Implement sustainability policy based on ecological analysis - Nithi

SHAH ALAM - Malaysia should establish a sustainability policy rooted in ecological analysis and complemented by a robust institutional framework.

Environmental Protection Society Malaysia (EPSM) president Nithi Nesadurai said Malaysia needs to have a policy on sustainability based on an ecological footprint analysis.

"This should be supported by having an institutional framework to implement sustainability at the federal, state and local government levels.

"This requires that all decisions made by any government agency at any of these levels, to start their decision-making process by asking the question, is this activity sustainable and what impact will it have on climate change?” he told Sinar Daily during an interview.

Nithi who is also the Climate Action Network Southeast Asia (Cansea) director added that environmental conservation can be balanced with economic development and social protection as well, by placing sustainable development and sustainability at the core of decision making.

He said in today’s terms we call it transitioning to a green economy, which is sustainable and people-centred, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions.

"Environmental conservation and social protection are not mutually exclusive with economic development.

"Sustainable development includes all three pillars. What needs to be acknowledged is that all economic activity takes place on the planet, and that harming the planet through carbon emissions and over consumption will have a negative impact on and hamper economic development,” he said.

Commenting further, he said technology and innovation certainly have roles to play in addressing environmental problems.

He added that the evolution of LED lamps and electric vehicles are some examples.

"We need appropriate and cost-effective technology. What we should be cautious about is technology, which is not available at scale or not cost-effective at present, being used as an excuse for not taking serious action to reduce carbon emissions now,” he said.

He added that the first step would be to get the word out that the global community is facing a climate, environmental and planetary crisis. "If they are not addressed, it will lead to us experiencing even more extreme weather events and leave a bleak future for future generations.

"A good place to start would be to measure our ecological footprint at https://www.footprintcalculator.org./home/en.

"Going through the process of measuring our footprints will provide indicators of how we can undertake more sustainable practices.

"Once we obtain the baseline, we can work actively to reduce our footprint yearly for various indicators,” he said.