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FOREWORD
Dear Delegates,

Greeting from the Board of Directors!. As IMUN 2010 is approaching, we are sure that delegates are
doing a great deal of preparation to make the best out of IMUN. IMUN provides a unique opportunity
for delegates that do not only demand the public speaking and communication skill but also
comprehensive understanding on the issue raised within the committee. The Study guide provided was
hoped to provide the general picture of the problem. Realizing the study guide is far from complete, we
are now publishing the Study Guide Update. This 3 pages updates contain issues that might not be
covered in the Study guide and update on the development of the issues.

The two topic areas provided in GA are relatively new and dynamic. Swift changes on the issues of
nuclear power and new and renewable energy demand the delegates to keep their eyes open for the
changes. We are expecting the conference to be as realistic as possible, thus it should manage to bear a
resemblance to the real situation. For the topic area A, we present you with the case study in several
nations in which they started to realize the need for nuclear power but also the cost that came with the
package. Australia with their water scarcity that will only be exacerbated with the nuclear power. The
environmental concerns than that rise due to the nuclear waste, and byproduct in USA and Australia. In
the case of France we’ve shown how the private party started to engage on the matter. Dilemma is also at
hand on the issue of renewable energy in Topic Area B. While we are in need for the substitute of fossil
fuel, existing alternatives posses their own threat. The case and notions presented are our way to show
there are vast concerns needed to be address on our topic areas. This is also a reminder for the
QARMA’a presented in the Study guide. Various countries used as examples show that each nations are
facing its own dilemma on both topic, be it develop and developing, we are urging nations to use their
own unique point of view on the issue. We are hoping various problems faced by nations can be put
forward to make a lively debate and discussion that in the end will result in comprehensives resolution
that will manage address the QARMA’s effectively.

We once again emphasize that the Updated Study Guide we provided are just the first step. We are urging
delegates to do further research, specifically on their respective countries stance. This will help not only in
composing the position paper but later on the conference. We are hoping this will be a sufficient starting
point for your research. As usual, if you have inquiries or just want to say hi, do not hesitate to drop your
message in our email ga@indonesiamun.org or our facebook group.

Good luck on your preparation and we can’t wait to see you in Depok.

Regards

Riza Aryani
General Assembly Director

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Topic Area A: Nuclear Power for Humanity: Mitigating

the Nuclear Impacts
Australia: Nuclear Power and Water Scarcity
Nuclear power turns out to be the most water-hungry of all energy sources, with a single reactor
consuming around 35-65 million liters of water each day. This fact has created dilemma for
countries that are facing the problem of water scarcity, which includes Australia. The water-
guzzling coal-fired plants that are heavily relied upon to generate power in the country have
already created water scarcity, and if Australia is to develop its nuclear power facilities, there are
worries all around that this will make the problem worse.iA report in December 2006 notes that
the water requirement of nuclear power station is 20-83% higher than for other power plant.ii

The concern is not only the water scarcity but also the delicate environment including the marine
ecosystem and large numbers of animals including endangered species. The water consumption
automatically will remove water from lake or river that will directly affect the aquatic life. The
water pollutants as the result of nuclear waste can negatively affect the water quality. Another
problem that most probably will occur is “cold stunning” fish acclimatize to warm water
expelled by the reactor. When the reactor taken off line, they can no longer expelling the warm
water, the fish died out from the cold water.iii The water inflow creates damages that will then be
exacerbated by the water expulsion from the nuclear power plan.

France: The Global Marketing of Nuclear Reactors

As a country that uses nuclear power as the main source of electricity, France has been the
forefront runner in the world of nuclear energy. French has something they call filière nucléaire,
that is, an assortment of business that design, build, and operate 58 nuclear power plants that
generate 75% of electricity in this country. Now, as the world is keeping up with the
development of nuclear energy, France sees this as an opportunity to market their expertise:
French nuclear companies, such as Electricité de France (EDF) and GDF Suez and the nuclear
plant designers and engineers Areva and Alstom are helping out the construction of nuclear
reactors from Argentina to Vietnam.iv
Nevertheless, these companies are also faced by competitors from other countries, such as US,
South Korea, and Japan, which can assemble consortia to deliver nuclear plants with greater ease
than France’s bickering companies. Without a strong guiding hand, France's filière also has a
tendency to unravel in chaos and acrimony, where every company’s ambitions tend to destroy
the cooperation between them. For example, recently, French companies lost a $20 billion
contract to build four reactors in the United Arab Emirates to South Korea because they are
deemed unorganized.v

