by Darshan Joshi, Institute of Strategic and International Studies
ISIS Forum Webinar Series on the Future of Malaysia’s International Climate Commitments
Held on 17 June 2021
Last Thursday, Climate Governance Malaysia, in conjunction with speakers from the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Third World Network (TWN), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia met to discuss a wide range of topics related to climate change, including COP26, the dynamics of international climate negotiations, and Malaysia’s domestic climate policies and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
This lively and frank discussion emphasised the importance of the achievement of emissions reductions in order to limit global warming to a 1.5ºC increase, and an intensification of adaptation activities, both of which are crucial in Malaysia where the majority of economic activity still relies heavily on the utilisation of fossil fuels.
The topic of international climate justice was also discussed, most pertinently in the context of what should rightly be expected of developing countries given their smaller cumulative responsibility for global climate change, and the roles richer countries can play in spurring decarbonisation across the world.
Yet solutions are needed not only to prevent and counteract the effects of a changing climate, but to protect Malaysia’s economic interests in a world where investors and capital markets are placing increasing importance on sustainability, particularly in emerging market supply chains.
For these reasons the speakers argue that the government needs to have a clear vision on climate change and sets ambitious targets on climate action, allowing the private sector to prepare efficiently for the policy mechanisms that are necessary to achieve them.
Such action would issue a strong signal to the international community of Malaysia’s commitment to sustainable development and allow us to circumvent the possibility of future capital flight from carbon-intensive markets as the capitalist structures of the past give way to concepts of stakeholder value and environmental and ecological justice.
Watch this webinar again here: https://youtu.be/dkG9ki7fUGs
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