Read more: Myanmar working on national climate change policy

PETALING JAYA - As Malaysia unveils its glittering country pavilion at the Expo 2017 at Astana tomorrow, two eager beavers will stand out.

They are Jasmin Irisha Jim Ilham, 23, and Xiandi Ooi, 20, who were both anointed as Malaysia’s “Green Growth Gurus” after winning an online contest organised by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry (Kettha).

They will be telling the story of how Malaysia is choosing the sustainable way as it seeks to grow its economy in front of a global audience converging at Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, at an exposition with the theme “Future Energy”.

Both of them sport impeccable green credentials, with Jasmin having played an instrumental role with like-minded friends to promote a cycling culture within the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).

Read more: Malaysia’s green envoys out to stamp their mark

ASTANA - More energy efficiency and conservation initiatives, along with sustainable water management plans will be put in place by the Malaysian government to keep global environment concerns in check.

Energy, Green Technology and Water minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili yesterday said Malaysia acknowledges that high energy efficiency would be the way forward to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and secure resources in a circular economy.

Read more: Sustainability, energy efficiency key to Malaysia's future success: Energy Ministry

KUCHING - Malaysia is committed to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) green initiative and is focusing its efforts on four levels.

While addressing delegates of the 106th session of the ILO Conference in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, Minister of Human Resources Datuk Seri Richard Riot named the four broad areas as global level, national level, sectors and enterprises level, and ILO policies and practices level.

He said at the global level, Malaysia would seek to boost the ILO’s standing as the global centre of excellence on current and future implications for the world of work, climate change, and the transition to a greener economy.

Read more: Malaysia committed to ILO’s green initiative - Riot

ASTANA - Malaysia and Kazakhstan have agreed to work together to identify ways of implementing green technology programmes.

The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see bilateral cooperations in renewable energy, green buildings, smart cities, and carbon emission mitigation.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Johnity Ongkili and Kazakhstan vice Energy minister Gani Sadibekov signed the MoU at the Malaysia Energy Forum held in conjunction with the ongoing Expo 2017.

Read more: Malaysia, Kazakhstan to cooperate on green technology implementation

Laos is set to move forward to build Pak Beng hydropower dam on Mekong mainstream, but technical reports about the project still do not provide adequate information.

Vietnamese Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment and Chair of the Vietnam Mekong River Commission, Tran Hong Ha, on May 12 chaired a workshop on the building of the Lao Pak Beng hydropower project on the Mekong - a controversial Laos project.

Ha emphasized that the reports about the project shown in the latest round of consultation showed inadequate information and outdated data. 

Read more: Scientists urge postponing Pak Beng hydropower project

Prolonged periods of heat are expected in a northern hemisphere summer.

Across Asia, the heat tends to build up early, with temperatures peaking before the summer monsoon arrives in June and July.

Extreme heat has been experienced very early this year in parts of South and East Asia.

In recent days, northern Vietnam has experienced temperatures in excess of 40C, with 42.5C being recorded in central Hanoi on June 3.

Read more: Heatwaves hit much of Asia earlier than expected

Lao PDR is adopting key policy reforms to make its strong economic growth benefit more people, especially the poor and disadvantaged, while protecting the environment, supported by a new US$38.6 million credit which was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.

The country’s First Programmatic Green Growth Development Policy Operation aims to establish the foundations for ‘green growth’ planning and strengthen environmental protection and resilience to climate change in Lao PDR.

“Green growth is cleaner, more resource-efficient, and more resilient to risks such as climate change,” said Dr. Kikeo Chanthabouly, Vice Minister of Planning and Investment for Lao PDR. “This development policy operation is closely linked with the strategic priorities of the Government of Lao PDR’s 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan, and can help to sustain strong economic growth while also protecting the environment and human health.”

Read more: Lao PDR to Adopt Green Growth, with World Bank Support

• The Pak Beng Dam is the third mainstream dam planned for the lower Mekong River in Laos, where the government says hydropower development will help address poverty in the country.
• Analysts have raised concerns over the dam's potential impacts on fisheries and other social and environmental impacts both locally and throughout the Mekong River Basin.
• Recent criticism has come from a report commissioned by International Rivers, a regional coalition of NGOs, and technical reviews discussed at a recent meeting of the Mekong River Commission in Vietnam.

Read more: A rising chorus of voices condemns Laos’ planned Pak Beng dam

Viet Nam risks a loss of 7.2 million tonnes of rice yield and 3.2 per cent of its agricultural land by the late 21st century as a result of climate change, according to a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development forecast.

The forecast was delivered yesterday in Ha Noi at a conference on responsive activities to climate change in the agricultural sector in the context of implementing the Paris Climate Accord.

Do Xuan Lan, head of the ministry’s Department of Science, Technology and Environment, said the country’s food security and sustainable agricultural development are already seriously affected by the negative impact of climate change.

In the past 15 years, flooding has increased along with complicated erosion of river banks, estuaries and coastal areas. Natural disasters have contributed to destruction of the environment, living conditions, and socio-economic activities, he said.

Reports from the ministry’s Water Resource Directorate show that natural disasters in recent years have resulted in the deaths of 300 people and caused losses of roughly US$900 million annually, accounting for 1.5 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Natural disaster prevention measures have shown good results in reducing loss of life and property. The average number of dead or missing, which reached an annual average of 478 people between 2006 and 2011, has decreased to 226 between 2012 and 2015. Most of the recent tropical storms have not led to deaths at sea.

However, climate change has been extreme and unpredictable. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hoang Van Thang, said unsustainable socio-economic development activities, such as deforestation and illegal sand mining, have contributed to the negative effects of natural disasters.

In recent years, extreme natural disasters such as super storms, typhoons in the East Sea, droughts, prolonged salinity intrusion, torrential floods and riverside landslides have affected lives and agricultural production, especially in coastal and mountainous areas.

Therefore, Thang said, agricultural cultivation must be linked to the protection of ecological systems and sustainable development.

Read more: Climate change forecast to shrink rice yield