It has to begin at home
THE 2018 global climate talks in Poland ended on a disappointing note for many non-state stakeholders. Leaders failed to commit to actions that will help to cap the rise in global temperature to 2°C. The cap was 1.5°C 10 years ago. How do we aim at, much less hit, a moving target?
When I attended the 2009 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate talks in Copenhagen, it was deemed a deal-maker conference – and then it turned out to be anything but. Ten years on, we are still finding solutions while temperatures rise, ice caps melt, animals, plants and humans alike lose their habitats, and people lose their livelihood. As one person interviewed after December’s meeting said, it is time for people to take matters into our own hands because politicians and so-called “decision makers” are not doing anything!
All these talks, networks, conventions, working groups, conferences, fora, are established with good intentions, but along the years they lose focus and further add to emissions and denting budgets due to air travel and accommodation expenses. The agreements are records of the good intentions of parties to the UNFCCC. But the agreements, along with their intentions, die a natural death amid greed and other global crises such as conflict, natural disasters and financial meltdowns.
We, the people, have to create a critical mass to move away from unsustainable practices as if our lives depended on it. We tend to believe that only great powers can hold evil in check. If we look around us we will realise that it is the small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love to one another and to the environment present us the opportunity.
In Malaysia, the headlines are dominated by political party hoppers and acts of self-preservation among politicians on both sides, while the profit-driven section of society clears forest reserves to build condominiums, putting water sources and people at risk. Proponents of the conservation of Taman Rimba Kiara and Bukit Lagong are fighting tooth and nail to prevent further degradation of the limited green lungs and green spaces we have in the Klang Valley and Selangor.
Contribution to green house gases (GHGs) from the energy sector increased 10% from 2005 to 2014 (70% to 80%) as reported in the 3rd National Communication Report by Malaysia to the UNFCCC, with a 1% increase in methane as a contributor of GHGs.
The second largest contributor, at 9%, is the waste sector. The highest emission of methane is due to fugitive emissions from the oil and gas industries, which accounted for about 41% of methane emissions.
Loss of forest reserves and land use and land use change limited carbon removal capacity.
The bottom line is that we are not energy-efficient, and the contribution to the energy mix from renewable sources is not sufficient to arrest GHG emission rates. Food waste has calcified at 45% of waste generated in Malaysia and, by ending up in mostly unsanitary landfills, will continue to accelerate GHG emissions.
We need a radical change in lifestyles, and it has to begin at home, in our communities and towns/villages. The role of local governments becomes crucial in implementing strategies at city and district levels to compel lifestyle changes – land use, town planning, designating green space, monitoring development and business to prevent/minimise pollution, implementing environmentally-sound waste management strategies, etc.
Best practices already exist in Penang and Petaling Jaya. Local government policies are easier to implement to nudge community lifestyle to become more sustainable.
Consumers and the general public need constant education and reminders to make sustainable lifestyles more mainstream, to make it the culture by default. We can do it not to feel good about ourselves but for the survival of the current and future generations. We do not want to leave our children a graveyard of dead trees, extinct wildlife and good intentions.
We need to change at this very instant. Minimise waste generation, separate household waste, buy only what is necessary, extend the useful life of your gadgets, furniture, etc. Do not waste food, switch off power when not in use, use mass transit, change your mindset about cars (a big and new car does not mean you are successful or an important person).
It all boils down to personal choice. Make the choice to live a sustainable lifestyle.