Sarawak takes lead in tackling climate change

Nik Nazmi said his ministry has had a 20-year National Power Development Plan for Peninsular Malaysia but that in 2024, things will be different.

PETALING JAYA: The state of Sarawak is no longer in a planning stage when it comes to fighting climate change, says Sarawak deputy state secretary (economic planning and development), Datuk Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel.

He said time is precious and that has hastened the way the state wants to tackle this issue.

“We started the idea of a hydrogen economy in 2018 when we had the first refuelling station in this region that was located in Kuching.

“We refuelled three busses to send a message to the people that hydrogen is safe,” he said during the A To Zero Asean conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

According to Muhammad Abdullah, hydrogen power has had a bad stigma among some for the highly combustible nature of the gas.

“Once we got the buy-in from the people and acceptance, then we embarked on a bigger scale hydrogen production,” he said.

This includes two major hydrogen manufacturing projects, H2biscus and H2ornbill, where both have completed feasibility studies and will finalise details soon.

Muhammad Abdullah said the state wasn’t only limiting these efforts on the ground but to the aviation industry as well.

“We came up with sustainable aviation fuel from algae. There is one particular algae strand we found that contains lipid. We grew it in a tank, carbonised the seawater, dried the algae and extracted oil from it,” he explained.

The fuel was recently used in a Boeing A220 to fly to Langkawi.

He added that once there is commercial viability, the private sector will get on board.

“This is what the Sarawak government is doing to lead the industry. There is no point in being a wealthy state but having a dirty backyard,” he noted.

Muhammad Abdullah also said there needs to be collaboration among governments across the region to accomplish the goals set.

“As a region, we must work together, only then will other industries be compelled to comply with policies and move the climate change issue in a more significant manner,” he said.

Meanwhile, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said his ministry has had a 20-year National Power Development Plan for Peninsular Malaysia but in 2024, things will be different.

“It will be significantly different from the previous ones to accommodate our more ambitious target with regards to renewable energy,” he said.

Nik Nazmi said the government has decided to allow cross-border trade to capitalise and explore new high-value demand from neighbouring countries while enabling Malaysia to enjoy greater grid flexibility.

“We estimate an investment amounting to RM180bil is required until 2050, including for the strengthening of grid infrastructure, transition and distribution lines enhancement, energy storage and distribution and grid system network operation augmentation.

“This will be among the key areas my ministry will focus on,” he said.

He also said that while most countries have aligned with certain targets to combat climate change, the global progress in transitioning to renewable energy was not uniformed.

He noted that Asean remained where fossil fuels were entrenched and can continually impact the rest of the globe if not dealt with.

“For Asean to be a determining factor in the just energy transition, we need to discuss and reach a consensus on pressing and pertinent topics like regional connectivity partnerships, energy storage and carbon capture.

“The world has changed so much since the days of the 1967 Bangkok Declaration that gave life to Asean but I believe the grouping is up to the challenge,” he added.