October has been a crazy hectic month for me thus far. In the past 48 hours before boarding the plane from Kuala Lumpur to Colombo, I was at the other side of Malaysia, facilitating a workshop in Labuan and flew back to my alma mater, the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, as the UNMC Cycling Club was the co-organizer of Life Cycle Malaysia 3. Barely a day passed and I was already on board another plane to a country which I have never been to before – Sri Lanka.
I applied to attend the 5th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum back in July as part of the Malaysian Youth Delegation, without the expectation of getting selected as I have no means to participate without any funding. I stated in my application that I needed financial support. August went by pretty fast and I unexpectedly received an email in September regarding the conference from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (!!!). They were enquiring if I was still interested in attending the conference and whether or not I still required sponsorship assistance. My reply was a definite, YES!
I departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the 16th October at 9am and arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport at 10am (it was a 3 hours 15 minutes flight, with a time difference of two and a half hours). As the plane was landing at Colombo, I looked out the window and was amazed at the greeneries. At the airport, I was greeted by Dulanga, who is kind enough to host me throughout my stay here.
Dulanga and Jasmin marking their arrival in Sri Lanka!
Dulanga stays at Mount Lavinia, which is about an hour’s drive from the airport. Her dad drove us and as soon as I reached her house, I was warmly greeted by her mum and ten years old, Sally. We arrived just in time for lunch.
Jasmin’s first homemade Sri Lankan food
My first homemade local food here and it tastes AMAZING. The spices are different and it alleviates the taste buds even more! Her dad kept asking me if it was too spicy. I was enjoying my food so much that I shrugged it off saying that I’m used to eating spicy food. Only at the end of the meal, I realised that I really needed water – you know why.
After lunch, Dulanga and I sat down and started doing our work. The workaholic in us is real! We have much preparation to do for tomorrow and decided to work on it ASAP. We started with analysing the agenda and strategically dividing and choosing the parallel sessions that we wanted to attend according to our interest. Sitting down, discussing and carefully deliberating on what to do for the next three days is somewhat crazy but comforting, knowing that we have our days planned out, making our trip here more structured and organised.
[Tweet “if we can get through this, we can get through COP – Jasmin”]
Then, we referred back to our checklist, as prepared by Emily, on the tasks that we need to do here. The list definitely no chill, describing the amount of articles and social media updates we need to adhere. On the bright side, if we can get through this, we can get through COP (hopefully!). With lots of practice, it will definitely come naturally.
Jasmin, unleashing her inner workaholic, catching up with work
Dulanga had some errands to run and catching up with family to do today, so stayed home and catching up as well, but for work. It is nice being able to have a day off and rest in her beautiful home, I have not had this in days. Nevertheless, I am anticipating a fulfilling day at the conference tomorrow!
The best times are usually unplanned, random and spontaneous!
I would need to agree on this for the time when we (Emily, Jasmine and I) were heading to Singapore to attend a training session organised by Singapore Youth for Climate Action (SYCA). The trip was planned last minute (to be specific, one night before), but the outcome is truly fruitful and #YOLO.
Climate Change never sleep, so do we!
I will start with the #YOLO first. The training session fall on Saturday morning. As all of us need to work on the Friday, we decided it is a good idea to take bus to Singapore during the midnight. Indeed, it is a good idea due to lesser carbon footprint and cheaper … until we reached Singapore.
We missed the bus station we suppose to arrive at and heading straight into the heart of Singapore. Well, this is not that bad after all. At least we get the chance to go sightseeing. Walking around the street of Singapore make me realise that street lights are almost everywhere. I am wondering how much energy did they consume per day just to light up the every corner of the streets. Thanks to the MRT that start operating as early as 5.30 am, we were able to reach our accommodation before sunrise. Not forgetting to mention that we only manage to sleep for 3 hours, thus the YOLO-ness enhanced.
By taking their public transportation, I realised it is much more cheaper if go cashless which roughly can saved up to 30%. In Malaysia, going cashless only saved us a few cents. I think Prasarana Malaysia should learn from them.
This Red Box is totally different with the RED BOX in Malaysia #ifyouknowwhatimean
The training session held at Red Box. Red Box is run by Youth Corps Singapore which is part of government initiatives with the objective to provides volunteering opportunities for youths through ad-hoc, regular and project-based service projects.
Two trainers were invited for the training, who are Sandeep Chamling Rai, Senior Advisor, Global Climate and Energy Initiative, WWF and Melissa Low of Energy Studies Institute, NUS.
Still remember I said that the outcome is fruitful and #YOLO at the beginning? This is where the fruitful part comes in.
