WHEN The floods reached the roofs of Kampung houses in Kuala Krai, nobody needed a scientific report to know that the climate crisis had arrived.
If the global climate seed is deepened, nations are asked to act not only responsibly, but also determined. Malaysia is well positioned with its relatively low unemployment rate of 3.3% in early 2025, but must now be transformed between business as usual and fat.
The increasing frequency of floods, heat waves and ecological deterioration underlines a truth: We can no longer separate economic ambition from environmental responsibility.
The monsoon floods of 2022, which devastated Kelantan and Terengganu, were not isolated events. In 2024 alone, Malaysia had severe floods that displaced over 122,000 people, the worst effects in Kelantan, Terengganu and Sarawak being observed.
In the past five years, more than 55 important flood events have made our country, which was caused to damage economic damage over 8 billion RM.
In the meantime, the cross -border haze continues to extend our sky and extreme weather presses our agricultural returns and our water security to precarious limits.
Malaysia's economy, which is still strongly dependent on carbon -intensive sectors such as oil, gas and monoculture, contradicts their environmental statements.
In 2023, carbon dioxide emissions was approximately 283.3 million tons, which was reflected in an increase of 3.27% compared to the previous year and the positioning of Malaysia among the highest per capita emitters of Asean.
Between 2001 and 2023, Malaysia lost about 9.23 million hectares of tree covering, which has reduced the forest cover by 31% since the beginning of the millennium. These are not just environmental statistics; They are signals of a system that is redesigned.
An environmentally friendly economy prioritizes low -carbon growth, resource efficiency and social inclusiveness. It is not a utopian vision; It is a pragmatic framework for national resilience. It tries to reconcile economic progress with ecological sustainability and to ensure that prosperity does not affect the survival of tomorrow today.
For Malaysia, this pivot point is particularly in time. The continued dependence of the country on resource -heavy sectors such as oil and gas, wood strike and non -sustainable agriculture contrasts this in contradiction to climate goals. However, the green economy offers a bridge: a way to preserve the economic dynamics and at the same time reduce the ecological risk.
In addition to reducing disaster risk reduction, a green economy is naturally in line with environmental protection. By reducing the pressure on natural ecosystems, it enables large -scale recovery, supports the restoration of deteriorating habitats and helps to maintain biological diversity.
Guidelines that promote renewable energies, sustainable land use and responsible tourism contribute directly to the protection of forests and to survive endangered species.
In Malaysia, this approach can revitalize vital ecosystems – from the rainforests of Sabah and Sarawak to the mangrove belts from Selangor – to ensure that wildlife corridors are restored and that human development is no longer at the expense of nature.
Redesign for climate diligence
The green economy also offers solutions for the climate catastrophes with which we are already confronted. Nature-based interventions such as mangrove rehabilitation, urban green and sustainable drainage systems can reduce the risk of disaster and at the same time create new employment flows in the eco-tourism, maintenance and environmental surveillance.
In our urban centers, the new infrastructure with green building standards, the retrofitting of the solar and the cooler urban planning will not only be of crucial importance, but also for survival in times of climate extreme.
The institutional progress of Malaysia in green financing, led by Bank Negara's climate stress tests and ESG reporting, deserves recognition. However, this progress must go beyond frameworks. Green bonds, carbon markets and tax incentives for sustainably connected tax must become the norm, not to niche.
Political coherence is equally critical. Siled Governance continues to stable dynamics. A National Green Economy Roadmap, which is led by a central interministerial task force under the office of the Prime Minister, could align the efforts in federal, state and local administrations.
Like the environmental advisor Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood emphasized that Malaysia's climate problems are immediately and urgent, which requires a transformation of our economic model to prioritize sustainability and resilience.
Way forward
In order to unlock the potential of the green economy, Malaysia urgently needs to introduce a national blueprint for the green economy that sets clear, cross -sectoral goals and schedules.
Investments in environmentally friendly skills, especially in youth and rural communities, should be prioritized to ensure inclination in the transition.
At the same time, Malaysia has to accelerate decumonization by finding subsidies of fossil fuels and increasing investments in renewable infrastructures.
The strengthening of the land use government to stop the deforestation and protect the biological diversity is just as critical as the mainstreaming of green financial mechanisms.
Carbon prices, air conditioning bonds and greater support from SMEs to involve sustainable innovations must become central pillars of our economic strategy.
Citizens also have a role in playing environmentally friendly consumer habits, supporting ethical companies and blaming decision -makers for sustainability promises. Climate measures have to become a common national ethics, not just a political area.
Time to lead
Malaysia is not without wealth. We are blessed with biological diversity, regional influence and a dynamic, intelligent population. However, leadership in the green economy requires more than potential. It requires political courage, institutional orientation and a persistent public commitment.
It is no longer about choosing between business and the environment. It is about recognizing that you are one and the same. The floods are real. The forests disappear. The cost of inactivity increases.
But also to lead our chance, not only for Malaysia, but for the region.
In the leadership of the green transition, Malaysia leads to honor not only our future, but also the country, the water and the people who have shaped our past.
Let us rise to fulfill this promise and build a legacy, in which economic prosperity enters hand in hand with ecological responsibility and is not just a rapidly growing nation in the Malaysia, but a really future.
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