352 million with the aim of becoming an important source for

the safe transfer of the needed equipment and technology to the island nations[18].

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Another helpful organization was founded under the auspice of the Kyoto Protocol and its called the

“Clean Development Mechanism”. This mechanism is responsible for cleaning the oceans, the

coastal zones, and for implementing renewable energy. Its future goal is to assist the agricultural

sector and stop the emissions of fossil fuel on island states[19].

All these efforts were endorsed by the Paris Agreement which is the very first universal climate

change deal with legal binding power[20]. The Paris Agreement was adopted by 195 countries during

2016. It is composed of 6 very significant pillars, which are: mitigation, transparency, adaptation,

loss & damage, the role of cities, and the required support. The Paris Agreement is the most recent

deal and has underlined the importance of establishing transparency to set clear goals, plans,

strategies that are going to be practically implemented. It also declares how crucial it is to support

the developing and endangered nations. The Paris Agreement aims to collect by 2020-2025 the

amount of 100$ billion dollars so as to assist the poor ones. It is an agreement recognised by the

ECOSOC which is actively participating at researches so as to aid developing nations all over the

world and reduce the toxic emissions[21].

The ECOSOC warns the international community by publishing reports which show that if the

existing levels of greenhouse emissions remain the same, then the climate patterns will be out of

control. As it states “this is a common responsibility for all countries but the policies for developed

and developing countries demand different approaches. We need common lines and values but also

different management policies”.

All the aforementioned facts are just an example of concrete efforts towards the elimination of

climate change issues. Unfortunately, the situation today has proven that the expectations do not

match reality. The island nations are still the ones producing the least harm, yet simultaneously

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being the ones affected the most by the actions of others, such as the United States that are now

attending to withdrawal from the Paris Agreement by 2020.

[1] PennState College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, (2016). What is Climate?. Available at: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo469/node/113[2] NASA, (2014). What is climate change? Available at: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html[3] Active Sustainability, (nd). Countries at risk of disappearing due to climate change. Available at: https://www.activesustainability.com/climate-change/countries-risk-disappearing-climate-change/#10[4] UNFCCC, (2005). Climate change: small island developing states. Available at: https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/cc_sids.pdf[5] Sem G., Nurse L., (2010). Small Island States. Available at: https://www.unisdr.org/files/8387_wg2TARchap171.pdf[6] World Health Organization, (2019). Climate change and health issues at the Pacific Island states. Available at: https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/93/12/15-166199/en/[7] Royal Institute, (2012). Small Island Developing States and Climate Change: Effects, Responses and Positions beyond Durban (WP). Available at: http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/climate-change/dt1-2012[8] Statistical Institue of Jamaica, (2018). Climate change & Small Island Developing States. Available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/49th-session/side-events/documents/20180307-1M-Jamaica-Climate-Change-&-SIDS-1March2018.pdf[9] NASA, (2019). How climate change is changing. Available at: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/[10] National Climate Assessment, (2014). Infrastructure. Available at: https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/infrastructure[11] World Heath Organization, (2019). Climate change and its impact on health on small island developing states. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/climate-change-and-its-impact-on-health-on-small-island-developing-states[12] UNDP, (2010). Responding to Climate Change in Small Island Developing States. Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/960SIDS_Flyer_SEPT_27_09[1].pdf [13] The Conversation, (2017). Many small island nations can adapt to climate change with global support. Available at: https://theconversation.com/many-small-island-nations-can-adapt-to-climate-change-with-global-support-86820[14] The Straits Times, (2015). Island nations seek UN Security Council financial help in fighting climate change. Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/island-nations-seek-un-security-council-help-in-fighting-climate-change[15] World Health Organization, (2015). Climate change and health in Pacific Island states. Available at: https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/93/12/15-166199/en/[16] UNFCCC, (2005). Climate change: small island developing states. Available at: https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/publications/cc_sids.pdf[17]United Nations, (2016). Least Developed Countries Fund. Available at: https://www.un.org/ldcportal/least-developed-countries-fund-ldcf/[18] NDC Partnership, (2018). Special Climate Change Fund. Available at: http://ndcpartnership.org/funding-and-initiatives-navigator/special-climate-change-fund-sccf[19] CDM, (2019). What is CDM. Available at: https://cdm.unfccc.int/about/index.html[20] European Commission, (2019). Paris Agreement. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/international/negotiations/paris_en[21] ECOSOC, (nd). ECOSOC.Climate Change. Available at: https://www.sek.es/files/pdf/servicios/Sekmun_V_Climate_Change.pdf

