Effect Of Climate Change And Global Warming Is Real, Cannot Be Viewed Lightly - Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, Wednesday (2 Disember 2015) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the effect of climate change and global warming is real, and cannot be viewed lightly.

"Its effects are real and Malaysians are not spared from feeling the effects of it. Our drought seasons are prolonged, as our rainy seasons too. We suffer from water supply crises in some states as well as one of the worst floods the country has seen in decades," he said in his latest posting in his blog www.najibrazak.com.

Najib said fighting climate change is an on-going effort that must be led by the Government, and undertaken and supported by everyone in the country.

"The government is ready to address this issue head on - Malaysia intends to reduce reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 45 percent by 2030 relative to the emissions intensity of GDP in 2005.

"This consists of 35 per cent on an unconditional basis and a further 10 per cent is condition upon receipt of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building from developed countries," he said.

Najib said Malaysia together with 181 countries have submitted the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) for the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference, currently ongoing in Paris, reaffirming its stand and commitment in fighting climate change.

He said despite the government launching several initiatives since 9th Malaysia Plan (2006-2010) which includes the National Biofuel Policy (2006), Renewable Energy Policy and Action Plan (2010), "we have not done enough."

"The United Nations data showed that Malaysia ranked 26th worldwide in 2012 when it came to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fuel combustion," he said.

Najib said Malaysia remained steadfast and committed in its mission to reduce Malaysia's carbon footprint and under the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020), policies that will further focus on pursuing green growth for sustainability and resilience will be carried out.

"The measures will include strengthening the enabling environment for green growth, adoption of sustainable consumption and production, conserving natural resources and strengthening resilience against climate change and natural disasters," he said.

"This new target shall not and should not be seen as an impediment to our economic development. Indeed, I believe, our green policies and initiatives will also bring many opportunities - catalysing new industries and ancillary businesses that will bring new employment opportunities," he said.

Najib said Malaysians need to play their part in fighting climate change and help prevent average global temperatures from rising above two degrees Celsius.

"It is our social and moral obligation to ensure that our sons and daughters will be able to enjoy the world as we see it today. Malaysia must play its responsible role in the necessary global transformation for a more sustainable world," he said.

Bernama

See How Our Megacities Will 'Slip Under The Waves'...

Study shows how large parts of New York, London, Shanghai and other cities will be submerged as a result of rising sea levels

By AFP

3:00PM GMT 30 Nov 2015

Large swathes of Shanghai, Mumbai, New York and other cities will slip under the waves even if an upcoming climate summit limits global warming to two degrees Celsius, scientists reported on Sunday.

A 2 C (3.6 Fahrenheit) spike in Earth's temperature would submerge land currently occupied by 280 million people, while an increase of 4 C (7.2 F) - humanity's current trajectory - would cover areas lived on by more than 600 million, the study said.

"Two degrees Celsius warming will pose a long-term, existential danger to many great coastal cities and regions," said lead author Ben Strauss, vice president for sea level and climate impacts at Climate Central, a US-based research group.

Sydney after a 4C rise  Photo: Climate Central

Sea level rises corresponding to these 2 C or 4 C scenarios could unfold in two hundred years, but would more likely happen over many centuries, perhaps as long as 2,000 years, according to the research, published by Climate Central.

Capping the rise in Earth's temperatures to 2 C above pre-industrial levels is the core goal of the 195-nation UN climate summit in Paris from November 30 to December 11.

The most effective way to slow global warming is to slash the output of the greenhouse gases which drive it.

But even if emissions reduction pledges - many of them conditioned on financial aid - submitted by 150 nations ahead of the Paris summit are fulfilled, it would still put us on a pathway for a 3 C (4.8 F) world, the United Nations has warned.

Achieving the two-degree goal remains a serious challenge.

Mr Strauss and colleagues apply on a global scale the same methodology they used for a recent study that focused on temperature-linked sea level rise in the United States, published in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

That study concluded that both Miami and New Orleans are doomed to crippling impacts.

In the new report, the country hit hardest by sea level rise under a 4 C scenario is China.

Today, some 145 million people live in Chinese cities and coastal areas that would eventually become ocean were temperatures to climb that high.

Four of the 10 most devastated megacities would be Chinese: land occupied today by 44 million people in Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong and Taizhou would be underwater.

India, Vietnam and Bangladesh do not fare much better. All told, Asia is home to 75 per cent of the populations that today reside in zones that would no longer be classified as land in a climate-altered future.

Thirty-four million people in Japan, 25 million the United States, 20 million in the Philippines, 19 million Egypt and 16 million in Brazil are also in future 4 C seascapes.

While the 2 C scenario is also grim, limiting warming to that extent would spare China and other nations much misery, said Strauss.

"There is a world of difference between 2 C and 4 C, which threatens more than double the damage," he told AFP. "We have a very large choice ahead of us."

The sea level rise corresponding to 2 C would eventually be 4.7 metres, and for 4 C almost double that, the study found.

The projections are based on climate models taking into account the expansion of ocean water as it warms, the melting of glaciers, and the decay of both the Greenland and West Antarctic icesheets.

Timing is harder to predict, Strauss said: "It is easier to estimate how much ice will eventually melt from a certain amount of warming than how quickly it will melt."

Normally a study of this nature would be published by a peer-reviewed journal, as was the earlier research on the US.

In this case, however, Strauss felt that the new results should be taken into account ahead of the crucial climate summit in Paris.

"These findings seemed too relevant to COP21" - the 21st Conference of the Parties, the official name for the UN climate meeting - "to risk that they be published afterwards," he said.

AFP sent the study to four experts - including Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, until this year Vice-President of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - for evaluation, and all of them described the work as "solid" and methodologically sound.

Strauss said his study shows that the stakes at the Paris negotiations are extremely high.

The Telegraph (UK)

Natural Disasters In Asia Pacific Result In US$23 Bln Economic Losses Annually

BANGKOK:  The increasing intensity and frequency of cyclones, flooding and drought have severely impacted the environment, livelihoods and food security in Asia-Pacific.

Extreme weather events and other natural disasters in the region affect more than 163 million people and cause economic losses worth US$23 billion each year, says the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in a statement.

"The impact of disasters and climate change is most evident in vulnerable communities that rely on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihood.

"For building sustainable development, it is critical to ensure the resilience of these sectors to the changing climate," said its executive director Shane Wright.

Governments and experts in disaster risk reduction from 13 countries gather this week in Bangkok, ahead of the Paris United Nations climate conference to identify ways for enhancing resilience to climate-induced disasters in the region.

Asian Disaster Preparedness Center and Oxfam host the Pan-Asian Regional Policy Forum on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction and Integration of Climate Change Adaptation into the Environment, Livelihood and Food Security Sectors, for three days, ended yesterday.

While identifying actions to ensure risk-informed decision-making in the Asia-Pacific, the forum also prepares recommendations for the climate change conference in Paris begining tommorow.

Livelihoods in Asia are largely dependent on agriculture - particularly on rice farming, fisheries, and livestock.

"Only by integrating disaster-risk reduction and climate change adaptation into development planning and governance, can we ensure sustainable development in the region, as well as the communities' ability to bounce back after disasters," said Wright.

In 2016, governments will translate global commitments into national and local action plans leading to a critical time for a multi-stakeholder dialogue and regional collaboration to build resilience, save lives and protect livelihoods from the impact of natural disasters.

Bernama