No need to declare climate emergency yet - minister

 

The government sees no need to declare a climate emergency in the country as of yet, said Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

Nonetheless, he said the government is keeping a close eye on mitigation efforts to ensure there is no drastic increase in temperatures.

Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat during minister question time, Tuan Ibrahim (above) said in order to declare a climate emergency, plans to tackle climate change need to be shown to be ineffective first.

While acknowledging that climate change has resulted in more floods, he said the government has put in place short-term and long-term plans to both deal with floods and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

This includes aiming to make Malaysia achieve a net-zero carbon emissions status by 2050.

At present, he said, carbon emissions in Malaysia were around 316.83 metric tonnes, of which 245.79 metric tonnes were offset.

Hence, he said one of the government's goals now is to capture the remaining excess carbon emissions - via efforts such as protecting forests, planting trees, and protecting coral reefs. - Mkini