Current situationDuring the Global Climate Summit 2018 which took place in Poland, leaders of many small island

nations gathered and had heated debates while stating that their countries are now more than even

17


facing the possibility of disappearance due to climate change. The president of Kiribati declared :

“The prosperity enjoyed by a few developed countries has become the tragedy of the masses in the

developing countries and particularly for those most vulnerable to climate change”[1]. After the end

of the Summit, the island nations presented a list of conditions which has to be addressed properly

by the international community. The Environment Minister of Maldives - Hussain Rasheed Hassan-

stated that the existence of small nations is in actual danger at this very moment, small nations like

the Maldives and others1. The main goal of the Summit was to make the international community

understand that actions against climate change are not going as fast as needed, as well as to

understand the need of creating a plan for cutting the emissions by 2030 and prevent the situation

from getting worse. Unfortunately, some countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia and the

United States of America deny the escalation of this issue with the former Maldivian President -

Mohamed Nasheed - saying from the other side, that : “We all know that 1/4 of the world’s

population lives on low-lying areas. With the Maldives, Manhattan will sink”.

It is true that the paradise of almost 1,200 islands, called the Maldives, is still fighting with rising

sea levels and the bleaching of its coral reefs. Since 2008, after this issue came into light, the

government has tried to find a solution through geo-engineering projects and the strategy of renting

the islands and using that money to build new - resistant islands [2]. For instance, the “City of Hope”

is being built on an artificial island and by 2023, when it will be finished, it could accommodate

130,000 people. Usually it takes 4 weeks to build such an island and a couple more to stabilise it.

Countries like the Maldives are in a financial need to start these projects because they often require

more than $10 billion investment2. Also, they are running out of time. Climate change is

accelerating day by day. If we think that the island of Villingili which belongs to the Maldives, is

2.4 metres above the sea and that is the global lowest point affected, then we can understand how

fast sea levels rise. Scientists believe that island states like the Maldives will be drown by the seas

at the end of the century. The Maldives exclusively consist of reef islands which are most

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vulnerable to sea level rise[3]. The Maldives have to improve their infrastructure systems so that they

can adjust to the powerful waves of tropical storms which cause the rise of sea levels.

Simultaneously, such infrastructure should be designed in a way such that it won’t stop coral reefs

from following their natural process of growing. It has to be taken in account that 75% of island

nations are made of coral. That means that coral reefs have to remain safe which is not the case

nowadays - not only due to rising sea levels but also due to warmer and more acidic oceans3. All of

this, makes the situation in Maldives something more than an emergence. The former Maldivian

President underlined the significance of the problem by saying: “We are not ready to die. We are

not going to become the first victims of the climate crisis. Instead we are going to do everything in

our power to keep our heads above water. Climate change is a national security issue for us. It is

an existent threat. Almost 10 years since I was last at these climate negotiations, I must say,

nothing much seems to have changed. We are still using the same old, dinosaur language. Carbon

emissions are rising, rising and rising and all we seem to be doing is talking, talking and

talking”[4].

Besides the Maldives, the Marshall Islands are also deeply affected by climate change and its

consequences. Some scientists from National Geographic believe that water sources unavailability

will go up to 100% in the Marshall Islands by the end of the century[5]. Due to powerful waves that

are coming along with storms, it is very possible for the flooded saltwater to affect the island’s

freshwater sources. This could make the Marshall Islands completely uninhabitable. That is the

main concern of the nation because strong tropical storms can not only destroy homes and

buildings but they can also put the island under surface. At the same time, the Marshall Islands are

threatened by massive droughts which are reducing water supplies5. The most perplexing part is that

such catastrophic phenomena can happen even on a sunny typical day due to the fast movements of

waves. Such events can cause higher air & ocean temperatures, seal level rise, changing rain

patterns and ocean acidification[6]. Those specific repercussions harm Marshall Island ecosystems.

