Malaysia should set own realistic sustainable goals

EIC regional director says up to country to determine pace and scale of migration to renewable energy sources

Malaysia should set its own realistic sustainable goals, at its determined pace and scale migration from traditional to renewable energy sources unique to the country, rather than merely conforming to global sustainability standards set by developed countries.

According to Energy Industries Council (EIC) regional director Azman Nasir (pic), Malaysia should take note that while the developed countries have been leading the call to sustainability in recent years, they are susceptible to errors and have been known to reconsider their stance in the light of significant events such as the Ukraine-Russia war.

He pointed out that before the war, the developed countries were initially against the usage of natural gas. However, when energy supplies in European countries were impacted due to the war, there was a turnabout in their decision and declared that gas was accepted as a form of clean energy.

In times of energy shortage, Azman said, some Western countries have reverted to coal, another form of fossil fuel that they were initially opposed to.

“Why are we following their pace and scale? We must have our own narrative … don’t just follow the narrative from the West because our situation is not the same,” he told SunBiz in an exclusive interview.

Azman said the government should dictate its own pace and scale to which the country transitions slowly from dependency on fossil fuels, and not to be pressured by unrealistic goals set by developed countries that have enough resources and advancements to achieve their commitments sooner compared to a developing country such as Malaysia.

He questioned the reasoning why Malaysia has to aim to be net zero by 2050, instead of an extended timeline or objective of 2090, for example.

“The pace is slower, the transition is longer, we can (use the added time) to address all the problems in transitioning. Secondly, the scale of the migration to renewables has to be balanced.

“If it is too slow or too small, then we will run into issues concerning the profitability of the energy projects. It will still require the supply chain to follow through as well,” he said.

Azman explained that if a project is too small, the volume produced would not be enough to generate a considerable profit that could sustain a company.

“For example, solar projects have to be done on a large scale.

Therefore, it will be a more costeffective endeavour, as larger-scale projects would generate volume which in turn would turn a significant profit for a company,” he said.

He cited EIC’s recent report, which found that only 11% of energy industry leaders believe global interim targets for achieving net zero will be met, which highlights a critical and growing gap between current industry reality and the ambitious net zero goals set by policy makers for 2030-35.

The outlook for 2050 targets is more favourable with 45% of respondents continuing to perceive a route towards achieving global net zero targets.

In terms of meeting net zero targets in their respective countries, the participants are slightly more optimistic compared to the global targets with only 16% of respondents feel optimistic about achieving their country’s interim net zero targets (2030-35), while 66% believe that the national 2050 goals are still achievable.

Azman pointed out that a lot of changes can happen in 20 years, involving technological advancements, manpower as well as competency in the areas of renewable energy supply chain capacity.

“At the moment, Malaysia (must ensure) that the renewable projects are done on a large scale but it needs to be balanced because if projects are too big or if there is an excessive number of large-scale projects of similar nature conducted concurrently, the supply chain cannot cope and it will lead to raw material shortage,” he noted.

Azman said there needs to be further discussions among the government and energy players to address transition issues in order to develop practical solutions. He opined that it is also pertinent for Malaysia to discuss and hold dialogues with other Asian countries as problems faced in Asia are different and unique compared with other regions.