August 31, 2021in News 2 Likes

Low Carbon Cities – Malaysia’s Response to Global Climate Emergency

By Nasha Lee, Environment Analyst

 

Photograph by Melissa Bradley, Unsplash

 

The 2019 UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP 25, is currently underway in the Spanish capital of Madrid. Within the halls of the negotiations, as negotiators discuss more ambitious action on climate change, the phrase “climate emergency” has been used generously. From children skipping school for climate strikes, to protests which put city centres to a standstill – 2019 is the year in which the climate emergency has been dragged to the mainstream by people all around the world.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned there is only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

 

Cities at the frontline of climate change

Cities offer a solution to the climate emergency. Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, which produce 80% of GDP and are responsible for a whopping three quarters of carbon emissions. This share of population, economic activity and emissions is set to grow rapidly.

By 2050, two-thirds of our global population will live in urban areas. Nearly 90% of the growth in urban population will occur in Asia and Africa. As urban populations in these regions continue to grow and have greater material prosperity, there will be a corresponding rise in the consumption of resources and energy, and generation of waste. It is becoming increasingly real that the battle for the planet will be won or lost in cities.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned there is only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

Over time, cities and its inhabitants will also be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, ranging from heat waves, to droughts, floods and hurricanes. 70% of cities around the world are already dealing with climate impacts, while nearly all cities are at risk.

A 2018 report by C40 forecasts that 1.6 billion people would be regularly exposed to extreme high temperatures by 2050. Food supplies would also be under threat, with one in four people (2.5 billion people) living in over 1,600 cities facing food insecurity due to climate change. Richer cities such as Athens, Barcelona, Istanbul and Los Angeles are not excluded from this list.

Malaysia’s recent climate change report to the UNFCCC, an output of a UNDP- Global Environment Facility Project shows that the country’s temperature, rainfall and sea levels have been on the rise in the last 40 years, and are projected to continue rising to 2050. Average temperatures are projected to hike between 1.2 to 1.6oC by 2050. This brings about an added vulnerability to a large proportion of our urban population who live in low-elevation coastal areas.

 

Low Carbon Cities

Low carbon cities are an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions while offering tremendous economic opportunities. A new report from the Coalition for Urban Transition show that by using existing low-carbon technologies and practices, we could cut 90% of emissions globally. These would require an investment of USD 1.8 trillion (approximately 2% of global GDP) a year but will generate annual returns worth USD2.8 trillion in 2030 from the energy and material cost savings alone.

Malaysia’s recent climate change report to the UNFCCC, an output of a UNDP- Global Environment Facility Project shows that the country’s temperature, rainfall and sea levels have been on the rise in the last 40 years, and are projected to continue rising to 2050. 

Carbon emissions in Malaysia mainly relate to urban settings, where the energy sector (including electricity and transportation) makes up 80% of total emissions. This means that there is enormous potential to reduce emissions from the energy sector to obtain both carbon and cost savings. A joint study by UNDP and the Economic Planning Unit (now known as the Ministry of Economic Affairs) estimated that just by improving energy efficiency in the buildings and transport sectors, RM46.9 billion (USD 11.2 billion) in energy spending could be saved between 2016 and 2030.

Average temperatures are projected to hike between 1.2 to 1.6oC by 2050. This brings about an added vulnerability to a large proportion of our urban population who live in low-elevation coastal areas.

Low carbon city measures such clean energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport and integrated waste management can help cities to leapfrog to a sustainable and green development pathway. Investments in low carbon cities also create opportunities for decent work in these new emerging sectors.

Many cities in Malaysia have already set a low-carbon vision or developed a low carbon action plan, and the preparation of greenhouse gas inventories that can help to track low-carbon actions are also underway. Urban areas such as Kuala Lumpur, Iskandar Malaysia, Seberang Perai and Melaka have signed up to be members of city alliances such as the C40 and ICLEI, making a commitment to minimise their carbon footprints. A total of 52 local authorities are now part of the Low Carbon City Framework Programme which encourages strategies and actions to reduce carbon emissions at the local level.

“Cities are engines of growth, innovation and prosperity. It is possible and realistic to realise net-zero emissions by 2050. But to get there we will need the full engagement of city governments combined with national action and support.” -Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General

These cities are part of a group of almost 10,000 cities that are stepping up and committing to inspirational action to reduce carbon emissions.

