ClimateChangeEthicsTalkBKMBPJDec5

8/3/2019 ClimateChangeEthicsTalkBKMBPJDec5

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Responding to Climate Change

from an Ethical Perspective

By

Nithi Nesadurai

President,Environmental Protection Society Malaysia

(EPSM)



Content

• Malaysia’s international obligations on

climate change – the UNFCCC process

• National actions

• Current situation• Impacts

• Way forward – using an ethicalperspective

• Glimmers of hope



The United Nations Process

• 1992 – United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development, Rio

• 1994 – Entry into force of United Nations

Framework Convention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC)

– Article 3: Common but differentiated

responsibilities• Malaysia ratified UNFCCC in 1994



The United Nations Process

• 1997: Adoption of Kyoto Protocol – Legally binding agreement

– Industrialised countries to reduce their collectivegreenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% compared to the

year 1990 over the five-year period 2008-2012• 2005: February 16: Kyoto Protocol came

into effect

• Malaysia ratified KP in 2002 – No mandatory targets for Malaysia and Singapore

(developing countries)



Bali Roadmap

• Conference of Parties (CoP) 13 held in

Bali – Ad-Hoc Working Group on Kyoto Protocol

– Ad-Hoc Working Group on Long-termCooperative Action



National Actions (pre – Bali)

• First National Communication (INC) –

2000, for base year 1994

• National Steering Committee on Climate

Change – 1994• National Committee on Clean

Development Mechanism (CDM) – 2002

– Biggest recipient of CDM projects in SEA (86registered projects in 2010)



Current Situation

• Carbon footprint – upward trend

• Changes in climate (temperature) noted

• Changes in rainfall patterns noted



Projected Trends in National GHG Emissions

Sectors CO2 Equivalent (Mt)

2000 2005 2007

Energy 147.0 204.3 217.0

Industrial Processes 14.1 15.6 17.1

Agriculture 5.9 6.6 7.2

Land Use Change andForestry 29.6 25.3 19.7

Waste 26.4 27.4 31.9

Total emissions 223.0 279.2 292.9

Total sink -249.8 -240.5 -247.0

Net (after subtracting sink) -26.8 38.7 45.98

Ref: Table 2.4, NC2



Observed and ProjectedChanges: Malaysia

Observed Projected

(by 2050)Temperature 0.6-1.2 o C per 50 years (1969-2009) 1.5-2 o C increase

Rainfall

(amount)

No appreciable difference • (-) 5% to (+) 9% change in regions

within PM

• (-) 6% to (+) 11% change in

regions within Sabah and Sarawak.

Rainfall

Intensity

Increased by 17% for 1 hour duration

and 29% for 3 hour duration (2000-

2007 compared to1971-1980)

• Increase in extremes within wet

cycles

• Increase in frequency of extreme

weather

Sea Level

Rise (SLR)

1.3 mm/yr (1986-2006, Tanjung Piai,

Johor)

• 0.5m (Global high worst case at 10

mm/yr)

9

Ref: Table ES 2, NC2



Contributory Factors

• Policy incoherence among agencies

• Strong link between economic growth andnational energy consumption

• Subsidy for oil and gas

• Transport – low public transport ridership

• Shift from gas to coal

• Environmental degradation – Pollution and heat island effect

– Deforestation

– Urbanisation



Impacts of Climate Change

• Security

– Human (inter-national and intra-nationalmigration)

– Water

– Food

– Energy

• Health• Agriculture

• Loss of Biodiversity especially in coastaland montane regions



Prospects and Challenges:The Way Forward

• Using an Ethics perspective

– Ethics is a field of philosophical enquiry thatexamines concepts and their application ofwhat is right and wrong , obligatory and non

obligatory , and when responsibility should be attached to human actions that cause harm .



Ethical Dimensionsof Climate Change (EDCC)

• Based on EDCC White Paper released in

2006 at COP12 in Nairobi.