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Additionally homes, food, fresh water and transportation systems are being ruined. Again, sea level

rise has been damaging all kind of systems (human, environmental etc.) in the Marshall Islands

since 1993. The damage augments about 0.3% each year and leads to beach erosion, floods and

increased storms. Sea levels are expected to continue rising by more than 3 feet (or 0.9144 meters)

after 21006. That is purely tragic and has was proved recently. In June 2018, the Environment

Minister of the Marshall Islands released graphics from a new research showing how fast climate

change can deluge his country. The researchers mapped the capital of the country, Majuro[7]. The

pictures showed that with a rise of 3 feet, the majority of the low-lying land would be underwater

within minutes. That being said, the homes of all 30,000 people who live now in Majuro as well as

the airport would be absolutely submerged. Paul David, the Environment Minister of the country,

travelled across Europe to show these images and raise awareness about the issue at hand. He said:

“I showed the images to many European Ministers. Many of them were in tears. They left a big

impression on the German Minister and the French Minister who asked me for copies so he could

show them to President Macron”7. Also he mentioned that this is a global fight because it will

affect everyone. According to him, there is still hope, if the Paris Agreement Targets get improved.

(This image is the graphic that shows how the land of Majuro will become uninhabitable after the

seal level rise up to 3 feet. Source: Republic of Marshall Islands).

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The Pacific Islands have found themselves in a similar situation. They also have been hit hard by

climate change. Some of the most affected Pacific Islands are: Samoa, French Polynesia, Vanuatu,

Fiji and Hawaii. Unsurprisingly, the inhabitants of these states participate actively in the fight

against climate change through finding innovative solutions that could improve their future. Of

course, every island has different characteristics and that underlines the need for finding different

solutions that will adapt to each island’s circumstance[8]. Concerning Samoa, it is an island that still

suffers particularly from storms, cyclones and tsunamis. In 2009, a devastating tsunami resulted in

150 deaths and left many locals homeless and traumatised. Since then, one of the main social

consequences of climate change is the alteration of the relationship between the locals and the sea.

In the past they were able to fish, to eat seafood and conduct other activities as well. Now that has

completely changed because they first think of the devastating consequences the oceans can cause.

What used to be their home in the past is now becoming something foreign and strange. Samoans

today fear the ocean8. As for French Polynesia, despite the hardship its going through, the citizens

have no choice but to engage with the sea. They do not only depend on the fishing industry but also

on pearl trade. Due to the acidification of the ocean, this sector is currently at risk. Moreover,

French Polynesia used to grow coconuts which produced a variety of products, used for example in

the production of make-up. Again this sector is threatened by climate change repercussions and has

lead French Polynesia to an economic and financial crisis. Without these industries, hundreds of

jobs will cease to exist and the economy will be devastated [9]. On the other hand, we see that

Hawaii is not facing economic problems since it is a large economy compared to its neighbours.

Nevertheless, Hawaii is still vulnerable to droughts, rising temperatures and beach erosion. If these

phenomena become more intense in the years to come, it easy to see that the island’s indigenous

population will be deeply affected. That will lead to a greater problem since Hawaiians are firmly

associated with their land. Their traditional believes state that people were born to serve the land

(Hawaii), and so if they understand that there is no way to protect their land, Hawaii will have to

21


face a social crisis. Besides that, it is important to note that the Pacific Islands’ temperature has

many side effects on food production systems which are constantly changing and so it makes it

difficult to isolate the specific adaptable programs[10]. Also, the effects of coral bleaching have

resulted in a loss of species diversity. Most coral reefs have seen no recovery which has dire

consequence for the people who depend on them. At the same time the rise of sea levels causes

coastal flooding, shoreline erosion and groundwater salinisation. The first one means that during

this or the next century the Pacific Islands region could be fully flooded. The second one means that

the sand is moved from the upper visible areas to the sea floor where it accumulates and results in

an erosion of beaches. The third one states, that the roots of many plants are no longer connected

with fresh water supply which means they cannot survive. That could not only destroy biodiversity

but also change the weather patterns and raise the frequency of tropical cyclones. Between 1950 -

