AN environmental coalition, Gabungan Darurat Iklim Malaysia (GDMY) is calling for a climate emergency declaration in Malaysia by September 16 this year.
“I believe it is high time to declare a climate emergency as going into ‘relax mode’ each time after a flood disaster is not a right thing.”
“Looking back at the flood trends, since 2013, 2014, and 2015 it was only affecting the East Coast region but now it has become an issue in both the East and West Coast region in less than eight years.”
This is an indicator that we are not prepared to manage a flood crisis, said Kennedy Michael, co-founder of the GDMY Coalition told The Petri Dish.
The NGO’s climate emergency declaration letter was launched on April 20.
Kennedy emphasised that the purpose of the climate emergency declaration is to create a sense of urgency for climate action. It is just a wake-up call for the government to shift their resources for better preparedness in managing the climate crisis.
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There are many countries such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand that have already declared a climate emergency.
“For us here, the sense of urgency is missing in climate action as we return to work after cleaning up our flooded homes and streets. The post-flood impacts on vulnerable communities remain unaddressed.”
According to Kennedy, the climate crisis is not only an expensive thing for the vulnerable communities but the entire economy.
He pointed out that indigenous communities, farmers, fishermen, and plantation workers are highly affected as they are very dependent on the natural resources around them. Eventually, the income disparity will widen.
“According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, we are reaching the tipping point in five to seven years. They have warned that exceeding 20C of warming could bring claustrophobic events and we need to keep global warming to 1.50C,” said Isaac Lim, another member of the GDMY coalition.
Adding on Kennedy said that once the surface temperature reaches the tipping point it will become extremely unpredictable.
Kennedy sees biodiversity as the biggest climate management tool but it is hardly given any sense of importance.
“We are not aware that termites or cockroaches are necessary for a forest to survive. If all insects are removed from the forest, we will lose our forest in 10 years. Losing forest will lead to water insecurity,” said Kennedy.
Malaysia experienced strong economic growth in recent decades at the cost of a significant loss of biodiversity and natural capital in the country.
“Neglecting ecosystems and biodiversity will lead to a bigger disaster and it is sad that people are not able to connect the dots,” added Kennedy.
Isaac Lim added that according to, “The Economic Case of Nature – A Global Earth-Economy Model” to assess the Development Policy Pathways paper, Malaysia is projected at a six percent of GDP loss by 2030, driven by the decline in export demand and adverse impacts of the collapse of the forestry and fisheries ecosystem services.
“Citizen participation is vital to see action on the ground. Apart from policy implementation, citizens need to step up and participate in the climate action. We cannot just wait for activists to play their part as everyone is inclusive in this and no one is spared when a climate disaster happens,” said Kennedy. [/ihc-hide-content]
