Green+ Malaysia's Premier Eco-friendly, Sustainable and Green Business Magazine

EVENTS
Royal flavour
HRH Princess Astrid represented
the King of Belgium at the event
Princes Astrid
HRH Princess Astrid
added a touch of class to
the Sustainable Urban
Development, Cleantech
Solutions For Modern Cities
seminar at Mandarin Oriental on Nov 24.
Princess Astrid represented the King
of Belgium.
It was acknowledged at the seminar
that by 2050, there would be 1.4 billion
people living in Asian cities.
The increase in urban population is
also happening in Malaysia. At present,
three out of four Malaysians live in an
urban environment, and this ratio continues
to increase.
This growth gives rise to new opportunities
and challenges.
With urbanisation there is economic
growth, leading to an explosion in water
usage, energy demand, production of
waste, as well as carbon emissions.
As the world is experiencing a new
era of urbanisation and industrialisation,
and many emerging economies are
suffering from a rapidly deteriorating
environment, there is growing demand
for knowledge, products and concepts
to take on these challenges in waste,
EXPERTS from Malaysia, Germany and
the United Kingdom got together in Kuala
Lumpur on Nov 25 to help shape Malaysia’s
journey towards implementing greener, lowcarbon
modes of mobility.
The Sustainable Mobility Conference at
Sheraton Imperial Hotel was jointly organised
by the German embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the
British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur
and the Malaysian-German Chamber of
Commerce and Industry.
The conference aimed at bringing policies,
guidelines and practices from both Germany
and the UK closer to Malaysian stakeholders
and decision-makers. The conference also
served as a platform for experts and panellists
to share their knowledge and experiences
with the audience.
The opening keynote address by Dato’ Sri
Abdul Wahid bin Omar, Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department responsible for the
Economic Planning Unit, was followed by
a number of experts presentations, panel
discussions and workshops and finally ending
water and energy.
The seminar also discussed management
of solid waste and material
management, water management,
sustainable energy, waste to energy
(W2E) and clean air.
Germany, UK share experiences
with Malaysian counterparts
with a discussion on the future implications of
Malaysia’s sustainable mobility agenda.
The conference coincided with the
Malaysian government’s new ‘National
Automotive Policy’ (NAP) announced in
January this year, which partly focuses on
strengthening the energy-efficient vehicles
industry. The government has also announced
the gradual removal of fuel and electricity
tariff subsidies, thereby stressing the importance
of sustainability. In addition, a vision to
strengthen the public transportation system
is being implemented in phases.
Malaysia’s aims of becoming a highincome
nation by 2020 and at the same time
reducing the carbon intensity of its economy
by 40 per cent must converge into developing
a sustainable, affordable and efficient
transportation system, within and between
its major cities.
Germany and the UK have both developed
innovative and far-reaching policies to support
sustainable mobility. Energy efficient
technical solutions from car manufacturers
and suppliers, integrated transportation concepts
and renewable energy solutions have
made individual and public transport more
efficient. At the same time, carbon emissions
have been reduced substantially.
In order to achieve Malaysia’s goals,
sustainability and industrial development
can go hand in hand. Stakeholders ranging
from policy makers to governing authorities,
research and development bodies to industry
players and consumers are required to work
together to drive this long term goal.
Against this background this jointly
organised one-day conference focussed on all
forms of energy-efficient transport and sustainability
solutions policies and best practice
examples from Germany and the UK along
with those from Malaysia were presented
and innovative solutions to the common
challenges were evaluated. The results shall
contribute to the formulation of proposals that
will support Malaysia’s vision of achieving a
higher sustainability in the transportation
sector.
green+.2014, november-december 25