2004, the Pacific Islands experienced 207 natural disasters comprising of 76% tropical cyclones

which caused a 90% damage on all kind of facilities. Simultaneously, the Pacific Islands are facing

heat waves, prolonged droughts and rainfalls that don’t occur regularly therefore it’s harder to

predict them. But when they come, they cause many catastrophic effects10. At this stage, someone

could ask why all the funds raised by developed countries cannot help the island nations. The

answer is not simple. The developed countries may fund these island states but the majority of the

money goes to R&D and projects that in the end are not implemented or are not efficient enough to

combat the effects of climate change and support the local community. That happens because each

island nation has different characteristics that must be addressed individually whereas the projects

try to solve general problems, which in some cases is not enough. For instance, some states like

Kiribati are spread over large areas so there is great heterogeneity even within one country [11]. That

being said, it is important that such projects take more time to analyse all the constantly changing

data and find the exact right plan to help the countries at risk.

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The situation is getting more complex since the ongoing negotiations about the implementation of

the Paris Agreement are not going well. In fact, the world’s greatest producers and emitters do not

take responsibility for contributing to climate change. On the other hand, small island nations are

pushing the international community to have more transparent and clear agreement about feasible

and effective solutions the world can implement. That is what the report of the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was trying to do; it focused on the significance of the fight

against temperatures rising more than 1.5o C. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, countries like

Saudi Arabia and the United States of America rejected the report. They promised to reduce their

emissions according to the already existing conditions of the Paris Agreement but the 2018 analysis

shows that temperatures keep augmenting by more than 2o C. At this very moment the Southern

Pacific is expected to experience a loss of fisheries, increase in food insecurity, the death of coral

reefs along with infrastructure damage caused by strong storms[12]. As Fiji’s climate change chief -

Luke Daunivalu - says: “This is not business as usual. Dynamics have changed a lot since Paris

and it remains unclear whether the existential threat facing some countries will be enough to

persuade negotiators whose boss instincts on policies that he says will put America First”[13].

Questions Any Resolution Must Answer

❖ How does climate change affect island nations?

❖ Can island nations stop the rise of sea levels, if so, what should be the steps to achieve that?

❖ How can island states reduce the augmentation of temperatures and the breaching of coral

reefs?

❖ Are the existing policies enough to stop the effects of climate change or do they need

profound modifications? If yes, what kind of modification would you suggest?

❖ Can the international and local institutions working against climate change be improved?

❖ What steps must be taken so as to strengthen regional cooperation between island nations?

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❖ Is it possible for the developed countries to actively and efficiently help the most vulnerable

island nations?

❖ Is it achievable for great producers like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. to adapt

their national policies to climate change resilience?

❖ Which parts of the Paris Agreement shall be improved so as to make it sufficient for small

island states?

❖ What are the possible solutions for the amelioration of climate change resilience?

[1] Rosenthal M., (2018). Small island nations, threatened by rising seas, want stronger action at the climate change summit in Poland. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/12/12/small-island-nations-threatened-by-rising-seas-want-stronger-action-climate-change-summit-poland/?utm_term=.de375fa2875b[2] Dauenhauer N., (2017). On front line of climate change as Maldives fights rising seas. Available at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2125198-on-front-line-of-climate-change-as-maldives-fights-rising-seas/[3] Yiqing L., (2012). Maldives: climate change could actually help coral islands rise again-but they’re still at risk . Available at: https://theconversation.com/maldives-climate-change-could-actually-help-coral-islands-rise-again-but-theyre-still-at-risk-106586[4] Channel New Asia, (2018).“We are not ready to die” Maldives tells UN Climate talks . Available at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/maldives-un-climate-change-talk-cop24-global-warming-rising-sea-11029662[5]Greshko M., (2018). Within Decades, Floods May Render Many Islands Uninhabitable. Available at: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/04/marshall-islands-climate-change-floods-waves-environment-science-spd/[6] Pacific Islands Climate Education Partnership, (2014). Climate Change in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Available at: ftp://soest.hawaii.edu/coastal/USAPI_CLimateChangeBooklets/Marshall%20Islands%20Climate%202016.pdf[7] Tilley C., (2018). Graphics of Marshall Islands sea level rise brought EU Ministers to tears . Available at: https://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/06/22/graphics-marshall-islands-sea-level-rise-brought-eu-ministers-tears/[8] Climate Institute, (2017). Submerging Paradise: Climate Change in the Pacific Islands. Available at: http://climate.org/submerging-paradise-climate-change-in-the-pacific-islands/[9] Malo S., (2017). Faced with rising seas, French Polynesia ponders floating islands. Available at: http://news.trust.org/item/20170320000842-qcn8y/[10] Nunn P., (2012). Climate Change and Pacific Island Countries. Available at: https://www.uncclearn.org/sites/default/files/inventory/undp303.pdf[11] Howes E., Birchenough S. et al , (2018). Effects of Climate Change Relevant to the Pacific Islands. Available at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/1_Climate_change_overview.pdf[12] Worland J., (2018). These Tiny Island Nations Are Leading The Fight Against Climate Change . Available at: http://time.com/5478446/climate-change-vulnerable-countries/[13] SPREP, (2018). Three-Point Q and A With Ambassador Luke Daunivalu, Fiji’s Chief Negotiator At The UN Climate Change Conference. Available at: https://www.sprep.org/news/three-point-q-and-a-with-ambassador-luke-daunivalu-fijis-chief-negotiator

