20/12/2022
e-SusP Talk 12/2022: Are We Becoming Architects of Our Own Destructions?
By Dr. Shaik Roslinah Bux, Deputy Director,
Productivity & Competitiveness Development (PCD) Division, MPC
As noted by a reader, Joachim Ng’s view in “Rule of Two and Climate Change” that Malaysia has not reduced consumption or population growth; instead, the country chose to reduce forests! (the Sun, Sept 9, 2020) must be given due attention by the authorities. Relevant stakeholders must understand and strive to minimise the impact of our economic activities as stipulated in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal number 12 on Responsible Consumption and Production. The impacts of climate change and global warming that are getting worse by the day include rising sea-levels and flooding, negative impacts on our fragile ecosystem, food chain and food security, natural environment and human health. The warning flags have been obvious; hence, Malaysia should give due urgency on how to realign our priorities as the nation strategises our recovery journey from the COVID-10 pandemic. This step is utmost critical to alleviate climate change and take effective action to ensure we achieve a harmonious balance of the three sustainability crucial factors; namely, economic, environment and social. The current pandemic has practically crippled the global supply chain where no one regardless of one’s status in society is spared! Joachim also shared that the global human population is at 60% overload on consumption volume while Malaysia’s baggage is at 77% overload! This means that the consumption rate of our 32 million people on the available natural resources and ecological services is hugely excessive! He also explained “carrying capacity”, an important concept in species survivals. Although every species has its own carrying capacity as each species has different way of using the environment, they generally follow the Rule of Two. Humans are the only species to ignore the Rule of Two with the consequence of climate change that is measurable by the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. In 1850, the concentration was 290 parts per million (PPM) by volume. In 1950, this concentration reached 320 ppm, whence scientists first detected climate change and sounded the alarm. The CO2 concentration increased to 415 ppm in 2019. Accordingly, Malaysia has two choices: reduce consumption or reduce population. Instead, Malaysia reduced forests. By cutting more trees than we plant, we are exposing ourselves to the possibility of a locally bred coronavirus hopping from jungle to town! We are also tragically reducing the bio-capacity of Malaysia. Bio-capacity is explained as the sum of all-natural resources available to sustain human existence. Logically, with more population, we are producing more CO2 and with lesser forests, the increasing volume of CO2 in the air will trigger a climate catastrophe in the future. It is advised that we should reduce consumption and balance population growth. The Egyptian government had in 2019 launch a campaign that says “two is enough” that aimed to curb the tradition of having large families that put increasing pressure on scarce water resources as well as threatens Egypt’s survival. Even in Indonesia, the government has secured the cooperation of religious leaders, be they Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Confucian to help draft a set of modules on combating climate change. Under this initiative, participating worship houses will install solar panels to demonstrate interfaith cooperation to save humanities. The question now is: Are we Malaysians conservatively behind in addressing the rapidly approaching climate devastation? In 2019, 11258 scientists across 153 countries have declared that “climate change has arrived and is accelerating faster than expected. Hence, planet Earth is clearly and unequivocally facing a climate emergency!” Does Malaysia care? As King Charles puts it: “In damaging our climate, we are becoming the architects of our own destruction!” Food for thought! Remember Eight Billion Dreams, 1Malaysia and pursue our national goals with care (responsibility), inclusivity, productivity and resiliency!