Mr. Sandeep started the training by giving us an overview of the history timeline of COP from the very first Earth Summit to the infamous COP15 until the recent COP21. He raised his concern on the misconception from both the public as well as the media thinking that Paris Agreement is the first climate agreement. In fact, even before the Paris Agreement, we already has Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding agreement which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets.
Sandeep Chamling Rai, Senior Advisor, Global Climate and Energy Initiative, WWF
He then pinpointed the key feature of the Paris Agreement. He also mentioned about the limitation of Paris Agreement i.e no finance figure in the text after 2020. Ultimately, he told us on the expectation on COP22.
To reiterate, Paris Agreement requires all countries to prepare nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to outline the climate action plans and report on progress. Countries must submit updated NDCs every five years and must be more ambitious than previous NDC. As of now, 162 out of 190 countries already submitted their NDC. Based on the current submitted NDC, the temperature would still increase 2.7°C above pre-industrial level. Thus, starting from COP22, huge efforts will be needed to overcome the gap between the ambition of the agreement and the emission reductions pledged by the Countries.
Personally I felt this session is refreshing as he helped me to recall what I had studied since I joined MYD last year.
Melissa session focused on Singapore position and role in UNFCCC process. Albeit the points are not directly related to Malaysia, they are still some good to know facts. Singapore contribute only around 0.11% of global emission while Malaysia contribute approximately 0.6% of global emission (based on NDC).
During her session, one of the audience raised up an interesting point about the global emission contribution. Countries need to submit their national GHG inventories. The GHG data reported by the countries are estimated from direct GHG only. In other words, the data only calculate from point source emission and indirect GHG is not taken into calculation.
Singaporeans have high purchasing power which leads to higher consumerism. Most of the products are imported from other countries like China but the carbon footprint that produced before reaching Singapore are not included in the calculation. One of the solution suggested is to urge the corporates and organisations to adopt and implement Greenhouse Gas Protocol in managing and reporting their GHG emission. 3 different categories of emission (Scope 1,2,3) were established to avoid ‘double-counting’ of emissions, and is also intended to help organizations categorize GHG into those that they control (e.g. Scope 1) versus those that they can influence (e.g. Scope 3). For more info, please click HERE
Melissa Low of Energy Research Institute, NUS
When comes to UNFCCC climate conference, the plenary is not just about negotiating the what and how of climate change but instead it is an international battleground for the diplomats. Countries such as Singapore sending out national delegates who are representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affair. Most of the time, the representative from Ministry of Foreign Affair are well trained in communicating with foreign governments and international organisations as well as coordinating and carried out policy. In regardless of this conference, these are also part of their job scope.
Since Paris Agreement had been adopted last year, the major “talking” part consider over. Starting from COP22 onward, the focus will be more on the implementation of the agreement itself. Due to these, the national delegates of Singapore for this coming year will be coming from Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. *geddit?*
Mandatory Climate Sign in front of Marina Bay Sands
In a nutshell, this short getaway rekindles my passion for climate change negotiation process. It’s also really feel great to reconnect with my like-minded friends. Aside from these, it is also a pleasure to meet Miss Lastrina again. She recently won the EcoFriend Award 2016 (Youth and Student Category) for her dedication towards environmental conservation. #proudofher
p/s: I interviewed here right after we get back from COP21. Wanted to know more? Click HERE.
Title: MYD2016: Prospects for the forthcoming UNFCCC COP22 in Marrakech 2016
Hello, everyone! We will be having our fourth MYD 2016 Training Series this coming Sunday with Chee Yoke Ling from the Third World Network (TWN). Admission for the training is free. Join us at the training if you are interested in knowing how climate change policy works in the UNFCCC context! RSVP HERE or at the form below! 🙂
Trainer Profile:
Chee Yoke Ling was trained as a lawyer in University of Malaya and University of Cambridge and works on research and policy advocacy related to sustainable development issues and the effects of globalisation on developing countries. She is currently Director of Programmes of TWN. She works closely with key developing country negotiators, scientists, and NGOs in the work of the UNFCCC and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Yoke Ling was also a Lead Author in the 5th Assessment Review of the IPCC, in Working Group III on Mitigation.
TWN is a non-profit international policy research and advocacy organization with the objective of bringing about a greater articulation of the needs and rights of peoples in developing countries, a fair distribution of world resources, and forms of development that are ecologically sustainable and fulfill human needs.
Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD 2016): Malaysian youth who are currently working their way to COP22 in Morocco later this year. This is our Training Series focusing on climate policy.