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The question of automation and its impact on

employment

Introduction to the topic

Definition of the problem

The nature of jobs is undergoing deep and structural changes due to the current technological

revolution involving advanced machines, robots and artificial intelligence. While this technological

revolution provides new opportunities for increased living standards, greater economic growth and

human progress, it may also leave many people behind.

To dive deeper into the question and its relationship with employment it is important to distinguish

between the concepts of automation and mechanization. The former refers to the technique through

which a process operates automatically13. The latter, on the other hand, refers to the use of

automatic systems that perform labor impossible - or almost impossible - to humans, therefore

automation by integrating machines does not result in the replacement of the labor force, whereas

mechanization might do just that.

What is the controversy about?

Advances in robotics, artificial intelligence and the like are enabling machines to match and

outperform human performance in a wide range of possible employment opportunities. The tradeoff

13 “Automation is the creation of technology and its application in order to control and monitor the production and delivery of various goods and services. It performs tasks that were previously performed by humans. Automation is being used in a number of areas such as manufacturing, transport, utilities, defense, facilities, operations and lately, information technology”. Definition by techopedia (2019). Available at: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/32099/automation

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is between increasing industrial productivity (and performance of business) and the risk of

disrupting the social fabric of the society by creating massive unemployment. The activities that are

more likely to be replaced by automation are for sure the ones characterized by structured and

predictable environments, such as those related to the collection and elaboration of data. While for

businesses, the benefits of automation are clear (increased productivity hence increased profits), the

question becomes more complicated for politicians and legislators. In fact, they should be able to

stimulate technological progress and development in their own countries while ensuring that

workers adjust to these changes. The policies aimed at workers are likely to include a new way of

thinking about education and training, support to replaced workers to ease transition into the labor

force, as well as new ways of thinking about taxation, income support, and safety nets.

Definition of Key Terms

Automation: the implementation of machines or automatic systems to facilitate the performance of

certain tasks, thereby reducing human intervention to a minimum. Automation is very common in

the modern world and has helped increase productivity in many areas of production in varying

markets. Automation is a new form of technology that is still developing in many industries around

the world.

Mechanization: different from automation, mechanization entails the usage of a machine operated

system to perform a task that could be done by hand. The main difference here is that unlike

automation, mechanization doesn’t work alongside a human operator, instead it replaces the need of

this third party as a whole.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): it is the theory and development of computer systems able to perform

tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition,

decision-making, and translation between languages.

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Workforce: a country's workforce is defined by how much of its population is employed or available

for work. Workforce is a key concept when debating this issue. Firstly, because it will be

significantly impacted by automation development. Secondly, in many countries the workforce will

need to learn new skills in order to still be considered valuable, people will need to develop their

ability to interact and work with automated machines. This will also generate drastic changes in the

educational system as traditional skills will become outdated and it will become fundamental to

develop skills that complement those of automated machines.

