As the global community prepares for November's meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Convention, there has been a rising crescendo on how to manage this existential crisis for humankind.
"We are on the verge of the abyss," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned starkly at last week's launch of an authoritative State of the Global Climate report by the World Meteorological Organisation, describing 2020 as one of the hottest years on record.
Last year, our planet's average temperature was about 1.2° Celsius above pre-industrial times, despite cooling La Niña conditions — one of the three hottest years ever, the others being 2016 and 2019.
Concentrations of major greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide increased overall last year despite a temporary reduction due to the Covid-19 effect on economic activity. Record low Arctic sea-ice was documented in two months of 2020 while about 80 per cent of the ocean experienced at least one marine heatwave.
"This is truly a pivotal year for humanity's future... Countries need to commit to net zero emissions by 2050," Guterres said,
In a recent article, Sahabat Alam Malaysia president and leading activist Meenakshi Raman contends that "net zero" reductions by the world's major emitters will not limit temperature rise to 1.5°C since pre-industrial levels and calls for rich countries to get to "real zero" emissions.
"Far from signifying climate ambition, the phrase 'net zero' is being used by a majority of polluting governments and corporations to orchestrate escape clauses so as to evade responsibility, shift burdens, disguise climate inaction, and, in some cases, even to scale up fossil fuel extraction, burning and emissions," she said.
"The term is used to greenwash business-as-usual or even business-more-than-usual. At the core of these pledges are small and distant targets that require no action for decades and promises of technologies that are unlikely ever to work at scale, and which are likely to cause huge harm if they come to pass."
Some observers say many net-zero pledges are not grounded in deep decarbonisation and rely heavily on nature-based solutions, such as sinks to sequester the carbon emissions. And many rely on carbon-markets to deliver carbon offsets, allowing developed countries to pay developing countries to do the emissions reductions, as it is seen as more "cost-effective".
Malaysia will participate in carbon trading systems but not allow them to affect the country's own greenhouse gas emissions commitment.
That was one of several principles and approaches outlined by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin while chairing the first meeting of the Malaysian Climate Change Action Council (MyCAC) last week. Another is to develop a green recovery plan in which Malaysia becomes a green economy, services and technology leader, while fostering healthy green lifestyles in all walks of life here.
Muhyiddin also calls for strengthening the country's climate change governance through greater involvement of all stakeholders, implementing programmes that fully mobilise our human and other resources in combating climate change.
MyCAC is the ultimate platform for setting the direction of climate change policies and actions, driving green, low-carbon economic growth, catalysing green technology.
In a statement, Environment and Water (KASA) Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the cooperation of all stakeholders was needed to meet the country's commitments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a whole-of-government approach adopted by the current administration.
He also announced that MyCAC would implement the Low Carbon Mobility Development Plan 2021-2030, through which he expects carbon dioxide emissions to be reduced by 165 million tonnes, saving RM150 billion over 10 years in fuel expenditures, and driving increased use of electric vehicles and low-carbon transportation.
We have been ardent supporters of UN processes since signing onto the UNFCCC at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Therefore, it is no big deal if now and then we are not invited to non-UN meetings convened by enlightened parties. And it is encouraging that our government is taking many steps to fulfil its obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement.
The world's big polluters must likewise show serious commitment and achieve large reductions quickly. In that respect, Malaysia must come into negotiations with clean hands and fully leverage its diplomatic influence at every bilateral and multilateral opportunity.
The writer is a senior fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia and was a member of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Scientific Advisory Board. He is currently a member of MyCAC