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1051 motions

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  • That we prefer corporate carbon offsets as opposed to direct reductions in corporations' carbon emissions.

    Infoslide

    For the purpose of this debate, a carbon offset is a means of compensating for one's carbon emissions by engaging in a certain activity that decreases carbon in the atmosphere. For example, purchasing and sustaining forest land, carbon capture and storage technology, or buying and selling carbon credits.

    Advanced Open 2024 · Round 4 · 2024-03-03

  • In disaster-prone areas, This house believes that states should heavily prioritize direct anticipatory cash transfers to citizens over post-disaster relief efforts.

    Infoslide

    Anticipatory cash transfers are cash provided by states or humanitarian relief organisations that recipients can use to improve their resilience in the days or weeks before extreme weather hits. Post-disaster relief efforts are states’ measures to help out people after the disaster has already struck."

    The Kansai 2024 · ラウンド3 · 2024-03-01

  • In the exploration of alternate liveable planets, This house would prioritize climate engineering as opposed to the search for natural characteristics similar to Earth

    Infoslide

    Climate engineering refers to any deliberate and extensive modification to the environment with the aim of establishing a viable climate. There is currently a variety of speculative climate engineering solutions including carbon dioxide sequestration, stratospheric aerosol injection, and ocean fertilization.

    McMaster High Schools Debate Championship 2024 · Round 4 · 2024-03-01

  • This house prefers a world where the natural ageing process is replaced with the Shani Ageing Process

    Infoslide

    Under the Shani Ageing Process, the rate at which adults age is directly tied to the difference between their Carbon Footprint and the Carbon Footprint Benchmark The Carbon Footprint Benchmark is the level of Carbon Footprint on a per capita basis that would maintain the current status of the climate. The Carbon Footprint Benchmark changes over time to account for the state of the climate. For example, in 2024 the Carbon Footprint Benchmark may be X units; however, if by 2034, the health of the climate has improved, the Carbon Footprint Benchmark would increase, e.g. to X+2 units – i.e. individuals would be able to generate a higher Carbon Footprint before they reached the Carbon Footprint Benchmark. - An individual’s Carbon Footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, emitted directly or indirectly by an individual; factors such as an individual’s energy usage, travel habits, dietary choices, and consumption patterns are taken into account. Individuals with Carbon Footprints above the Carbon Footprint Benchmark age faster than natural, while those with Carbon Footprints lower than the Carbon Footprint Benchmark age slower than natural. The rate at which you age is linear not exponential (i.e. every Carbon Footprint unit above or below the Carbon Footprint Benchmark has the same impact on ageing as the previous unit). For example, consider two individuals, Abhi and Charlie, who are the same age but have different Carbon Footprints. Abhi, who lives a sustainable lifestyle with minimal carbon emissions, may age at a rate equivalent to one year for every 18 months that pass. In contrast, Charlie, whose lifestyle is characterized by high carbon emissions from excessive consumption and travel, may age at a rate of one year for every nine months that pass. An individual’s Carbon Footprint is discounted by the degree of choice they had over the relevant act. For example, consider two other individuals, Bob and Anna, if Bob invites Anna for lunch and makes steak, and they both eat the same amount of it, Bob’s Carbon Footprint would be higher than Anna if he had decided, without Anna’s input, to serve steak rather than a more environmentally friendly option. The Shani Ageing Process does not affect one’s ability to die for causes not related to ageing. In a world with the Shani Ageing Process, people’s understanding of it would mirror their understanding of the natural ageing process in the current world.

    LSE OPEN 2024 · Grand Final · 2024-02-24

  • This house would choose the commune over a law career

    Infoslide

    You are a 22-year-old recent Western University graduate. A group of close friends you have had since the start of university have bought a plot of land to start a commune based on the ZAD (zone à défendre) model. A ZAD is an occupation of land that is intended to physically blockade a development project, and was successfully used in 2011 France to block the development of an airport. Your friends want to block the development of a oil pipeline in British Columbia through an agricultural community, where they live off the land, set up communal trades and businesses. They are inviting you to establish the commune together. However, you recently also received an offer to attend Harvard Law School. 

    Western University Winter Debating Championships 2024 · Grand Final · 2024-02-24

  • This house regrets the focus on climate neutrality in the battle against climate change

    Infoslide

    Carbon neutrality is achieving balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon emissions from carbon sinks. For example, if Esso pledges to be carbon neutral, they may fund a project to restore a rainforest, so long as that rainforest absorbs as much carbon as Esso emits.

    Western University Winter Debating Championships 2024 · Round 1 · 2024-02-24

  • This House, as Joe Biden, would end the pause on US approvals for new LNG export facilities.

    Infoslide

    The United States is the world's top exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is used as a mode of efficiently transporting natural gas through pipelines (for uses such as power generation). On January 26, Biden halted the approval of new licenses to export US LNG, citing environmental concerns related to fossil fuel emissions.

    Western WSDC 2024 · Open Quarterfinals · 2024-02-09

  • This house, as the EU, would abandon European Green Deal policies

    Infoslide

    the European Green Deal was established in 2019. Its policies include but are not limited to: cap and trade systems of emissions; agricultural emissions caps; carbon taxes; and performance standards for cars.

    Copenhagen Open 2024 · Semifinals · 2024-02-08

  • This house believes that environmental movements should advocate for incentive-based policies rather than punishment-based policies to tackle climate change

    Infoslide

    There are two types of policies that can be used to fight climate change. Incentive based policies provide financial incentives to encourage individuals or corporations to become more sustainable. This can look like subsidies on solar panel installation, covering the cost of refitting homes to be more energy efficient, and price reductions on purchasing electric vehicles.&nbsp;</p><p>Punishment based policies seek to punish individuals for emissions or environmentally unfriendly behaviour. This looks like carbon taxes, fines for excessive pollution, or regulation that caps the amount of emissions that any entity can emit.

    International Competition for Young Debaters 2024 · Round 2 · 2024-01-21