History of the problem

The debate over the impact of machines on employment has ranged for more than a century. It all

started in the 19th century Britain with the first industrial revolution. Creations such as the steam

engine, or automatic-knitting machines replaced thousands of workers. The Luddite movement was

a group of textile workers who protested against the increased use of automated looms and knitting

frames, arguing that it robbed them of their jobs as specialized workers. These disadvantages may

seem negligible compared to the advantages that the Industrial Revolution brought later on - better

transportation systems and communication methods shifted the center of economic life from rural to

urban areas. Urban centers gathered people together, put an end to the isolation of rural life, and

allowed citizens to develop new useful skills other than farming. The aristocracy was slowly

replaced by the middle-class, which became politically powerful and eventually lead to an increase

of political rights and freedom for all. More than a century later, with a new technological

revolution in place, the fear of machines replacing humans has come back.

Technological progress is a main driver of economic growth and improvements in living standards.

It increases labor productivity, thereby boosting per capita income and consumption. The first

industrial revolution was characterized by the growing use of machines, such as the steam engine,

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to replace manual labor. The second technological revolution was characterized by the adoption of

electricity and was driven by advantages in transportation systems, communication, and health. The

third industrial revolution was characterized by digitalization and the development of the electronics

sector. Many claim that we are now entering, or perhaps have already entered, a so-called “fourth

industrial revolution” which entails advancements in the ICT (Information & Telecommunication)

technologies and major breakthroughs in the areas initiated by the third revolution.

The advancements in areas such as digital-tech, bio-tech, green-tech and so on, have been enabled

by the sophistication of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) systems that are capable to

autonomously solve complex problems. The combination of new technologies, and increased

connection aided by globalization, are going to dramatically transform labor markets, but also

cultural and societal structures. The crucial difference between machines such as the steam engines

and artificial intelligence is that while the former were designed to replace muscular (human)

power, the latter is designed precisely to substitute brain cognitive functions so as to avoid the risk

of human error. Algorithms have in many occasion outperformed humans; they learned how to beat

the world’s best chess players and how to improve in areas such as speech recognition, language

translation, and also decision-making processes.

Other breakthroughs in technologies also put manufacturing jobs at risk. A notable example are 3D

printers, which are more powerful than traditional manufacturing in many ways. They also allow for

complex and customized design of physical goods to be quickly changed, which is their

undoubtable advantage.

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Two opposing views

Two main ways of thinking about automation exist: an optimistic and a pessimistic one.

Optimistic View

On one hand, there are economists and scientists telling us that automation and mechanization is

nothing new, and that in the long run automation will create new jobs and raise living standards for

all. They claim it is only a matter of time. At the beginning of the 2000s many jobs were replaced

with the introduction of computers, and few can deny the benefits computers have brought to the

society. According to basic economic principles, automation allows humans to perform tasks faster

with fewer errors and at a lower cost. This increases productivity, which generates new wealth for

the society. The current technological transformations will eventually lead to the creation of new

products, new services, new markets, and new jobs.

The optimistic view is supported by historical evidence. It is impossible to deny the long-term

improvements that were brought by all the industrial revolutions. The advancements with respect to

health technologies and production technologies were major drivers of human advancements,

especially in terms of social values. Despite a temporary phase of unemployment and social unrest,

all countries that experienced an industrial revolution grew significantly in the end.

Pessimistic view

On the others hand, economists note that notwithstanding the long-term benefits brought by

technological progress in the past, the periods of transition entailed structural changes to the nature

of society and work. That resulted in many people losing their jobs and being unable to keep up

with the industrial changes. Secondly, supporters of the pessimistic view argue that the present

times are significantly different from the past technological revolutions. Both in terms of the nature

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of the inventions and the pace of current process. Unlike previous technological revolutions,

machines are becoming more and more sophisticated and are now entering a realm that once

belonged exclusively to men i.e. cognition. Economies will not be able to generate new types of

jobs and the result will be massive unemployment (or underemployment).

In conclusion, there is a lot of uncertainty with respect to the extent to which new automation

technologies will affect the labor market in decades to come. However, we already know that

national governments can direct the effects of such technological progress in a way to ensure a

favorable outcome.

Evidence from Japan

Are Robots really in contrast with Humans?

The pessimistic view described in the previous section emphasizes how difficult it is for robots to

coexist with humans. In economic terms, robots and humans are substitute goods and cannot

complement each other, but is this really the case? Most studies focus on the role of robots and

automation technologies in the industry and manufacturing sector, but Japan provides us an

example of how technology can ease social issues as well.

