Collaborations to Strengthen Malaysia’s Climate Action at IGEM 2023

Regional collaboration

This year, the theme of International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM) 2023 was Race Towards Net Zero: Leadership for Climate Action. Held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 4 to 6 October 2023, the exhibition was organised along the sub-themes of Empowering Cities; Electrifying Mobility; Decarbonising Energy; Accelerating Circularity; and Conserving Biodiversity. FuturArc was invited as media partner for the event and we contributed FuturArc magazines and digital content via app to the attendees, enhancing the overall knowledge sharing amongst the industry professionals.

In the welcoming remarks, YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC), said: “For ASEAN to be a determining factor in the just energy transition, we need to discuss and reach consensus on pressing and pertinent topics such as regional inter-connectivity partnerships, energy storage, carbon capture, green financing, hydrogen economy and ASEAN future grid, among others.”

A key highlight to support such regional collaboration was the AtoZero (Accelerate to Net Zero) ASEAN Summit & Exhibition, which was co-located and ran concurrently with IGEM 2023. This summit convened key stakeholders across the net zero value chain to comprehensively explore pathways, policies and business opportunities to drive the global net zero transition agenda. “AtoZero ASEAN is a significant inclusion into IGEM to enable us to drive leadership dialogues, investments and innovations around ASEAN’s net zero pathways,” said the Minister.

The opening day also saw the soft launch of Malaysia’s Pavilion for the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 28), which will reflect the nation’s commitment towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Planning for adaptation

On 6 October, the Climate Change Conversations Forum was held to urge more organisations to revisit their business operations and sustainability plans. The panel featured four speakers from logistics, energy, government and banking sectors.

During the forum, Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC) conducted an online polling to gauge the audience’s level of awareness and action plans. Seventy per cent of the audience felt that climate change would affect their organisation, and 91 per cent expressed concern about the threats posed by climate change. Areas they wished for Malaysia’s National Adaptation Plan to address were flood mitigation, food security, access to data, emission reduction, governance, regulation and responsible consumption.

German Ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Peter Blomeyer, highlighted in his speech: “There are three preconditions for progress, which include awareness of the problem’s dimension, the need for everyone’s contribution and the need to act now. Leaders in politics, administration, universities, schools and sectors must take action to address this challenge.”

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Geopark development

In line with the International Geodiversity Day on 6 October, the strategic plan to develop geoparks in Malaysia was launched by the NRECC through the Department of Minerals and Geosciences (JMG). “The beauty of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah, which was formed 9–8 million years ago, and the Machincang Formation, Langkawi, which is 550–490 million years old, are examples of geodiversity in Malaysia that have been globally recognised,” said YB Dato’ Sri Huang Tiong Sii, Deputy Minister of NRECC. Two plan documents have been developed to support the coordinating in realising the agenda.

Since the 1990s, JMG has carried out geological heritage mapping activities to preserve Malaysia’s natural heritage. They outlined three important elements in geopark development, namely education, conservation and sustainable development to ensure stewardship of resources while economically empowering local communities. These are necessary to fulfil international standards such as UNESCO Global Geoparks.

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Climate action simulator

The final day of IGEM saw the launch of the Malaysia Climate Action Simulator (MCAS), a webtool that can be accessed for public use (www.mcas.my). MCAS has been designed to simulate technically feasible low-carbon future scenarios up to the year 2050, offering a visualisation of Malaysia’s carbon emission trajectory across critical sectors, including energy, transport, building, industry, land use and waste.

Her Excellency Ailsa Terry CMG, British High Commissioner to Malaysia, said: “The launch of MCAS is a culmination of our knowledge sharing and technical collaboration with Malaysia, and I am pleased that it plays a role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions across key sectors… This is part of our ongoing ambitious partnership with Malaysia to address the shared challenge of climate change and energy transition.”

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