Minister: Malaysia not seen as vulnerable to climate change
Malaysia was not invited to the Leaders Summit on Climate in the United States on April 22 and 23 as it is not categorised as a country vulnerable to climate change, said Environment and Water Minister Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
He said the goal of the conference was to encourage large economies, which collectively contribute 80 per cent of greenhouse gases, to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
He said there were many countries that stood out in the climate change agenda, such as Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand, that were also not invited to attend the conference.
“The summit is a one-off event, and does not affect negotiations and resolutions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“This needs to be seen separately from the importation of plastic waste into Malaysia from the US,” he said on Tuesday.
Earlier, the media reported that Malaysia was not on the list of 40 countries invited to the conference. Claims were made that Malaysia was not invited because the country was seen as a dumping ground for plastic waste.
Tuan Ibrahim said the plastic recycling industry was allowed to operate based on a decision of the federal government, through the International Trade and Industry Ministry, which is responsible for the direction and policy of the industry.
He said the Housing and Local
Government Ministry regulated the issuance of approved permits to import only clean and uniform (homogenous) plastics, while the Department of Environment acted as an enforcer to ensure compliance with the Basel Convention.
“In 2019, 124 containers were sent back to exporting countries, while 143 containers were sent back from last year to last month.
“There are 81 more containers being handled by the DOE waiting to be sent back.”