Emerging economies, including Malaysia’s, have a major opportunity to attract potential investors, technology transfers and to create conducive platforms for industry cooperation.
Ambassador and head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Malaysia, Vincent Piket, said the regulation encouraging consumer demand for sustainable goods and services, protection for intellectual property rights and market stability were effective to attract investment in green technologies and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the European context.
“This opportunity is also true for Malaysia. The EU recognises Malaysia’s commitment in doing its share in tackling climate change.
“These are important commitments but we feel that Malaysia can and should do better to also attract funding and investors.
“A comprehensive National Climate Change Policy and Mitigation Action Plan would be a step in the right direction. Malaysia can set an example and take the leadership in the region,” he said in his address at the Save Our Planet Forum here Tuesday.
Also present at the event co-organised by AseanAffairs and the Malaysia-Europe Forum were Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui, and Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, adviser and patron of MEF.
Piket said the EU was keen to further engage with Malaysia in green technology.
“I feel that we, Malaysia and the EU, already have a strong partnership in place. It is just a matter of building on the existing cooperation to equally contribute to a sustainable future,” he said.
He said the areas included cooperation on sustainable forestry and the ongoing negotiations for an EU-Malaysia Voluntary Partnership Agreement on trade in legal timber, the green trade agreement with Malaysia in the timber sector.
“I am convinced that a national mitigation policy, including forest measures, will attract significant investor interest from European carbon investors,” he said.
Another important field of cooperation worth mentioning, he said, was green technology.
The envoy said EU-Malaysia Green Tech Agenda was developed last year to support Malaysia’s endeavour for the transition to green economy.
“It consists of a policy dialogue, exchange of know-how and business-to-business cooperation.
“Furthermore, the EU has allocated ?4 million (RM16 million) to finance two strategic projects on sustainable production and consumption in Malaysia.
“One is on promoting the use of biomass in small and medium enterprises and the other on the government’s promotion of sustainable development in Malaysia,” he said.
Piket said the cooperation the EU had with Malaysia and with other countries and regions was a clear evidence that the EU wanted to engage through collaboration, dialogue and investment.
“Individually and collectively we all have to engage for a healthy environment and green growth for a more sustainable future,” he said.
On another note, he said, the EU was also cooperating on these issues with Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean).
“The Regional EU-Asean Dialogue Initiative (READI) Facility offers support to Asean policy development process in non-trade related areas.
“This include climate change, environment and energy. A READI biofuels workshop is in the pipeline for this year,” he said.
