I launch the 100 Youth Ambassadors for Climate Action today. Also present at the virtual launch were YB Lim Guan Eng, Secretary-General of the Democratic Action Party and YB Yeo Bee Yin, Former Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change.
The campaign, which tagline is ‘Our Future Is In Your Hands”, is a call to action for the environmentally-conscious generation of today, for the betterment of tomorrow.
Climate change is a global issue and a serious threat to humanity. We need to take action now and we must all do our part as a society. That is why I have launched this campaign today.
The campaign is simple. Each ambassador will not only practice a climate action that can be done every day, but will in turn also advocate and ‘recruit’ 10 more people in their community either in school, work, general public, to practice one or more climate action items.
We’re talking about simple action items that can be incorporated and done in our everyday lives. Actions can range from putting up solar panels for your home/building, switching to public transport, hooking up a water harvesting system to simple everyday do’s such as bringing your own tupperware to ‘tapau’ food, saying no to straws, changing to energy efficient light bulbs, and so much more.
I have uploaded a list of action items on www.bukitgasing.my which can be practised by the general public and not just our ambassadors. We’re making this as easy to do as possible so that everyone can do their part to save our earth.
As an ambassador, participants will need to actively practice and advocate environmentally sustainable activities, engage and enlist other individuals to practice climate action and submit a quarterly report of activities every quarter via the website. Each ambassador will receive a certificate of recognition and have their achievements documented in the ‘Ambassador’s Hall of Fame’ on the website.
Speaking at the launch, YB Lim Guan Eng said, “I believe that as a country, we need to do so much more to fight the adverse effects of climate change which we see happening all over the world, even in Malaysia. While our time in the government was short, Pakatan Harapan dedicated a ministry to develop and execute climate change policies. Our biggest agenda was to push forward renewable energy with an ambitious target to increase the renewable energy from 2% to 20% by 2025, arguably the most aggressive push in Asia,”
“Accelerating the deployment of renewable energy will fuel economic growth, create new employment opportunities, enhance human welfare, and contribute to a climate safe future. It is estimated that doubling the application of renewable energy can increase global GDP in 2030 by up to 1.1%, equivalent to USD1.3 trillion (MYR5.26 trillion). Given the distributed and labour-intensive nature of renewable energy, direct and indirect employment in the renewable energy sector could reach 24.4 million people in 2030.
The PH government was ambitiously pursuing an increase in RE target of 20% in the electricity mix by 2025. This can generate RM33 billion in private investment and an additional 50,000 RE jobs. Unfortunately, the unelected PN government appears to have given up on this goal,” he shared.
Malaysia currently ranks near the bottom in the global Climate Change Performance Index, which compares climate protection performances of countries that are responsible for 90% of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2021, Malaysia dropped down to 56th place, to the bottom 10 nations. (By comparison, our neighbours Indonesia and Thailand did much better, in 24th and 26th place.)
“We can’t sit and wait for this unelected PN government to wake up and do the right thing. As a community, we need to come together as one to save humanity and bequeath it to the next generation. Let me commend the DAP ADUN for Bukit Gasing Rajiv Rishyakaran for initiating this noble effort. I hope, with the launch of the 100 Youth Ambassadors for Climate Action, we will create a generation of eco-warriors who will lead the way to a cleaner and greener climate safe future,” he concluded.
For more information about the 100 Youth Ambassadors for Climate Action campaign, please visit www.bukitgasing.my.