Future Perfect

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ustainability

olicies

, P

rogrammes

and

their

conomic

mpact

the medium term (by 2020), but also to strengthen its economic

foundation in order to shift to a new period of a low-carbon

economy. Arguably, the process of greening Malaysia’s industry

started as early as the 1970s, first exemplified by the introduction

of regulations to manage pollution from the palm oil industry.

Revenues from pollution licences show that discharges from palm

oil wastes declined by 88 per cent in 12 years, and effluents from

rubber wastes by 44 per cent in 10 years. The 1974 Environmental

Quality Act has also been amended to suit the changing reali-

ties of regulating pollution from agro-based and manufacturing

industries. In energy development, Malaysia’s policy framework

evolved from a sole focus on fossil fuel supply in the 1970s to

a diversification of supply sources, which included renewable

energy, by 2000.

More recently, Malaysia has introduced a more systemic archi-

tecture to respond to the global green economy agenda. The nation

has certainly sent a strong signal that it intends to change its policy

course. At the Copenhagen climate change meeting in December

2009, Malaysia declared its commitment to voluntary emission

reductions of up to 40 per cent by 2020 over 2005 levels, measured

in terms of emissions intensity of GDP, conditional on receiving

transfer of technology and finance of adequate and effective levels.

The National Climate Change Policy introduced in 2009 aims to

ensure climate-resilient development to fulfil national aspirations

for sustainability. It also serves as a framework to mobilize and

guide Government agencies, industry and communities as well as

other stakeholders and major groups in addressing the challenges

of climate change in a concerted and holistic manner.

In April 2009, the Malaysian government announced the incor-

poration of the green technology portfolio into a newly established

Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (replacing the

Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications). The central role

of green technology was emphasized by the release of a National

Green Technology Policy, overseeing greening in four sectors –

energy, buildings, water and waste management and transportation.

Green technology is earmarked as an important driver for the twin

goals of high income and sustainability. Malaysia’s early success is

evident in attracting $4 billion worth of foreign direct investments

to the solar photovoltaic industry in 2011. Green technology also

encourages the business sector to invest in environmental protec-

tion, a role hitherto played mainly by Government. The greater

role accorded for the business sector is consistent with changes

in national development planning in Malaysia, from an approach

underpinned by central planning to one aimed at creating enabling

conditions to accommodate greater partnership for the delivery of

better development outcomes.

Malaysia also places greater emphasis on sustainable consump-

tion and production as a strategy to transition to a green economy.

To promote cleaner technology and production, a National Lifecycle

Inventory Database is being developed for primary industries and

activities such as electricity generation, water supply, petroleum

and natural gas exploration and production as well as petrochemi-

cals. The purpose of the database is to facilitate efforts by industries

to develop life-cycle approaches in their product and manufactur-

ing processes. The Government has also put in place a National

Eco-Labelling Programme (NELP) to ensure that businesses make

credible claims about their products and to raise awareness among

both consumers and manufacturers about environmentally friendly

products and services. The NELP is meant to be a precursor to the

new Green Procurement Strategies, which will seek

to promote and facilitate green procurement by both

the Government and private sector. Over the past

few years, cleaner production and energy efficiency

auditing have been carried out nationwide, involving

largely small and medium-scale enterprises. Based on

the finding, the Government plans to establish a model

‘cleaner production’ plant in each state involving food

and beverage industries. The focus is on resource and

input savings and reducing pollution at sources.

In conservation and sustainable utilization of its

forest resources and biodiversity, Malaysia has devel-

oped comprehensive forest management practices

which have provided the basis for developing global

standards. Malaysia has also developed its own Criteria

and Indicators to ensure that timber products are made

of resources harvested from sustainably managed

forests and comply with consumer needs. Malaysia

has also made great strides in promoting sustainable

practices in palm oil cultivation. The Roundtable on

Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is an initiative by the

industry to provide a platform for oil palm growers

to adopt good practices in their oil palm cultivation.

A more recent highlight is the formulation of the

Renewable Energy Act 2011 with a feed-in tariff to

encourage the growth of a clean energy industry and

facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. The

law is being administered by the newly established

Sustainable Energy Development Authority. The quan-

titative targets set are: 6 per cent (or 985 megawatts) of

national energy mix to come from renewables by 2015;

and 11 per cent (2 gigawatts) of electricity genera-

tion to come from renewables by 2020. In choosing

the low-emissions, high-growth option, Malaysia is

gearing itself to harness the opportunities from the

green economy imperative to achieving sustainable

development.

On track for sustainable development

Since independence, Malaysia has embarked on rapid

industrialization. The ensuing decades saw a steady

transformation of the natural environment, from

forests to agricultural land and industries includ-

ing urban settlements. However, the proportion of

forested land is still 62.4 per cent, a notable figure

in comparison with other developed and developing

countries. During the industrialization process, the

country scored very well as far as the social compo-

nent of sustainable development is concerned, with

the poverty eradication programme recording an envi-

able success. Malaysia is on track to achieve all the

MDG objectives. Moving forward, Malaysia’s agenda

on sustainable development is advanced within the

context of quality of life and the protection of the

environment by embarking on low-carbon, climate-

resilient growth and enhancing conservation of the

nation’s ecological assets. Echoing other countries,

Malaysia is committed to making substantial progress

in meeting the sustainable related objectives.