Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority.
– Bill Gates, co-founder of software giant Microsoft
I welcome the move by the Sarawak government to put its foot forward in tackling the climate change crisis by spearheading the initiative to set up a climate change centre.
This central hub will coordinate, manage and support all climate change initiatives and carbon trading in Sarawak.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg in his winding-up speech during the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly sitting said the government had completed a study on its establishment with its development now in the pipeline.
Sarawak has always been an ardent supporter of environmental sustainability and to put it bluntly, there is nothing sustainable about the current inclement weather.
Research from the World Meteorological Organisation declared 2023 the hottest year to date with temperatures reaching 1.45 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The prediction is that this year might be even warmer as heatwaves swept across countries in Southeast Asia. Similarly, deadly floods struck cities and provinces in Afganistan, Oman, Uruguay and Argentina.
This not only poses risks to humans and properties but also could endanger and disrupt economies.
As Abang Johari rightly highlighted, climate change and adverse weather conditions could put biodiversity and livelihoods in Sarawak at immediate risk.
For Indonesia, the impending effect of climate change prompted it to take drastic action, relocating its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan.
Increasingly, severe rainfall and flooding, rising sea levels and land subsidence have conspired to make the Southeast Asian megacity a challenging place for more than 10.5 million people to live in.
A quarter of the city located on the western tip of the densely populated island of Java could be underwater by 2050.
While corrective measures were implemented in 2002 through the construction of a coastal wall, just five years later in 2007 the wall proved no match for the worst floods in Jakarta’s modern history.
Its new capital — reported to cost about USD35 billion — is being built from scratch and will take 20 years to complete.
This situation does not only affect Indonesia as other places such as Tianjin, China; Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Yangon, Myanmar are suffering the same fate, being named among the top five fastest-sinking cities.
Climate change also impacts food security whereby crops are affected, leading to eventual crop failures and hunger.
Eighty per cent of the global population is at risk of this, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, where farming is an income source for the community. A severe drought can push millions into poverty.
In the Sarawak context, the impact of climate change could have severe repercussions if not addressed swiftly.
The Sarawak government has been pursuing the shift towards renewable energy, investing in green technologies and infrastructure to diversify its energy mix of hydroelectric and renewables emerging as a green powerhouse in ASEAN.
Similarly, the government is committed to expanding green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from microalgae and exploring innovative technology such as hybrid solar-wind projects.
With Sarawak’s economic development now at full speed, we simply cannot afford for it to be stopped in its tracks.
Last year, the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly also passed a law mandating the control of emissions by the industries, being the first to do so in Malaysia.
This paves the way for Sarawak to meet the target of net-zero emissions by 2050 set by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The law promotes carbon capture and storage and mitigates climate change effects while providing opportunities for Sarawakians to participate in global warming effect mitigation projects and to earn carbon credits for their efforts.
This in turn will enable Sarawak to have a new source of revenue which would enhance the state’s capacity towards developing it in an economically sustainable manner.
In any case, leadership and political will are important in ensuring the success of Sarawak’s renewable energy policy.
Abang Johari has exemplified this and shown he has what it takes to lead the climate action in the region.
Climate change is a threat to lives and livelihoods and must be treated as such.
Stability in government and public support for the policies of the government have proven to be essential in ensuring the continuity of efforts to tackle the impact of climate change.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
