BAKU: Every country should work on an energy transition plan to reduce carbon footprint and tackle the global climate crisis, says Nga Kor Ming.
Speaking at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Housing and Local Government Minister proposed this during the high-level forum on climate change action funding.
He also highlighted Malaysia's commitment under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), which targets a significant 70% renewable energy share by 2050.
The NETR, a sustainable energy landscape blueprint, is forecasted to increase Malaysia's gross domestic product from RM25bil in 2023 to RM220bil by 2050, while generating 310,000 jobs.
Nga suggested that a permanent secretariat should be established by the United Nations to create a comprehensive master plan on a global scale, complete with measurable key performance indicators and a clear roadmap to enhance coordination.
"We can't keep repeating our actions and still hope to solve the problem. Climate change is not just a country’s problem per se. It is a global issue that transcends boundaries and threatens human survival," he said.
Nga pointed out that while the world pledged to limit global warming to 1.5°C under the 2016 Paris Agreement, the current climate crisis shows we are far from the path. Therefore, he emphasised the need to reassess creditworthiness benchmarks as green financing should take precedence to ensure more such projects are implemented in developing countries.
Discussing Malaysia's commitment to sustainable urbanisation, Nga shared his vision of developing and upgrading 1,000 Taman Awam Madani (public parks) over the next decade as part of the environmental adaptation plan.
He also mentioned the Housing and Local Government Ministry's commitment to launching the latest Program Residensi Rakyat (PRR) next year, which includes climate resilience features to make public housing more sustainable.
Nga said that under the 12th Malaysia Plan, the ministry aims to deliver 500,000 affordable housing units by the end of next year.
So far, 80%, or 443,000 units, have been completed as of September 2024.
"We still need to build an additional 50,000 units, but I am confident we will meet this target by the end of next year. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be the first prime minister to achieve the affordable housing target under the Malaysia Plan," he said. – Bernama
