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Friday May 28, 2010
Government initiatives needed to boost green = tech
By YU JI
yuji@thestar.com.my
HIGH installation costs and lack of government initiatives is = hampering the=20 design of sustainable buildings and civil works in Malaysia.
Malaysian Society for Engineering and Technology chairman Prof Datuk = Abang=20 Abdullah Abang Ali said there might be a lot of enthusiasm, but green=20 initiatives were just starting in the country.
Speaking at a press conference to promote the Fourth World = Engineering=20 Congress to be held in Kuching, Abang Abdullah said that Government = policies=20 should encourage more public participation.
He cited solar energy as an example, saying that Malaysia=92s energy = sector=20 should adopt buy-back programmes similar to that of Australia=92s.
=93Houses with solar panels that generate surplus electricity should = be able to=20 sell back to the national grid,=94 he said.
Abang Abdullah said the lack of installation of solar panels was = largely due=20 to the difficulty in storing the electricity produced.
=93Certainly, it=92s difficult to store electricity at home. You = wouldn=92t want=20 too many batteries at your house, but the Government can come in on = this.
=93If you can sell back your energy to the national grid, then people = will=20 naturally adopt more green technologies.=94
In Australia, the buy-back programme has encouraged many homes, = schools,=20 community centres and other public buildings to install solar panels as = a source=20 of revenue.
He noted that sustainable living awareness was fragmented in = Malaysia,=20 adding: =93In Kuala Lumpur, there is a lot of enthusiasm, but elsewhere, = it=92s=20 lower. Through the congress, we hope to rectify this.=94
Meanwhile, Infrastructure Development Assistant Minister Datuk Daud = Abdul=20 Rahman, who was present at the press conference as guest of honour, said = that=20 high cost was another impeding factor.
=93Right now, it is too expensive,=94 said Daud, a trained = engineer.
=93This is the main problem. In Sarawak, we are trying. If you look = at the=20 extension of the Kuching Waterfront, we incorporated green technologies, = but=20 more can be done once costs come down,=94 he added.
The adoption of green technologies has become a talking point = globally.
Federation of Engineering Institutions in Islamic Countries deputy = president=20 Associate Professor Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor said that Malaysia = could not=20 escape climate change.
=93Climate change that is accelerated by human activity anywhere in = the world=20 will have an impact on Malaysia as well,=94 Johari said.
=93Just because Malaysia is free from most natural disasters, it = doesn=92t mean=20 that we won=92t be affected in some way.=94
Johari said the Government should adopt a carbon-trading = programme.
Carbon trading is where high-polluting countries pay towards = less-polluting=20 countries to conserve the environment.
Since the early part of this decade, Papau New Guinea has been = earning=20 revenue from rich countries by preserving its rainforests.
=93Climate-change problems are no longer localised. Malaysia has to = play its=20 role in balancing global pollution,=94 he=20 added.
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