 

What is UNDP Malaysia doing?

With funding support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), UNDP is working together with our partners the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) and the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) to implement a low carbon cities project titled the Green Technology Application for the Development of Low Carbon Cities (GTALCC) project.

The GTALCC project promotes integrated solutions covering a few focus areas: (1) integrated planning for climate action, (2) crowding in private investment and supporting city-level climate finance instruments, (3) driving the zero-carbon transition with a focus on integrated urban energy, building, transport and waste systems.

A snapshot of the project’s key activities in 2019 is below:

 

It is crucial for both cities and the national government to play their respective roles in this low-carbon transition. The GTALCC project is supporting this by working with five pilot cities (Putrajaya, Iskandar Malaysia, Cyberjaya, Petaling Jaya and Hang Tuah Jaya) to roll out sustainable city solutions. At the same time, the project is leveraging national support through the development of the National Low Carbon Cities Masterplan, which outlines the direction and plans for the transition towards low carbon cities in Malaysia. The Masterplan which will be launched in 2020 establishes a common definition of what low carbon cities are, while identifying the key actions and targets for cities. The GTALCC project builds upon the work that UNDP Malaysia is doing on localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and making the SDGs real to communities, households and cities.

Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General once said that “Cities are engines of growth, innovation and prosperity. It is possible and realistic to realise net-zero emissions by 2050. But to get there we will need the full engagement of city governments combined with national action and support.” The threat of climate change has never been greater, but ambitious action from cities has the potential for transformative change worthy to turnaround the climate emergency.

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July 28, 2020in News 0 Likes

How to Use Socially Innovative Policy-Making for an Inclusive Energy Transition

Social innovation should accompany environmental policymaking. Policies will have little effect without the acceptance and understanding of the people directly affected by the changes. Much of the climate change discourse centers on wide-scale economic, social and cultural change – this rhetoric gives people little agency, leaving many feeling alienated.

Policies will have little effect without the acceptance and understanding of the people directly affected by the changes.

Social innovation in the context of the energy transition is a process of change in social interaction and the sharing of knowledge leading to – or based on – new environmentally sustainable ways of producing, managing, and consuming energy that address social challenges. There are many pioneering European cities applying socially innovative approached in local energy transitions with replicable approaches. Based on studies in such cities – the following nine practical recommendations are a red thread for any policy maker to follow when planning and implementing novel energy policies.

Recommendation 1: Build on existing engagement. Pro-environmental dispositions have been found to be important drivers of social innovations in the energy sector. This is the case irrespective of the actor involved, whether a citizen or a NGO. Connecting with individuals or groups with existing environmental engagement or taking a step further and develop environmental engagement in stakeholders is good way to build support.

Recommendation 2:  Welcome resistance. People often demonstrate resistance when faced with ambiguity, such as the financial ramifications of a new energy policy. It is important to acknowledge these concerns as valid and to be transparent about associated risks and costs. Identifying hesitant groups and involving them in trial periods and planning, can help alleviate concerns.

Recommendation 3: Be trustworthy. Trust in the abilities and good intentions of stakeholders and decision-makers is a key factor for the acceptability of new policies. A recent study[1] in France indicated very few people deny climate change (irrespective of their social status), but they do not trust institutions to be able to fix it. Participatory processes are a good way to strengthen trust, especially with disadvantaged groups suffering from energy poverty. Giving people opportunities to express concerns and fostering wider dialogue in order to avoid polarisation of opposing groups is important.

Read more >>> HERE

April 30, 2020in News 2 Likes

How cities are reshaping streets to prepare for life after lockdown

As the daily coronavirus death toll slowly falls in Italy and cities in the country make plans for reopening, Milan is beginning to transform 22 miles of local streets, adding temporary bike lanes and wider sidewalks, and lowering the speed limit. In Berlin, some parking spots have also become pop-up bike lanes. Paris is fast-tracking long-distance bike lanes that connect suburbs to the city center. And in Brussels, on May 4, the city center will become a priority zone for people on bikes and on foot.
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Cities are responding to an immediate need for transportation to change—as more people begin to go back to work, if subways and buses can’t be as full as usual while allowing passengers to maintain social distancing, biking and walking will need to fill the gap. But it’s also a way to accelerate plans to cut car use that were already underway to fight climate change and make urban air safer to breathe.
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“If we all need to be healthy and move in a healthy way, there’s no better way to do that than to walk and bike, and providing the infrastructure to do that is absolutely key,” says Mike Lydon, principal at the urban planning and design firm Street Plans. “Traffic volumes will go back up. But it’s at this point where we get to decide in our cities how much of it we let back in, and to what degree it’s a guest.”

