However solely about half of the pledged US$100 billion a 12 months has been delivered up to now, Jomo famous on the convention organised by Eco-Enterprise. The quantity delivered has risen over time, though the sum solely reached US$83.three million in 2020.
“There’s little or no incentive for creating international locations to do very a lot [to reduce emissions] when wealthy international locations should not assembly their [climate finance] obligations,” he stated.
“Wealthy international locations should not making an attempt very onerous [to fight climate change], and so they’re definitely not delivering the sort of finance wanted by poorer international locations.”
Creating Asia is the world’s largest and quickest rising supply of carbon air pollution, and is the place the battle to keep away from the worst penalties of local weather change might be gained or misplaced. Additionally it is essentially the most climate-vulnerable area.
“We’re in a really dangerous state of affairs. And sadly, there is no such thing as a international management [on climate action],” stated Jomo. “And when there is no such thing as a international management, there’s no incentive on the nationwide stage to do the appropriate factor.”
Malaysia is among the many international locations eligible for local weather finance from the United Nations.
The Southeast Asian nation requested funding from the UN in January within the wake of catastrophic December floods that affected 125,000 individuals, killing over 50. It was the primary time that Malaysia has requested funding for local weather adaptation.
Malaysia – which is Asia’s 12th greatest carbon emitter – has pledged to cut back emissions depth by 45 per cent by 2030 as a part of its Nationally Decided Contributions (NDC) to the Paris local weather accord. Ten per cent of this objective had relied on worldwide finance, although this clause was dropped in an replace final July.
Jomo stated {that a} pledge made by a consortium led by Mark Carney, the previous governor of the Financial institution of England, at COP26 to direct US$130 trillion price of funds to realize net-zero emissions by 2050 rung hole.
“It’s all very effectively to speak in regards to the cash being out there. The query is: what’s being delivered?” he stated.
The decision for local weather finance has just lately been echoed by Cambodia, which is at present heading the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.
Local weather finance might be excessive on the agenda on the COP27 local weather talks in Egypt in November. In line with a report revealed by the UN’s Standing Committee on Finance (SCF), low-income economies want virtually US$6 trillion main as much as 2030 to fund their NDCs.
Because the impacts of local weather change turn out to be extra extreme, the capital wanted to adapt will improve, SCF says.
Recognising local weather threat
To assist meet local weather objectives, the enterprise world wants break free from “quick termism”, stated Shahazwan Harris, head of strategic investments at Workers Provident Fund (EPF), Malaysia’s state pension fund.
“We must be making multi-generational selections and have a look at monetary returns over an extended time frame,” he stated.
Malaysian corporations must get extra critical about local weather threat, he added.
“There’s a hazard that corporates are doing it [climate reporting] as a result of it’s a pattern – as a result of Bursa [Malaysia’s stock exchange] requires it, as a result of SC [the Securities Commission, Malaysia’s financial regulator] requires it. However do they totally perceive what local weather threat is?”
“Do they actually perceive how these dangers have an effect on their companies now and sooner or later? I believe they’re nonetheless behind – positively behind corporations in additional developed markets,” he stated. It’s a widespread chorus that Asian companies are blind to enterprise dangers akin to excessive climate and new sustainability rules.
Jomo added that local weather change can’t be tackled by counting on market forces.
“Leaving it to the market and anticipating that pious appeals to ESG [environmental, social and governance] investing is just not going to do the trick.”
“ESG is just not working and isn’t going to work,” he stated, referring to feedback made by Tariq Fancy, the previous head of sustainable investing at asset administration agency Blackrock, who decried ESG investing as “harmful placebo that harms the general public curiosity”.
“There isn’t a different however for governments to step in with a regulatory framework [to tackle climate change].”
Jomo stated that with out bolder worldwide and nationwide frameworks to deal with local weather change, the Paris Settlement’s “nebulous” objective of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 would show elusive.
“2050 is sort of three many years away. Governments will do their very own factor till 2049, then go away it to the federal government of the day.”
“That is simply merely not going to work,” he stated.
Jomo stated it was “ironic” that regardless of a pledge made by 40 international locations at COP26 to part out coal – essentially the most polluting power supply – use of the fossil gas has surged within the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine struggle.
Coal has additionally been gaining share in Malaysia’s power combine, as home gasoline manufacturing declines.
Malaysia didn’t signal the COP26 coal phase-out pledge, though the nation has signalled that it desires to cut back its reliance on soiled power and enhance renewables within the power combine.
Gin Keat Ong, director of Singapore power agency Uniflow Energy, identified that there was a “double commonplace” in Malaysia’s local weather and power coverage. The nation has been exporting less-polluting pure gasoline at a premium whereas costs are excessive, and importing low-cost, highly-polluting low-grade coal to fulfill post-pandemic power demand.