How Japan is taking care of its “aging” population with robots

Japanese population is getting older and older, and this trend is not likely to be reversed. According

to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, the country will face an important shortage of about

380,000 caregivers for the elderly. Japan is dealing with the problem by using robots. More than

600 care homes in Japan are using Palro, a humanoid robot designed to stimulate the brain of the

elderly by playing games with them.

Another commonly used robot is Paro, a realistic baby seal inspired by animal therapy for mental

illnesses. The robot helps those suffering with mental illnesses such as dementia, to feel more

30


socially engaged. According to different studies, Paro contributed to an extent to increasing the

welfare of the elderly and the ill. Still, there are many concerns related to the use of robots in social-

useful tasks simply because they cannot provide genuine empathy as humans can, and that humans’

sensitivity is unique and irreplaceable.

Opinions vary greatly across countries and across time. While in the US about 65% of Americans

argued that using robots to replace humans would be a change for the worse in 2014; in 2016 in

United Kingdom about half of the people were comfortable with robots performing “medical” tasks

for the elderly and the ill or disabled people.

Role of governments and the ECOSOC

Governments play a pivotal role in determining whether the outcomes of the current technological

revolution will aid growth and development for all, or not. Governments do not only have the

capability of fixing the inefficiencies of the markets, but also have the power to create them and

shape them. Besides this direct role of the government in leading innovation, there is also an

indirect role which is equally important. Governments will need to ensure – or create - an

environment that can spur innovation, but that can also distribute the benefits derived from it to

everyone. Consequently, it is important to adopt certain measures and policies that are country-

specific, for developed and developing countries face diverse challenges and have different starting

points.

Potential solutions

Domestic Policies

Training and Education: technological change will certainly - and in some areas is already -

requiring new skills from the potential workforce. Most workers will need to learn how to

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complement the functions performed by AI and the like. Therefore, providing the appropriate skills

to current and future workers is an important area for policy creation. Reforms will be necessary

both at the educational level and at the job-training level. Most experts agree that people replaced

by robots have always managed to find new jobs. However, it should be noted that it is part of the

government to incentivize the creation of new jobs that replaced workers can perform. The idea of

an unemployed mass of people surviving on welfare produced by robots is very hard to imagine, for

humans need to perform a task within the society they live in in order to be fulfilled as individuals.

Protection of Workers: Social security systems (such as pensions, taxes, subsidies, disability

permits etc.) are strictly tied to the structure of the labor market. Should the developments in

technology lead to mass unemployment, reforms of the social security system should be undertaken.

In addition, another great challenge is that of inequality, especially within countries. It is the

government’s responsibility to ensure that the benefits associated with development accrue to all,

and not just to a limited part of the population (such as the highly-skilled workers).

Many politicians have called for a so-called “robot-tax” which has also been endorsed by people

like Bill Gates. Companies that mostly rely on the use of “automatic” workforce should report the

percentage of robots and human labor they use. There is still strong opposition to the idea of taxing

robots, but it should be compared to what the other alternatives are in order to reduce inequality.

The fear of mass employment has also caused many to propose more radical solutions. The most

popular one is that of a Universal Basic Income (UBI), according to which every individual would

receive an unconditional cash grant. The aim of the policy would be to guarantee a minimum wage,

regardless of one’s employment status; UBI is regarded as a very controversial topic for many.

Will universal basic income be a viable (and desirable) option? Maybe just in some countries, or in

32


certain areas. Both measures (i.e. a tax on robots and UBI) are currently opposed by either policy-

makers or large portions of the population. For such measures to be successfully implemented and

to last, public support is essential.

International policies

Whereas most of the measures will be mainly domestic or specific to the level of development of a

country, international cooperation can make sure that these new technologies can indeed support

sustainable development. International cooperation thus plays a role in three main dimensions:

1. Addressing the divide between developed and developing countries.

2. Sharing strategies, challenges and lessons learned from others. International cooperation

through the means of exchanging information should not be pursued exclusively by national

governments, but also by firms, scientific institutions, labor unions, and all the involved

stakeholders.