 

Read more >>> HERE

January 9, 2020in News 0 Likes

‘Zero Emission Tokyo Strategy’ spells out capital’s plan to take on global climate crisis

BY OSCAR BOYD, The Japan Times

Tucked into the tail end of the decade was Friday’s release of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Zero Emission Tokyo Strategy,” which unveils a blueprint for achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

In the strategy, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government states that it recognizes a climate crisis and that the city “will implement concrete policies and effective measures,” such as making all buildings in Tokyo zero-emissions buildings and making all cars driven here completely carbon-free by the middle of the century.

 

 

Read more >>> HERE

Download the document Zero Emission Tokyo Strategy

August 15, 2019in News 1 Likes

Vulnerable to climate change, ASEAN needs more investment into green infrastructure -ICLEI

This article was first published on The Scoop.

MANILA – Over the next five years, ASEAN will need US$157 billion in annual infrastructure investment, but projects need to be “climate-proofed” to mitigate the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Due to Southeast Asia’s geographical diversity — long coastlines, a large number of archipelagos, and heavily populated low-lying areas — the region has experienced a number of devastating weather-related disasters in the past decade, from hurricanes and flooding to wildfires and landslides.

In 2017, Thailand and Vietnam made the list of top 10 of countries most affected by extreme weather, both in terms of fatalities and economic losses, according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2019.

But countries that are repeatedly affected by extreme weather disasters, such as the Philippines, also rank high in the long-term index, with single exceptional events, such as Typhoon Haiyan, having a lasting impact on the country’s economy and infrastructure.

“The analysis reconfirms earlier results of the Climate Risk Index: less developed countries are generally more affected than industrialised countries,” the report read.

“Regarding future climate change, the Climate Risk Index may serve as a red flag… in regions where extreme events will become more frequent or more severe due to climate change.”

The report claims that recent science has found “a clear link between climate change and record-breaking precipitation of 2017’s hurricanes”, suggesting that severe tropical cyclones will increase with every tenth of a degree increase in global average temperature.

“The question is, what can infrastructure do to help you make sure that increases in temperature are kept below 2°C from pre-industrial times?” said Rana Hasan, the Asian Development Bank’s Director of Economic Research and Regional Cooperation.

During a seminar in Manila last month, Hasan told media that experts remain concerned about the effect of temperature rise beyond 2°C.

“We are dealing with potentially dangerous situations li

As the ASEAN economy continues to grow rapidly, infrastructure projects need to be more sustainable and climate-responsive to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events, Hasan said.

“[We need] new types of infrastructure investment that can significantly reduce our carbon footprint, particularly in the areas of renewable energy,” he said, referencing a recent US$7.6 million loan from the ADB to to help build a 100-megawatt solar power park in Cambodia.

“Electricity and heat production is one of the leading sources of global greenhouse gas emissions as coal, natural gas and oil are burned for power.”

The transport sector is another industry which needs to see change by “reorienting the spending”, Hasan said.

“Rather than building more and more roads, you might consider public mass transit.”

Hasan noted that the effects of natural disasters and climate change pose a real challenge to the region’s development, and infrastructure needs to be stronger and more resilient to climate change.

“More planning needs to take place. Windspeed and typhoons are growing in strength — which means if we build infrastructure according to standards set 40 years ago, we might be left with typhoons destroying more of our infrastructure stock.”

The ADB said it wants to help ASEAN governments scale up their green infrastructure, and recently launched a new US$1 billion loan facility for investment into Southeast Asian projects.

Hiroaki Yamaguichi, director at ADB’s Transport and Communications Division for Southeast Asia, said that when mobilising investment, a difficult balance needs to be struck between development, sustainability and climate resilience.

“A lot of ASEAN countries are affected by climate change, and people are really concerned… Many of our cities are not livable now and it will be worse in the future, we need to do something before it gets worse.”