#MYD Training Series – Training on UNFCCC negotiations and media work with various climate experts, government bodies and civil society leaders, from July until Nov 2016. Each sessions will run for 2 hours and may be broadcast live on Google Hangout. Hangout will be available on YouTube for future reference. http://powershiftmalaysia.org.my/myd-training-series/
#MYD – Malaysian Youth Delegation – Malaysian youth climate movement at international United Nations climate conferences, UNFCCC, participants will be mentored and hold engagements with various climate expert bodies and dialogue with Malaysian policy makers and negotiators. http://powershiftmalaysia.org.my/category/myd2016/myd-events/
Hear, hear! Below is the Malaysian Youth Statement on Climate Change for COP22 proposed by our selected delegates this year. Prior to the height of the UN climate conference in November, we would like your support in endorsing the Youth Statement to express our collective concern about climate change. We will be submitting the said Youth Statement to our Prime Minister once we have collected the petitions from you by 26 October 2016.
Let’s look beyond the here and now and don’t let our planet wear and down. We need you – start acting for your future!
A group photo with Dr Ong Kian Ming after he shared his valuable insights and knowledge to MYD 2016. Now we are definitely geared up for COP22!
Title: MYD 2016: Viability of Malaysia’s Commitment Towards COP21
Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD 2016): Youths who are currently working their way to COP22 in Morocco in November. This is our Training Series focusing on climate policy.
Below is the experience shared by one of our MYD delegates, Nalina Santhiran, as well as a recorded video of the training series conducted by Dr Ong Kian Ming.
MYD 2016 was fortunate to host Dr Ong Kian Ming in an exclusive sharing session recently. As our second trainer under our Training Series, Dr Ong shared with us his particular insight on environmental policies specifically in Malaysia. Apart from that Dr Ong is also an academician, political analyst as well as the MP of the Serdang Constituency.
The session which was held at the Nottingham Training Centre (KLTC) commenced with the MYD delegation sharing their aspirations and the experience they would like to gain out of COP 22 later this year. We were taken on a hands-on journey in decrypting the current state of environmental policies in Malaysia from their inception to their execution. The disparities between them were also highlighted as well as methods to harmonise them.
Among the topics which were highlighted include waste management, efficient transportation, renewable energy as well as transparency in combatting climate change. We were even provided with a perspective on the works of a sanitary landfill by one of our very own MYD colleagues as well. It was indeed an eye-opening experience for it shows the potential that Malaysia stands in utilising its current resources in combatting climate change.
I found the concept of the feed-in tariff which allows individuals, schools and religious institutions to apply for licenses in order to generate renewable energy on their own property as well as being able to sell the excess energy back into the grid very interesting. This gives a chance to ordinary citizens to be more conscious of their roles in climate change initiatives and policies. The concepts of grid parity and net-metering and how it could transpire in the future were also discussed.
Furthermore, light was also shed on Malaysia’s unique position at the COP 22. The role we would play in the execution of our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) following COP 21 and the Paris Agreement.
Dr Ong also mentioned that it was time for the Energy Commission of Malaysia, which determines the energy policies of Malaysia, as well as the Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia (SEDA), a statutory body which has the oversight of all environmental regulations, to reconcile and align their objectives.
At the end of the session, Dr Ong expressed his best wishes and reminded us to use our varied backgrounds to our advantage for members of the MYD 2016 comprise of people from the legal and economic backgrounds to environmental consultants and scientists. Indeed, climate change as what we have learnt is best tackled through a collective effort. Through this training series, MYD has been able to build our capacity on national policies as well gain a truly personal insight on the works of tackling climate change in Malaysia.
Title: MYD 2016: Climate Science and its Relation to Policy and the Paris Agreement
Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD 2016): Youths who are currently working their way to COP22 in Morocco in November. This is our Training Series focusing on climate policy.
Our 3rd Training Series focuses on Policy and the Paris Agreement. It will be conducted by Dr Matthew Ashfold of the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. Dr Ashfold has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and his research area is on atmospheric science focusing on Southeast Asia.
No payment is required for participation. However, it is limited to 20 people only. Thus, please RSVP in the google form provided HERE! Have a look at our event page on Facebook as well! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to meet like-minded youths and individuals at the forefront of climate change mitigation! 🙂
#MYD Training Series – Training on UNFCCC negotiations and media work with various climate experts, government bodies and civil society leaders, from July until Nov 2016. Each sessions will run for 2 hours and may be broadcast live on Google Hangout. Hangout will be available on YouTube for future reference. http://powershiftmalaysia.org.my/myd-training-series/
#MYD – Malaysian Youth Delegation – Malaysian youth climate movement at international United Nations climate conferences, UNFCCC, participants will be mentored and hold engagements with various climate expert bodies and dialogue with Malaysian policy makers and negotiators. http://powershiftmalaysia.org.my/category/myd2016/myd-events/
