Malaysia Needs Detailed Plan and Action for Climate Emergency, Now
CAP calls on the Government to formulate a detailed plan with targets and timelines, setting out the actions to be taken to fulfil our commitments made during COP26, and under the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The plan must cover all sectors of our economy, public service and consumer behaviour. There must be an independent body with government and civil society representatives to monitor and evaluate the performance under the plan, and identify the problems in meeting the targets. A yearly progress report on the monitoring and evaluation must be submitted to Parliament.
Last month the Prime Minister announced that at the COP26 conference Malaysia would pledge to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity by 45% across the economy by 2030. He said the nation would aspire to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. There are no plans buttressed by laws to achieve these targets.
He said the achievement of the target is subject to the Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) that will be finalised by the end of 2022. We cannot wait that long because the climate catastrophe is not going to wait.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned the world leaders at the opening of COP26: “We face a moment of truth. We are fast approaching tipping points that will trigger escalating feedback loops of global heating.” The Government should immediately suspend all forest clearing and land reclamation projects that contribute significantly to planet-warming, while waiting for the LT-LEDS.
Six years ago in 2015, we signed on to the 17 UN SDGs. Goal 13 requires us to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. The target date for achieving the UN SDGs is 2030. Six years have passed and we don’t even have a low emission development plan to achieve that objective and have to wait another year.
The recently created Malaysia Climate Change Action Council (MyCAC), headed by the Prime Minister, must act without delay and take urgent measures to produce and implement a plan of action to address the life-threatening problem of climate emergency. It meets only twice a year, and therefore must set up a task force to prepare the plan, identifying the actions to be taken and the targets to be met in different sectors.
The Federal Government, State governments and local authorities are not moving in tandem to address environmental issues. State governments are approving forest clearances and land reclamation, and local authorities are approving building plans, without regard to the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) such activities produce, aggravating the climate crisis.
For example, in Penang, there has been strong objection to the Penang South Reclamation project but the State government adamantly persists in proceeding with it. The reclamation of the coastal area will have serious socio-economic and environmental impacts.
The fishing community will be completely dislocated, the fisheries irreversibly destroyed, and the altered sea currents will lead to coastal erosion. The coral reefs and mudflats will be wiped out.
Despite the serious negative impacts of the development in violation of our commitments under UN SDGs, the environmental impact assessment was approved. It highlights the failure of our environmental laws and institutions to protect our environment.
To the shock of environmentalists, the Selangor State government decided to degazette the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve for the purpose of commercial development. The peat forest is home to rich biodiversity and several indigenous communities. The proposed development would have violated our international commitments and yet the authorities approved it. Fortunately, public pressure caused the authorities to cancel the project.
Thus, the authorities need to take a serious approach to address the climate catastrophe. The political leaders and officials at the federal, state and local authority levels must share a common vision and work together to achieve our international commitments with regard to sustainable development and the climate crisis.
We call on the Government to:
- Develop and implement a detailed plan with targets and timelines, setting out the actions to be taken to fulfil our commitments made during COP26, and under the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Set up an independent body with government and civil society representatives to monitor and evaluate the performance under the plan and identify the problems in meeting the targets.
- Stop deforestation and land reclamation of coastal areas that aggravate the climate crisis.
- Formulate a long-term plan through public discussion to shift away from use of fossil fuel energy to clean energy in all sectors.
- Promote sustainable production and consumption of foods, products and services.
Press Statement / Letter to the Editor, 12 November 2021