• Facilitated by Rock Ethics Institute,

Pennsylvania State University. – www.rockethics.psu.edu/climate

• Evaluates eight specific ethical issues

from the perspectives of factual content,ethical analysis and procedural fairness.



Framework of Ethical Issues1. Responsibility for Damages

– Is it an ethically acceptable excuse for acountry to use cost to the economy to fail totake action on climate change?

2. Atmospheric Targets – Should a country not be ethically obligated

to consider the interests of non-represented

future generations and non-humans?



Framework of Ethical Issues3. Allocating Global Emissions among

Nations – Implementing the polluter pays principle

4. Scientific Uncertainty – Should a country refuse to take action toreduce its GHG emissions because of

scientific uncertainty on timing andmagnitude?





Framework of Ethical Issues7. Potential New Technologies

– Should a country refuse to reduce its GHGemissions now because less costlytechnologies may be available in the future?

8. Procedural Fairness

– Should a country develop a national climatechange policy which only considersimplications to itself alone?



Benefits of Ethics Perspective• Instill a sense of urgency to act

– Not acting on climate change in the face of itscatastrophic impacts is unethical

• Benchmark for countries when making decisions

on climate change.

• Principles that apply to countries can equallyapply to us as individuals.



The Ethical Course• Not depleting the earth’s resources but safeguarding

them also for the benefit of future generations.• Acting as responsible trustees of the earth rather than

wasteful owners.

• Allow climate technology to be available as a common

good rather than a means for commercial gains.

• Adopt the notion of only taking what we need and not toamass for greed.

• Enable poor countries and communities to be preparedadequately to face climate change impacts throughadaptation with sufficient financial, human andtechnological capacity.



Question• Can we afford not to act?

– CC is already being regarded as a defence threat insome developed countries

– Future wars are expected to be caused by

competition for basic necessities due to depletingresources such as water and lack of arable land

– Human migration is also anticipated as land areasdisappear/become inhabitable causing stress on

existing resources – Failure to do the right thing has dire consequences:

Financial Crisis!





Malaysia’s voluntary pledge at

COP 15, Copenhagen, 2009

“I would also like to announce here in Copenhagen thatMalaysia is adopting an indicator of a voluntary reductionof up to 40% in terms of emissions intensity of GDP by

the year 2020 compared to 2005 levels. This indicator isconditional on receiving the transfer of technology and

finance of adequate and effective levels from our Annex1 partners, that correspond to what is required in order to

achieve this indicator”

PM, Malaysia at Copenhagen on 17 December 2009 I m a g e t a k e n b y D r G a r y W .

T h e s e i r a



National Actions

(post Copenhagen)• Tax incentives for Green Technology in annual budgets,

especially after 2009

• National Green Technology Policy – 2010

• Green Technology and Climate Change Council – 2010

• National Policy on Climate Change – 2010

• Renewable Energy Act (with feed-in tariff) – 2010 (tostart implementation in 2011)

• Second National Communication – 2011, inventory forbase year 2000

• Low Carbon Green Growth Act in near future?

– Implementation and working across agencies –



Conclusions• More ethical leadership is needed globally

and nationally relating to climate change.• Ethics needs to be a benchmark for

nations and individuals when makingdecisions on climate change.

• All ethical principles that apply to nations

can equally apply to us as individuals.











EPSM SLiM Challenge –

Food and Transport

• Choose at least one day a month to eat a

meat-free meal in my household.• Maintain my car well, keep the tyres

properly inflated and abide by the speedlimit.

• Not use my car for at least one day a

month.



EPSM SLiM Challenge –

Home and Office

• Avoid unnecessary shopping.

• Say NO to styrofoam boxes and plasticbags.

• Think before I print.





Reference• www.rockethics.psu.edu/climate

• NC2: Malaysia’s Second NationalCommunication to the UNFCCChttp://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/malnc2.pdf

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