Floods, climate change: M’sia must spend now or pay later, expert says

KUALA LUMPUR – The brickbats hurled at the government over its flood response last month were almost unprecedented, and the manner in which it dragged its feet calling for an emergency parliamentary sitting was baffling.

But it was the apparent lack of meaningful action by those in positions of power to address the underlying issue of climate change over the years that left an expert on pins and needles.

“For people like me who are working on climate change locally, the situation is incredibly frustrating,” Think City climate and environmental resilience director Sofia Castelo told The Vibes in a recent interview.

“Globally, we are far from having the climate crisis under control. It is a huge issue, and it takes time for governments to learn and identify mitigation and adaptation strategies,” Think City climate and environmental resilience director Sofia Castelo told The Vibes in a recent interview.

Malaysia first embarked on efforts to address climate change in 2009 when the then Barisan Nasional government rolled out a national policy which, among other things, looked to reduce the impact of the phenomenon.

But some 13 years later, there is almost nothing to show for it.

Plans by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2019 to introduce a Climate Change Act within the next two years were also thwarted after a change in government.

The recent floods that wreaked havoc across the country have further exposed the impact of uncontrolled overdevelopment and logging activities, which have proven to have significant and far-reaching consequences on the climate.

For Castelo, it is high time for the government to take serious measures to cushion the impact of climate change, regardless of how much needs to be spent – given the lives lost and the damage caused by the recent disaster.

“Yes, the cost will be very high. But when we did the cost-benefit analysis, we understood the damage to the economy that climate change will bring and that this investment is absolutely essential.

“We may be spending billions now to avoid the loss of trillions,” she said, noting that the December floods alone may have cost the government tens of billions of ringgit in damage, aid and repair works.

The impact of climate change

Castelo said embarking on climate resilience and adaptation projects is extremely crucial, given the evidence of climate change in recent years, including increased precipitation, substantial changes in rainfall patterns, and the high potential of a more concentrated period of droughts.

According to her, the absolute volume of rainfall in Malaysia has increased by 15% in the last 40 years alone – with Shah Alam predicted to see a further increase of 18% by 2050, based on simulations.

“We need to consider that the next 1,000 years of floods are going to happen maybe in just a 100-year period.”

While the country may have been shocked by the recent disaster, Castelo said the evidence has been there for all to see that extreme floods have been happening globally throughout the year.

She added that this is enough proof to show that stern measures must be taken to address climate change, and not to resolve just one part of a bigger problem.

“Of course, a lot must be done in terms of town planning and urban planning, but we need to understand the threat as what it is, which is an existential one at a global level.

“Now, I think many Malaysians are aware that climate change is a threat because it is happening here. There had been major floods in other countries before, but when it happened here, suddenly it became too real.

“But that (flood) is not the only risk. Instead of waiting for a heat wave that kills hundreds to finally wake the country up, let’s address climate change as a whole.”

What must be done

In the immediate term, Castelo said the government needs to temporarily suspend and review all ongoing and upcoming projects from the climate perspective.

She said an early warning system connected to local and international weather stations and research institutes must also be developed to minimise the impact of disasters.

As for medium and long-term measures, she said, development must avoid all areas of flood banks and flatlands, which are at higher risk, and the government must safeguard green areas upstream to prevent an uncontrolled downstream circulation of water.

Castelo warned that developed cities and towns like those in the Klang Valley are also more vulnerable to climate change due to the higher concentration of population, infrastructure, and properties, and hence require special attention.

For these locations, she explained, specific climate adaptation programmes must be developed to cater to their needs.

Among other things, she said, the government must protect certain locations that help retain water upstream as “priority areas” and bar them from any forms of development.

“This is why land clearing can be so threatening in terms of flooding, because water just flows downstream instead of being retained and filtrated.”

For development and areas often inundated by floodwaters, Castelo proposed the building of retention ponds upstream.

Beyond these, she said, drainage systems nationwide need to be improved while a courageous strategy is needed to limit the country’s carbon emissions.

“I know implementing all these measures is such a big challenge, and the threat of climate change is overwhelming that government officials sometimes feel huge stress. The idea of initiating something so incredibly ambitious can be terrorising.

“We see this all over the world, not just in Malaysia. But the time to start introducing changes is now.” – The Vibes, January 25, 2022