United States: The Nuclear Pros and Cons

Although US President Barack Obama spreaded out his wish for a nuclear-free world (weapons,
that is) to the world, domestically, he tries to promote the use of nuclear power, which is
arguably will meet the country’s growing energy needs and prevent the worst consequences of
climate change. This is being realized through $8 billion in federal loan for the construction of
first nuclear power plants in the US in more than 30 years. Two planned reactors will be situated
in Georgia and is expected to generate nearly 800 new jobs as well. But, the project is also faced
by protests: environmentalists are increasingly worried that greener sources like solar and wind
are being downplayed in favor of nuclear, clean coal and biofuels — all centralized technologies

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that appeal to conservatives. Not to mention, the technology still has unresolved environmental
risks and has struggled for years to attract private capital.vi

Topic Area B: New and Renewable Energy: Solution to

World’s Energy Problem
World’s Untapped Energy Reserves

Substituting oil as the primary source of energy today is urgent. According to British Petroleum,
the proven world oil reserves are about 1200 billion. With the level of consumption that we have
today, it is estimated to last for only about 41 years.vii With the increasing rate of energy
consumption in the world from both develop and developing nations alternatives energy sources
need to be provided to meet the demand. However the development of new and renewable
energy such as wind, geothermal etc are relatively slow. It is due to the lack of incentives for
investment in this new and renewable energy.

Nations that possess great reserves of this new and renewable energy usually not being able to
capitalized their reserves of new energy sources. Lack of market incentives, capital and
technology becomes the classic reason. Indonesia, one of the largest energy consumer and at the
same time has the largest geothermal reserves in the world can only develop less than 4% of its
reserves for the last two decades.viii Another example is Kyrgyzstan. A country that relied heavily
on the energy import, Kyrgyzstan is expected to posses large underground deposits of gas and
oil. Only those assets remain untapped as they are lacking in economic and technology capability.
Investors are hesitant to exploit the reserves due to accessibility issue. Moreover, the lack of
infrastructure and the ill-equipped locals are expected to create a cost heavy project. ix

The Politics of Wind Energy

Wind energy is one of the cleanest energy sources because it does not create any waste, uses no
water, and doesn’t need much room. Still, wind technology produces as much political heat as
fossil fuels: opponents of this energy say a unique landscape or seascape will be overshadowed,
to the detriment of tourists and residents alike. Besides, wind power does undoubtedly pose
some hazard to birds and other animals, and presumably to humans, as well. Some also simply
find wind turbines ugly, an eyesore in any location.x
An example of this will be the dispute in Maine, United States, where environmentalists squabble
over plans to expand a “wind farm” on the wilderness of Kibby Mountain because it is worried
the lynx and other animal species will be disturbed. Meanwhile, a $1 billion sea-based project in
New York’s Hudson River, called Cape Wind—which was already approved by the Obama
Administration in April 2010—was protested as well. Although if it proceeds, it will be
America’s first offshore wind park, with a capacity of 468 megawatts. US has been a leader in
land-based turbines but lags behind Chinese and Europe in a sea-based efforts.xi

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ENDNOTES
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i Sue Wareham and Jim Green, “Nuclear Power and Water Scarcity” accessed from
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/opinions/20072910-16508.html/ on February 2, 2010.
ii Loc.Cit

iii Loc.Cit
iv Joshua Levine, “Nuclear War,” Time (August 9, 2010), accessed from

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2007285,00.html/ on September 2, 2010.

v Ibid.

vi Bryan Walsh, “The Green Politics Behind Nuclear Power,” Time (February 16, 2010), accessed from

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1964571,00.html/ on February 2, 2010.

vii “Renewable Energy Information”, accessed from http://renewenergy.wordpress.com/transition/energy-

resources/non-renewable/ on September 3rd 2010.

viii Fitrian, Adryansah, “ Renewing Support for Renewable Energy” accessed from

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/02/renewing-support-renewable-energy.html, on September 3rd

2010.
ix Michael,Coffey, ”Between Scylla and Charybdis : Kyrgyztan’s Energy Alternatives” accessed from

http://www.sras.org/kyrgyzstan_energy_alternatives , on September 4th 2010.

x “Wind energy and politics: Not on my beach, please,” The Economist (August 21-27, 2010), pp. 44-45.
xi Ibid.!

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