October 15th, 2019 | While discussing current working papers, the main argument between delegates has been the place of economic gain of countries trading in the Arctic region vs. the actual environmental benefits of the proposed plans. Malaysia, Panama, and South Africa have all brought up the economic benefits of the ICEE Penguin plan proposed by nations such as the USA and China that would not put a limit on trade in the area, making the area more susceptible to carbon emissions brought on by trade ships. Furthermore, the UK and South Africa have brought up the hypocrisy of the United States’ position on environmental issues, seeing as though the country is known for abusing countries’ oil and by association the environment of those countries, for their own monetary gain, which seems to be their goal for the Arctic region.
The SDM plan, or Sustainable Distribution Mechanism plan, seeks to facilitate trade while implementing a net-cooling system and a model created by Malaysia to limit the amount of trade of each country based on a plethora of factors. Trade through the Arctic seems inevitable, but France argues that this plan would offset the potential harm created by trade through the region with its green initiative, an initiative the US plan lacks. The US argues that this plan sacrifices possible resources and fails to use the region in the most beneficial way, which is another instance of the US’s corporate mindset at play.