3. Support for disadvantaged countries.

Four main country groups

Advanced economies

This cluster includes economically and socially developed countries such as the United States, the

United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, South Korea, and Japan. Most of these nations face the

problem of an aging population (therefore an aging workforce), and these countries are therefore

precisely the ones where automation could provide a boost in productivity.

Emerging economies with aging populations

This cluster includes Argentina, Brazil, China, and Russia. These countries have faced a decline in

their economic growth resulting from forecasts of a declining workforce.

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Emerging economies with younger populations

This cluster includes India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Turkey. Despite the

continued growth of the workforce that could support their productivity and economic growth, the

countries cannot lag behind in terms of technological advances for then they will stop being

competitive at a global level.

Developing Countries

Not even the least developed countries are immune or excluded from the fourth industrial

revolution. New technologies affect all kinds of economic activities relevant to these nations, most

importantly agriculture and the manufacturing sector. Many of these countries do not yet possess

the appropriate skills, infrastructures, and networks that would allow them to take advantage of the

new machines and tools. In addition, these countries are already challenged with high rates of

unemployment and most of the people work in the informal economy.

What is expected to emerge from the debate?

First of all, delegates should perform an accurate analysis of the consequences of the 4 th industrial

revolution in their countries. Will most of the transformation be positive or negative, will they be

short-term or long-term? Second of all, countries should ask themselves what is the approach they

want to take. Does the increased introduction of robots and automation exclude human capabilities

or not? Is it one or the other, is it a well-balanced mix? Should governments attempt to hold back

technological advancement (if possible) to allow people to adjust to these changes? How can

national governments make sure that these adjustments are enacted in a prompt manner? The debate

goes beyond national borders and delegates should try to understand if and how international

cooperation comes into play and how can they tackle the most controversial themes.

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Questions a resolution must answer:

❖ Are measures impeding or restricting the development of new technologies desirable?

❖ How can national governments assist the population in the development of skills?

❖ Which measures should governments adopt to protect the rights of workers?

❖ How can governments use technological advancement to reduce income inequality across

and within countries?

❖ How can international cooperation help?

Bibliography

Frey, C. and Osborne, M. (2017). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 114, pp.254-280.Gold, S. (2019). The Future of Work. [online] Industry Week. Available at: https://www.industryweek.com/automation/future-workNasdaq.com. (2015). Automation technology and its impact on jobs. [online] Available at: https://www.nasdaq.com/article/automation-technology-and-its-impact-on-jobs-cm526937Nasdaq.com. (2015). Automation technology and its impact on jobs. [online] Available at: https://www.nasdaq.com/article/automation-technology-and-its-impact-on-jobs-cm526937UN Department of Economic & Social Affairs (2017). The impact of the technological revolution on labour markets and income distribution. [online] Available at: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/2017_Aug_Frontier-Issues-1.pdfUNCTAD (2016). Robots and industrialization in developing countries. [online] Available at: https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/presspb2016d6_en.pdfWorld Economic Forum. (2019). How will automation affect society? [online] Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/01/how-will-automation-affect-society/Towards Data Science (2017). Artificial intelligence and the rise of economic inequality [online] Available at: https://towardsdatascience.com/artificial-intelligence-and-the-rise-of-economic-inequality-b9d81be58bec

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Conclusion

Distinguished delegates,

In conclusion, we do believe that via the discussion of these two topics, your horizons will be

greatly expanded towards issues that may be on one hand internationally known but on the other are

highly specific. The first one is not only about climate change resilience but also about helping

island nations which may be located way too far from Europe, but still affect us and the

international community. The second one is not only about automation but also about the future of

work, the challenges we do and will face as a generation as well as the ways to find concrete

solutions.

Both topics have one simple thing in common: they talk about cooperation, partnership and

innovation used to solving real, existing problems. As the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

is a public forum for debates, discussions and negotiations we do want from you, our delegates, to

conduct detailed researches and “think out the box”.

Our mission is to help you understand matters of global importance and improve your critical

thinking. We believe that these study guides will become your first inspiration and motivation to

construct your position papers properly and be fully aware of your country’s policy towards these

issues. We expect you to be prepared, devoted and responsible.

Sincerely yours,

The Board of ECOSOC

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