RM392 billion needed to mitigate floods due to climate change

The government needs to spend RM392 billion on measures to mitigate flooding due to climate change by the end of the century.

Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said this includes RM230.71 billion for urban flood mitigation and RM126.55 billion for shoreline infrastructure.

Already, he said, the government has allocated RM15 billion for flood mitigation measures for the next eight years.

This includes building structures in areas worst hit by extreme rainfall during the northeast monsoon.

He said the country has already started experiencing climate disasters, including the December 2021 flooding, which affected 11 states and thousands of people.

He also attributed the mud floods in Yan in 2021 and Baling in 2022 to extreme weather caused by climate change.

Tuan Ibrahim spoke at the Climate Change Symposium 2022, held at Parliament today.

The symposium, the first of its kind, was organised by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's office.

Malaysia not applying for climate funds

Also speaking at the symposium, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Sharmila Ariffin urged the authorities to apply for funds available for developing countries like Malaysia for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

She said our neighbouring countries are already applying and receiving tens of millions of US dollars from funds pledged by developed nations, which they use to safeguard their countries.

In Indonesia, for example, a grant of US$4.9 million (RM22.02) was given for a project to safeguard peatland, while another US$16.2 million (RM72.79) was given for a project on agriculture.

In Laos, she said, US$10 (RM44.92) million was granted for a project to build climate resilience for urban communities.

"There is a misunderstanding that Malaysia does not qualify (because it is not a developing country), but this is a misunderstanding.

"These funds are important for us to fund mitigation and adaptation measures, including to help our states to protect their forests," she said.

Sharmila said an estimated RM6 billion is needed to protect the forest cover in Malaysia, which now stands at 55 percent of all land.

She said mitigation and adaptation measures do not just include disasters but also changes in biodiversity due to climate change.

For example, Sharmila said, in Brazil, a highly poisonous scorpion which usually lives in the desert is now found in abundance in cities due to rising temperatures — a hazard especially for children who can die from its sting.

"There are many, many ways for us to die of climate change. The problem is, what if we live?"

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